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Alex Valk's avatar

I love this plant! My neighbours have it as part of their border with my garden - last year I managed to stop their hedge cutter man chopping them in November on my side and I’ve been rewarded with gorgeous stems! They’ve also self seeded in my garden to my delight and one of them is absolutely thriving underneath a Leylandii. Seriously how could you not love it? I suspect it may have fallen out of favour due to how it is often treated - short back and sides from a hedge trimmer in the autumn does not do it justice at all.

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Ben Probert, Pen And Trowel's avatar

I think to a degree familiarity breeds contempt, but I think a generation of badly sited Woolworths plants hacked to bits in the name of tidiness has had a lasting effect on public opinion.

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Alex Valk's avatar

Absolutely. Bad pruning has a lot to answer for. Forsythia is also a gorgeous shrub when allowed to stretch out and be who it wants to be!

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Ben Probert, Pen And Trowel's avatar

So true!

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Jane Davis's avatar

I could take or leave the standard ribes but I adore ‘white icicle’ and now I really like that dark red one you’ve shown us, too, thank you. Do you think there are any really good forsythias? I don’t generally like the shade of yellow…

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Ben Probert, Pen And Trowel's avatar

Well... no.

I've not come across any colour variation in forsythias, but I have seen them look pretty good.

The trick is to reduce how much yellow there is, and by growing a forsythia as a more naturally shaped plant and not too dense you can enjoy the best of the yellow but not be subjected to too much of it.

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