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Forsythia Show Off: Starlet and Sugar Baby

Wayne Reibold
11 years ago

Who has grown Forsythia Show Off 'Starlet' and 'Sugar Baby' varieties? Looking for dwarf heavy blooming Forsythia and these seem to fit the bill but are they hardy? do they bloom as well as the Proven Winners advertising states? I've also seen some conflicting info of width on the Starlet, some say 24-36", other places state 36-48".

Comments (28)

  • gardengal48 (PNW Z8/9)
    11 years ago

    Forsythia is one of the hardiest shrubs around - absolutely no worries for a PNW zone 7. Keep your pruning shears away and any forsythia will bloom heavily - these are no exceptions. Expect to grow to the upper end size-wise and then some. Everything seems to grow at least slightly larger than typical in our climate :-)

  • Wayne Reibold
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    Anymore feedback on these varieties from people growing them re: size and quality/quantity of blooms?

  • ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
    10 years ago

    they can be kept to any size you wish thru proper rejuvenation pruning ...

    nothing really stops growing at some magical size.. especially forsythia ...

    plant one and come back in 5 or 10 years.. and its going to be huge... compared to the numbers you note ..

    so you keep renovating such ...

    ken

  • Wayne Reibold
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    so you have first hand knowledge that its just marketing hype that these are truly dwarf varieties?

  • wannabegardnr
    10 years ago

    I would be interested in this information too. I was looking at the Sugar Baby, and it looks cute. At that size, if for real, it could be tucked in anywhere.

  • wannabegardnr
    10 years ago

    Here you go, I found an older thread about the same thing. This answers the question. Yes, they are great, go for it. Also lists some other small ones.

    Here is a link that might be useful: Older thread about same topic

  • sam_md
    8 years ago


    I don't know which selection of dwarf forsythia this is. It is a roadside planting which has been in place for about 6 years. Definitely no pruning necessary. The only care they get is occasional spraying with herbicide inbetween. Pic taken this morning in Maryland.

  • ginny12
    5 years ago

    I would like to hear from anyone who has grown Forsythia 'Show Off'--not the other two--for at least three years. I'd like accurate info on how big it gets. I have combed the internet for non-biased info and can't find any--it's all from commercial nurseries or from a couple of sites that are just guessing. I've been down that road before. So if anyone has had Show Off for at least three years, can you give a report on height and width? Thanks!

  • illsstep
    5 years ago

    Try this website:


    http://www.missouribotanicalgarden.org/PlantFinder/PlantFinderDetails.aspx?taxonid=267867


    It is one of my go-to websites for accurate size information for shrubs.


    Also, even with the speed at which forsythia grows, I suspect you will want to ask for more than three year's worth of observation from growers if you're curious about mature sizing. Three years isn't that long for a shrub.

  • ginny12
    5 years ago

    Thanks for the reply. I had already looked at the Missouri Botanic Garden site, which I also use, but I did not get the sense they had any practical experience with this shrub. It sounded as if they just read the plant tag.

    I asked for at least three years' experience as I don't think there are many people out there who have had it much longer. It is fairly new to the market.

    I have been gardening a long time and found that even the most respected sources are often very wrong in guessing about the ultimate size/behavior of new cultivars. Again, thank you for the reply.

  • illsstep
    5 years ago

    Is the link I posted the correct cultivar? If it is, they have been growing that one in their gardens since 2009.

  • indianagardengirl
    5 years ago
    last modified: 5 years ago

    I’d never looked at those ‘garden location’ links on MoBot. Fascinating info, especially in this case. Of 17 plantings, only 1 still alive as of 2016?

  • ginny12
    5 years ago

    Yes, it's the same page. It's mostly about Forsythia x 'Intermedia' in general, with a paragraph near the end about 'Mindor' aka 'Show Off'. I see no info about them growing it since 2009. Could I ask where that info came from? Just curious.

    Also I see no info about all but one of 17 plantings being dead by 2016. Would also really like that source. It's not on the Missouri Botanic Garden page for this shrub. Maybe elsewhere? Hope not as I just bought seven of them.

    Thanks to both of you for your replies.

  • indianagardengirl
    5 years ago

    Go back to the MoBot link, and find the ‘garden location’ in orange type, just above cultural info. That link takes you to accession pages (Firšt time I’ve realized that, as I also wondered where Illstep found the info)

  • ginny12
    5 years ago

    Wow. Good for you for finding that info. Excellent sleuthing.

    At first my heart sank at the near-100% death rate but then I noticed that almost all the specimens were planted in Oct-Nov-Dec and came from the same wholesale nursery. I would never buy/plant a shrub that late in New England, especially one that's been sitting in a nursery all thru the hot summer. No shrub here would make any root growth that late in the year. So I'm optimistic again.

    And thanks again for the great tip about very helpful further info on the MoBot (love that nickname--new to me) site.

  • ginny12
    5 years ago

    Planted seven Forsythia 'Show-Off' this week. Will report results next year. They are very small.

  • Mike McGarvey
    5 years ago

    How do you kill a Forsythia? It seems to me, you would have to work at it. They don't die on their own. MoBot surely didn't plant them in a swamp or a gravel pile.

  • ginny12
    5 years ago

    Young plants can winter-kill if they have not made adequate roots in the previous growing season. Also deer for those of us with heavy deer pressure. Those are just two of the ways forsythias can die. And there is almost no independent data on this cultivar 'Show-Off' so I can't predict how it will perform.

  • Tim Wood
    5 years ago

    This photo shows three specimen of the original Show Off Forsythia. It has had minimal pruning. The dog is a Jack Russell, so you have an idea of the size.




  • Tim Wood
    5 years ago

    Show Off Starlet. Intermediate in size.

  • ginny12
    5 years ago
    last modified: 5 years ago

    Thanks for these photos. The Proven Winners tags on my 7 shrubs give no further cultivar--just Show-Off. Inside the tags say Forsythia x intermedia 'Mindor'. Does that sound like your first photo--the original Show-Off? And how tall would you estimate the original is as my dog knowledge is minimal :) ?

  • Tim Wood
    5 years ago
    last modified: 5 years ago

    The plant you have is the original Show Off which is shown in the first photo. Without any pruning, it can reach ten feet or so. If you want it to be shorter cut it back after it blooms. Or take out the the tallest stems to reduce the size.

  • ginny12
    5 years ago

    Thanks for that. Interesting--the PW tag says it grows 5'-6' tall and wide. Time will tell.

  • Mendel Rosenberg
    4 years ago

    We just bought a PW Forsythia the Mindor type. Would it fill up this bed? Should I plant another two more in here? And if yes where should I put them, or how close?

  • Mendel Rosenberg
    4 years ago

    Additional pictures of forsythia show off - see previous comment

  • NHBabs z4b-5a NH
    4 years ago
    last modified: 4 years ago

    Mendel Rosenberg, you want to move hat further from the building and even then it will need pruning to stay within that bed based on the photo in Tim Wood’s first photo on 6/8/2018. If it were mine, I would move it and plant something that won’t get so large (10’) in that spot.

  • ginny12
    4 years ago

    The seven 'Show Off" forsythias I planted last year--spring 2018--mostly succeeded. One barely survived the winter--just a few sprigs from the ground. No idea why. They did fine all last year. It was the one located facing due north. The other six came back robustly and, as promised, bloomed right down to the ground level. They are thriving. I'm sure I planted them too close together but I need a quick screen.


    They throw off random branches much longer than the rest of the plant and I have been clipping those off for neatness.