Forsythia x intermedia ‘Spectabilis’ will thrive in fertile garden soil with lots of room around it and in full sunlight.

Make sure the rootball is well-moistened by soaking it in a bucket of lukewarm water before planting. Prepare a suitable hole in good fertile garden soil. Improve poor garden soil by mixing in some well-rotted manure. Plant the Forsythia x intermedia ‘Spectabilis’ root ball at the appropriate depth in the hole - the top of the root ball should be just slightly below ground level. Fill the hole with soil and press firmly down. Give it plenty of water immediately after planting.

Forsythia x intermedia ‘Spectabilis’ is a strong tree that requires minimal maintenance. Older trees are very drought resistant although it is best to water when it gets too dry.

Forsythia x intermedia ‘Spectabilis’ is extremely hardy.

Pruning Forsythia

Forsythia will flower on last year’s wood. If you must prune, do that immediately after flowering and the new branches that appear will then be the ones for next years flowers. Forsythia x intermedia is the type of bush that can tolerate a yearly prune making it very suitable for the small garden.

If you choose not to prune, it will flower every year and reach 2 metres tall and 2 metres wide. Best is to prune back hard every 3 years.

The Forsythia x intermedia ‘Spectabilis’ is a wonderful variety with branches overladen with little yellow bells in April and May. As a stand-alone shrub, this Forsythia will look wonderful but it also makes great hedging for the border.

Forsythia x intermedia was probably hybridised with F. suspensa and F. viridissima, both of which originated in China. Hybridisation however, occurred in a botanical garden in Germany and created broader petals to the flowers than the parent plants produce – really rather lovely.