💛 Forsythia
Forsythia × intermedia
Spring's yellow alarm clock — and it absolutely hates Florida.
Sun
Full sun for best bloom
Days to harvest
N/A — ornamental
Spacing
6–8 feet apart
Soil pH
6.0–7.5
How to grow
Here's the honest version: forsythia needs real winter chill to bloom, so in most of Florida it leafs out with a shrug and no flowers. If you're in the Panhandle with actual cold snaps, plant in fall in well-drained soil and you might get a show. Everyone else should plant a native yellow-bloomer like Carolina jessamine instead.
Water & feeding
Average; established shrubs tolerate drought but sulk in standing water.
Common problems
- No blooms without sufficient winter chill
- Root rot in soggy soil
- Leggy growth in too much shade
Harvest
Ornamental — prune immediately after flowering (on the rare years it does), since it blooms on old wood.
Nerdy fact: Named for William Forsyth, a Scottish royal gardener — and its flowers open before the leaves, which is the botanical equivalent of showing up to the party before the host.