TRIFOLIATE FORSYTHIA Forsythia Suspensa SEEDS Genus - Forsythia Species - Suspensa Common name - Trifoliate Forsythia Other names - Lian Qiao Pre-Treatment - Required Hardiness zones - 5 - 9 Height - 8'-10' / 2.4m - 3.0m Spread - 10'-20' / 3.0m - 6.1m Plant type - Medium Shrub Vegetation type - Deciduous Exposure - Full Sun, Partial Sun Growth rate - Fast Soil PH - Acidic, Neutral, Alkaline Soil type - Loam Water requirements - Average Water, drought tolerant Care level - Easy Landscape uses - Cutflower, Feature Plant, Hedges Germination rate - 85% Leaf / Flower color - Dark green / Yelow Plant growth rate - Fast Forsythias are harbingers of spring, beloved for their early, prolific display of brilliant yellow blooms. These upright, deciduous, occasionally semi-evergreen shrubs possess mostly hollow, angled branches with foliage held in opposite pairs. The leaves are usually simple (without lobes or indentations), or trifoliate (three-lobed), with smooth or serrated margins. Showy, tubular yellow blooms with four spreading petals generally appear before the leaves, and are borne singly in the leaf axils (joints between the leaves and stems). The fruits that follow are capsules which split to release a few slightly winged seeds. The plant refers full to part sun locations and clay or loamy soils, and some are tolerant of a wide range of conditions. Give these shrubs room to spread, as they can become quite large. Most do not take well to shearing, and should be pruned with discretion just after flowering if at all, so the buds for next years blooms can develop in the fall. These lovely shrubs are effective planted in masses or groups, and their stems may be cut and brought indoors for forcing into bloom in late winter. (source: learn2grow.com)