I've been busy for a couple of days hacking Forsythia. Forsythia is a beautiful landscape shrub, with bright yellow flowers in Spring....but, these had been left to take over for decades. The way they propagate is to grow long branches which droop to the ground and root in the soil. Which gives you a hint as to how to propagate them deliberately, if you so choose.
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This was quite a job and I'm not done yet. Hack, hack, hack, oh look, I see the car. Hack, hack, hack, look I can see my house! When I finally got the first shrub managed, guess what I found? At least 25 decent baby shrubs (last pic is a good sized baby). I'd say they were free, but, my back begs to differ. I put a row by the fence where the dogs are. A row got transplanted to mom's back yard. And a row of them now live at the side of my house which was bare and ugly. They should do fine. It was raining when I transplanted them, plants like that.
This was quite a job and I'm not done yet. Hack, hack, hack, oh look, I see the car. Hack, hack, hack, look I can see my house! When I finally got the first shrub managed, guess what I found? At least 25 decent baby shrubs (last pic is a good sized baby). I'd say they were free, but, my back begs to differ. I put a row by the fence where the dogs are. A row got transplanted to mom's back yard. And a row of them now live at the side of my house which was bare and ugly. They should do fine. It was raining when I transplanted them, plants like that.
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I'd been meaning to buy some kind of shrubs for the side of the house for awhile, but, like everything else, when you get the money for shrubs, it seems to go somewhere else. And a bunch of decent shrubs cost quite a bit. So, Forsythia will do just fine. I still have a bunch left to move. Oh, and as a bonus I found many Perennials struggling to survive under the overgrown shrubs. I'll take them too. Asiatic lilies, Stella D'oros, White Nancy..poor things. It sure has taken a long time to clean up this yard.
I'd been meaning to buy some kind of shrubs for the side of the house for awhile, but, like everything else, when you get the money for shrubs, it seems to go somewhere else. And a bunch of decent shrubs cost quite a bit. So, Forsythia will do just fine. I still have a bunch left to move. Oh, and as a bonus I found many Perennials struggling to survive under the overgrown shrubs. I'll take them too. Asiatic lilies, Stella D'oros, White Nancy..poor things. It sure has taken a long time to clean up this yard.
8 comments:
I never knew how to grow new forsythia from an existing bush. It's raining here today too, I think I will go try my hand at propigation. I feel very, "green thumb-ish" now.
Thanks for the info. I pick up so much good, understandable stuff here!!
I'm such a novice in matters of the garden that it's nice to have pics and simple to comprehend ideas.
I've be planting impatien(sp?) plants in a shady bed for years and doing some morning glories up an archway by my sideyard. But that's about it for flowers. I usually buy hanging pots of petunias but now I might try my hand at planting some myself...
That's very cool that you plant. I don't think you need to plant everything to have an impressive display. Gardening is like therapy to me, so I plant a lot.
Yeah, with the Forsythia, just grab a long branch and bend it down to touch the ground. Then cover it up with dirt. Or compost, if you have it. You can weight it with something, like a brick. Leave some of the leafy part sticking out the other side, that's the part that will form the new plant. Next Spring you'll have a whole new shrub, just dig it up and cut it loose from the main plant.
Pat,
There I took 5 long leafy branches around the bottom and did just what you said. The bush sits way off to the side of my property so it can be undisturbed.
I have trouble growing a lot of things because we are right on the ocean here and the soil is all salt and sand. To do any sort of landscaping and flower beds we have to have topsoil brought in.
The side yard has been landscaped and still has some dark soil left so it should take. The front lawns are nice and lush but it's a constant effort.
I like big bushy shrubs and stuff because their roots keep the soil from eroding too quickly with the winds we get battered with 6 mo. out of the year.
I have tons of Rosa Rugosa sea roses. They smell heavenly and can grow in pure sand.
Oh, that's wonderful. It stand to reason if your mother shrub likes it there, then the baby shrubs will root pretty easily. I have often wondered what and how people near the ocean garden. Rosa Rugosa sea roses sound awesome.
Hey, does Spiraea, grow there? I love that shrub. I'm looking for some, but, I refuse to buy it when I know I'll come across some somewhere free for the digging. Around here they call it Bridal Bush.
Pat I'm not familiar with that plant but I can check with one of my friends who might know.
I think it's hardy enough for where you live and it's beautiful, you'd like it. I'm having so much fun talking to people about plants on here.
You know how bad this yard was? I had to hack and cut down trees for months to even find the Forsythia. Isn't that crazy?
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