Forsythia 'Gold Tide'
Forsythia 'Courtasol' (Gold Tide) · Oleaceae
A dwarf, spreading forsythia, knee high and twice as wide, covered in pale lemon-yellow flowers in early spring.
- Size
- 24 in tall, 4 ft wide
- Zones
- 5 to 8
- Light
- Full sun to part sun
- Flowers
- Late March to mid April
- Pets
- Not checked
- Job in a bed
- Carpet
A bed built around forsythia 'Gold Tide'
The planner designed this bed around forsythia 'Gold Tide' when this page was made: a 16 × 8 ft (4.9 × 2.4 m) English border in zone 6, full sun. It chose the other plants from the 966 that suit those conditions, and says below why forsythia 'Gold Tide' stands where it does.
The plants
- 1 Forsythia 'Gold Tide' × 1, yellow
- 2 Common thyme × 13, lavender
- 3 Verbena 'Homestead Purple' × 4, purple
- 4 Fernleaf yarrow 'Cloth of Gold' × 8, yellow
- 5 New England aster 'Alma Pötschke' × 4, pink
- 6 Hyssop × 3, blue
- 7 Easter lily × 5, white
- 8 Allium 'Globemaster' × 5, purple
- 9 Persian fritillary × 3, purple
Why this plant
- The bed's only structure. Shrubs and grasses keep their shape when the perennials die down, and it is the only one here.
Why here
- Under the taller plants. It runs back between them as living mulch: there its job is to cover the soil, not to be looked at.
- One plant, alone. A shrub is seen as an object, and needs clear ground around it.
Why now
- In flower for four weeks. From late March to mid April.
- Opens the season. In all that time nothing else on the plan is in flower.
Planned as an English border: 7 of the 8 groups (88%) are drifts, longer along the bed than they are deep. Forsythia 'Gold Tide' is the first into flower, in late March, and New England aster 'Alma Pötschke' the last to finish, in mid October. The flowering is at its height from late June, with 4 kinds out together.
The planner's own design check: 10 Excellent, 7 Good.
Open this bed in the planner Change its size, the sun or the style, move plants about, or swap one for another.
Where forsythia 'Gold Tide' goes in a border
At 24 in it belongs at the front of a bed. In the planner's ten height classes it is medium short (18 to 24 in).
Its job: carpet. A groundcover planted in threes and fives to cover the soil: along the front, and just behind it.
Forsythia as a groundcover: it holds a bank, fronts taller shrubs, and never needs the pruning that the big kinds demand.
- Covering a sunny bank
- The front of a shrub border
- Small gardens
What to plant with forsythia 'Gold Tide'
Plants recorded as good partners for it, and what each pairing does:
- Daffodil: in flower together for two weeks, from mid April.
- Creeping phlox: low enough (6 in) to stand in front of it.
- Siberian squill: blue against yellow, opposite each other on the colour wheel, in flower together for four weeks; low enough (5 in) to stand in front of it.
Questions about forsythia 'Gold Tide'
Does forsythia 'Gold Tide' need sun or shade?
Forsythia 'Gold Tide' grows in full sun (6 or more hours of direct sun a day) and part sun (4 to 6 hours of sun, including some afternoon sun).
It wants ordinary well-drained soil, of average fertility, and little watering once settled.
What zones does forsythia 'Gold Tide' grow in?
USDA zones 5 to 8. It is hardy to zone 5, which means it survives winter nights down to about −10 °F (−23 °C).
Above zone 8 it struggles: the zones measure winter cold, but a plant's top zone usually means the summers are too hot or the winters too mild for it to rest.
Gardening in Canada? Use the USDA zone for your town: Canada's own zone map uses different numbers.
When does forsythia 'Gold Tide' flower in my zone?
In zone 5 it flowers late March to mid April. As a spring flower it moves about a week for every zone: earlier where it is warmer, later where it is colder.
| Zone 5 | Late March to mid April |
|---|---|
| Zone 6 | Late March to mid April |
| Zone 7 | Mid March to early April |
| Zone 8 | Early March to late March |
Worked out from Hopkins' bioclimatic law: spring arrives about four days later for each degree of latitude north, and one zone is roughly two degrees. A warm spring or a cold one moves any garden two weeks either way.
How far apart should forsythia 'Gold Tide' be planted?
3½ ft (100 cm) apart, from the middle of one plant to the middle of the next. That is a little closer than its full width of 4 ft (120 cm), so a group knits into one patch.
It grows 24 in (60 cm) tall. Give it the full distance from anything taller, or it will lean out towards the light.
How many forsythia 'Gold Tide' plants do I need?
At 3½ ft apart, set out in staggered rows:
- 1 to fill 10 square feet (about 1 m²)
- 4 for a single row 10 ft (3 m) long
- 3 to fill a 4 × 8 ft bed on its own
In a mixed border, plant it as threes and fives, along the front and just behind it.
In the bed above, the planner used one in one group.
What flowers after forsythia 'Gold Tide'?
Forsythia 'Gold Tide' is over by mid April. These start as it finishes and carry the same spot on, so it never goes flat:
- Daffodil: from mid April to early May, 16 in tall, to stand in front of it and cover its fading stems (a recorded partner).
- Creeping phlox: from mid April to mid May, 6 in tall, to stand in front of it and cover its fading stems (a recorded partner).
- Tulip: from late April to mid May, 18 in tall, to stand in front of it and cover its fading stems.
What does forsythia 'Gold Tide' look like in winter?
Forsythia 'Gold Tide' drops its leaves and stands as bare branches. That is when to see its shape, and to prune it if it needs pruning.
More Forsythia
- Forsythia Forsythia x intermedia
- Forsythia 'Lynwood' Forsythia x intermedia 'Lynwood'
- Forsythia 'Northern Gold' Forsythia 'Northern Gold'
In these guides
Every fact on record
- Type
- Shrub
- Size
- 24 in (60 cm) tall, 4 ft (120 cm) wide
- Plant
- 3½ ft (100 cm) apart
- Height class
- Medium short (18 to 24 in)
- Place in the bed
- Front
- Flowers
- Late March to mid April; hanging bells; yellow
- Leaves
- Medium texture, deciduous; green
- Shape
- Mounding, clumping
- Hardy in
- USDA zones 5 to 8
- Light
- Full sun, part sun
- Soil
- Average, well-drained
- Water
- Low
- Feeding
- None needed
- Family
- Oleaceae
Not yet checked against an outside reference: its figures rest on general horticultural knowledge. Flowering times are for zone 5: later in colder zones, earlier in warmer ones. Toxicity and spread information is a general gardening guide, not veterinary or medical advice, and invasive status varies by region. If a person or pet eats a plant, contact poison control or a vet. Check your local invasive species list before planting anything with a spread warning.