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chueh_gw

Forsythia not blooming???

chueh
10 years ago

For the first 5 years, the blooms of my forsythias had increased as they grew. The 5th year was with the most packed bloom. Then, the 6th year almost nothing, and now the 7th year the same. I did not trim or cut the branches, so I don't understand why they don't bloom now. I have not done anything differently from the first 5 years.

Any ideas?? Thanks

Comments (10)

  • allen456
    10 years ago

    Deer?

  • laceyvail 6A, WV
    10 years ago

    Did you have very cold winter weather two years in a row? That can kill the buds. Sometimes you see forsythia in bloom just low near the ground where there was snow cover,

  • laceyvail 6A, WV
    10 years ago

    Did you have very cold winter weather two years in a row? That can kill the buds. Sometimes you see forsythia in bloom just low near the ground where there was snow cover,

  • chueh
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    Last year was not too bad. This winter though snowed 2 or 3 times, ha, in GA. Well, I saw other forsythias in the same town blooming this year now, but just not mine.....

    We do have deer here..

  • ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
    10 years ago

    i lacked bloom a couple years ...

    my conclusion.. is that if they came active.. here in MI ... on an early warm spell ... and THEN FROZE or got hard frosted.. i lost bloom ... the problem usually is remember the weather event.. a few weeks back.. when i finally noticed lack of bloom ...

    F's fascinate me out here in the country ...in the local podunk town ... they bloom a week or two earlier.. as compared to 2 miles from such.. in my yard ..

    and across my 500 foot square lot.. 5 acres ... i have an 8 foot drop running east/west across the whole ...

    the ones at the top ... bloom one week later than town ... and the ones at the bottom ... half the time never bloom ... and when they do.. they are a week later than the higher ones... a couple hundred feet away ...

    my best theory.. is that cold air falls.. and moving air doesnt harm as fast as pooled stagnant air.. and the lower ones.. are harmed ...

    i cant think of any other reason for the mystery ...

    as an aside.. the hosta bed at the bottom.. also comes out of dormancy a week or two later ... so something is keeping the soil colder down there ...

    ken

  • chueh
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    Yep, Ken, I noticed similar condition for my F's. They were always blooming 2 weeks later than others in the same town, even the adjacent neighborhood.

  • ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
    10 years ago

    my theory of that.. is the concrete jungle ...

    in town.. no matter what size.. pavement of any kind.. traps and retains daytime sunshine and heat ... so that night temps are moderated ... thereby allowing spring to come even a few days earlier ....

    which means.. that they might miss a frost/freeze.. that would hit me.. just a few miles away ...

    meaning.. mine might not bloom.. any given spring ....

    ken

  • fosterebiz
    9 years ago

    I'm in Saratoga county in NY and all the Forsythia bushes are only blooming on the bottom half regardless of age of the plant. My theory is that we had our first really warm week April 7th through the 11th which stimulated the bushes to start...the following week we had serious below 32 degree F temperatures (frost) and 3 inches of snow landing on the top of the plants. Could this be the driver?

  • mad_gallica (z5 Eastern NY)
    9 years ago

    No. Below freezing isn't nearly cold enough to damage forsythia flower buds. Forsythia bloom early enough that almost by definition they have to be able to withstand a fair amount of cold in bloom.

  • ilovemytrees
    9 years ago

    I'm in Chautauqua County, NY and all 3 of my Forsythias are only bloomed at the bottom of them, and even at that not ALL of the bottom branches are bloomed.

    I'm extremely disappointed, because my shrubs had huge growth last summer, so I expected a spectacular show of blooms this month.