i have a trick.. get rid of it...

you either like it .... or you dont..

but why complain about it...

if your yard.. is too small for a given plant.. you either give it the yard.. or you edit it from your collection ... i mean really.. but for one week per year.. its a rather nondescript ugly bush.. whats its upside???? .. you can do so much better for year around interest.. IF ITS TAKING OVER A SMALL GARDEN ...

ken

I agree with Ken. My neighbor has a forsythia hedge between our properties. I finally had it with it encroaching on our front yard and one of my hosta gardens (we have 1/2 acre lots). I hacked it back to the property line and pulled out many by the roots. My neighbor initially thought I had cut back on her property, but she discovered on her own that I did not. It gave me an extra five feet for hosta, ferns, bulbs, etc. :)

Forsythia is one of those plants that just keeps spreading. Decide if the spring show gives you enough joy. Then, you will know whether to dig it up or just keep trimming it back. You can hack it way down and it will come back the next year!

If you are trying to get rid of it permanently, cut all of its stem to ground level and then mow over it every time you mow the grass to remove any sprouts. It may take a couple of years, but you should be able to get rid of it.

If you really like forsythia, there are smaller varieties available now that will take up less room, and you could replace it with one of those.