Forsythia 'Lynwood'
Forsythia x intermedia 'Lynwood' · Oleaceae Popular
Stiffly upright branches packed from base to tip with large, rich yellow flowers in early spring. Found in a cottage garden in Northern Ireland in 1935.
- Size
- 8 ft tall, 8 ft wide
- Zones
- 5 to 8
- Light
- Full sun to part sun
- Flowers
- Late March to mid April
- Pets
- No toxicity recorded
- Job in a bed
- Anchor
A bed built around forsythia 'Lynwood'
The planner designed this bed around forsythia 'Lynwood' when this page was made: a 22 × 10 ft (6.7 × 3.0 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 'Lynwood' stands where it does.
The plants
- 1 Forsythia 'Lynwood' × 1, yellow
- 2 Cheddar pinks 'Firewitch' × 24, pink
- 3 Leadwort × 27, blue
- 4 Indian grass × 3, tan
- 5 Tatarian aster 'Jindai' × 4, purple
- 6 White mugwort × 4, cream
- 7 Little bluestem × 3, blue-green leaves
- 8 Ohio spiderwort × 8, blue
- 9 Calamint × 3, white
- 10 Carpathian bellflower 'Blue Clips' × 23, blue
- 11 Daffodil × 5, orange
- 12 Grape hyacinth × 13, blue
- 13 Surprise lily × 7, pink
Why this plant
- A classic partner for daffodil and grape hyacinth. All are on this plan. A pairing gardeners have proved outranks a general rule.
- The only bells. The others are dense clusters, plumes, daisies and others. Shape reads at a distance, where colours blur.
- The only yellow.
Why here
- Anchors a back corner. At 8 ft it is the tallest plant here, and the tallest close the ends of the bed, where they stand in front of nothing.
- A step in the back row. Next to Tatarian aster 'Jindai' (4 ft): no two neighbours there are the same height, so the back steps up and down like a skyline.
- 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. For its first two weeks nothing else on the plan is in flower.
Planned as an English border: 18 of the 20 groups (90%) are drifts, longer along the bed than they are deep. Carpathian bellflower 'Blue Clips' stands beside Cheddar pinks 'Firewitch', a proven pairing. The flowering is at its height in late August, with 6 kinds out together.
The planner's own design check: 12 Excellent, 4 Good, 1 Satisfactory. It flags one thing to watch: Nothing on this plan is highly poisonous or an aggressive spreader.
Open this bed in the planner Change its size, the sun or the style, move plants about, or swap one for another.
Where forsythia 'Lynwood' goes in a border
At 8 ft it belongs at the back of a bed. In the planner's ten height classes it is super tall (over 6½ ft).
Its job: anchor. A shrub that gives the bed permanent structure. Planted singly, as soon as the front edge is laid; everything else is arranged around it.
The most reliable, heaviest-flowering forsythia, and the usual choice for a flowering hedge. Prune it straight after flowering by taking out the oldest stems at the base.
- The signal of spring
- Flowering hedges
- Cut branches for forcing
What to plant with forsythia 'Lynwood'
Plants recorded as good partners for it, and what each pairing does:
- Daffodil: in flower together for two weeks, from mid April; low enough (16 in) to stand in front of it.
- Grape hyacinth: low enough (6 in) to stand in front of it.
- Flowering quince: in flower together for four weeks, from late March.
Questions about forsythia 'Lynwood'
Does forsythia 'Lynwood' need sun or shade?
Forsythia 'Lynwood' 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 'Lynwood' 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 'Lynwood' 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 'Lynwood' be planted?
6½ ft (200 cm) apart, from the middle of one plant to the middle of the next. That is a little closer than its full width of 8 ft (250 cm), so a group knits into one patch.
It grows 8 ft (250 cm) tall. Give it the full distance from anything taller, or it will lean out towards the light.
How many forsythia 'Lynwood' plants do I need?
Usually one. At 6½ ft (200 cm) across, it is a plant you place, not one you mass. For a hedge or screen, set them 6½ ft apart: two plants for a 10 ft run.
In the bed above, the planner used one in one group.
Is forsythia 'Lynwood' poisonous to dogs and cats?
No toxicity is recorded for dogs, cats, horses or people, according to NC State Extension.
"Not toxic" is not "edible": a pet that eats a lot of any plant can be sick.
Is there a native plant like forsythia 'Lynwood'?
Forsythia 'Lynwood' is not native to North America. These North American natives come closest to doing its job:
- Flowering currant: the same job in a bed and the same flowering time; 20 in narrower, pink, not yellow.
- Korean rhododendron 'Cornell Pink': the same job in a bed and the same flowering time; 20 in shorter, 2½ ft narrower.
- Carolina allspice: the same job in a bed and the same size; flowers early May to late June, red, not yellow.
Matched the way the planner's Swap button matches plants: the same job in a bed, then size, then flowering time.
Do deer eat forsythia 'Lynwood'?
They may. NC State does not list it as resistant to deer or rabbits. Where they visit, protect it, or plant it among ones they avoid.
What flowers after forsythia 'Lynwood'?
Forsythia 'Lynwood' 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).
- Grape hyacinth: from mid April to early May, 6 in tall, to stand in front of it and cover its fading stems (a recorded partner).
- Northern Lights azalea: from mid May to early June, 5 ft tall, to stand in front of it and cover its fading stems.
What does forsythia 'Lynwood' look like in winter?
Forsythia 'Lynwood' 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 'Gold Tide' Forsythia 'Courtasol' (Gold Tide)
- Forsythia 'Northern Gold' Forsythia 'Northern Gold'
In these guides
Every fact on record
- Type
- Shrub
- Size
- 8 ft (250 cm) tall, 8 ft (250 cm) wide
- Plant
- 6½ ft (200 cm) apart
- Height class
- Super tall (over 6½ ft)
- Place in the bed
- Back
- Flowers
- Late March to mid April; hanging bells; yellow
- Leaves
- Medium texture, deciduous; green
- Shape
- Upright, clumping
- Hardy in
- USDA zones 5 to 8
- Light
- Full sun, part sun
- Soil
- Average, well-drained
- Water
- Low
- Feeding
- None needed
- Family
- Oleaceae
- Stands up to
- Salt, poor soil, pollution
Checked against NC State Extension. 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.