[Coach s]

Any suggestions on best way to trim and or cut back hard (low to the ground)
mature Forsythia shrubs? I have a customer who has several forsythia shrubs along a fence line and wants them cut down to a foot high. How should I go about this job without beating the heck out of my hedg:dizzy:e trimmers and also not taking too long to do the job?

Thanks for any advicehttp://www.lawnsite.com/images/smilies/dizzy.gif

 

[Dreams To Designs]

If you want any flowers this year, wait a few weeks until after they flower. Forsythia blooms have already set for the season. Best to prune these with loppers. Take the old canes right to the ground and rejuvenate the rest. What you customer is suggesting, is not the proper way to prune Forsythia, but if that's what they demand, loppers will be quickest and easiest, especially if you have a helper removing and bundling what your cutting.

Kirk

 

[Coach s]

Thanks for the advice. The customer and I spoke about losing the bloom this season and he does not care. Will the Forsythia be able to come back over the next couple of years cutting them back so hard?

 

[jrodgers]

Absolutly, they will come in tighter and fuller. They bloom on the old wood so you will get blooms next season. You can't kill Forsythia if you tried. Well maybe if you really tried....