Cultivation methods and precautions of Forsythia

How to cultivate Forsythia

soil

Forsythia does not have high requirements for soil, but it grows best in loose, fertile, well-drained and breathable soil.

Watering

The soil should not be too dry. It should be kept moist at ordinary times, but not waterlogged. Pay attention to drainage during the rainy season to avoid root rot caused by waterlogging in the potting soil.

illumination

Forsythia likes sunlight. Although it can tolerate partial shade, it is best placed outdoors in a sunny and well-ventilated place during the growing period. It does not need to be shaded even in the hot summer.

temperature

Forsythia is cold-resistant and can overwinter in a cold room, or the flower pot can be buried outdoors in a windproof and sunny place.

Fertilization

In spring and autumn, it is best to apply decomposed thin liquid fertilizer or compound fertilizer to Forsythia once every 15-20 days. Fertilization should be stopped in summer. In autumn, you can spray potassium dihydrogen phosphate and other fertilizers with high phosphorus content on the leaves to promote the formation of flower buds.

Precautions when growing Forsythia

Controlled watering in winter

In winter, try to reduce the frequency and amount of watering to keep the soil from freezing so that Forsythia can safely overwinter.

Pay attention to pruning branches and leaves on weekdays

The base of Forsythia has a strong germination ability, and it will grow many branches every year to disperse nutrients. If you want to increase the fruit-bearing rate of Forsythia, you must prune it frequently. For the fruit-bearing branches that have been flowering and bearing fruit for many years and are beginning to age, you can shorten or heavily prune (i.e. cut off 2/3 of the branches). This can encourage the growth of strong branches below the cut, restore the tree vigor, and increase the fruit-bearing rate.

Autumn pruning is mainly thinning. Except for maintaining 3 to 7 vigorously growing trunks in each mound, the remaining weak, old, and aging branches should be pruned off as appropriate.

In winter, dead branches, forked branches, overlapping branches, crossed branches, weak branches, as well as overgrown branches and diseased and insect-infested branches should be pruned off.