That’s right. Somewhere around April Fools Day the forsythia shrubs will be fooling everyone by showing off their bright shocking yellow color.
The big one in size on the market these days is usually “Meadowlark” This and many other of the larger forsythias which are sold in our climate zone four, usually can withstand a relatively cold winter and manage to bloom well. However, even though these plants are thoroughtly root hardy here, some may not be bud hardy, mening the shrub is fully hardy if you don’t care about getting a bloom every year.
This April should be a good forsythia bloom because lots of snow came early this last fall, November 13….bending and covering nearly all the stems with snow. In addition there was no significant thaw all winter in the Twin Cities, until this past weekend.
The Amelanchiers are early to bloom as well. They have a white flower but don’t have that knock out punch of presence as the forsythias.
A very nice understory tree for form and aroma which blooms in later April, depending on the Spring, is Toka Plum…..If there is a plum pollinator nearby you might have fruit by mid August which is a first class treat. If there is no other plum in the neighborhood, you will still own a lovely tree.
Spring might be a bit late this year.
A reminder…..Forsythias, like Viburnums and Lilacs, and many other shrubs bloom on last season’s wood….meaning the best time to prune is immediately after bloom, perhapss mid May. If you prune forsythias significantly in the summer or fall, you will be removing the floral buds.