Forsythia 'Northern Gold'
Forsythia 'Northern Gold' · Oleaceae
An upright forsythia bred in Ottawa, with golden-yellow flowers whose buds survive winters of minus 35 degrees.
- Size
- 7 ft tall, 6½ ft wide
- Zones
- 3 to 8
- Light
- Full sun
- Flowers
- Early April to late April
- Pets
- Not checked
- Job in a bed
- Anchor
A bed built around forsythia 'Northern Gold'
The planner designed this bed around forsythia 'Northern Gold' 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 'Northern Gold' stands where it does.
The plants
- 1 Forsythia 'Northern Gold' × 1, yellow
- 2 Striped bloody cranesbill × 11, pink
- 3 Common thyme × 11, lavender
- 4 Big bluestem × 3, purple
- 5 Stiff goldenrod × 8, yellow
- 6 White mugwort × 4, cream
- 7 Little bluestem × 5, blue-green leaves
- 8 Speedwell 'Royal Candles' × 11, blue
- 9 Gloriosa daisy × 8, yellow
- 10 Winecups × 4, purple
- 11 Ornamental onion 'Purple Sensation' × 6, purple
- 12 Tulip 'Ballerina' × 8, orange
- 13 Surprise lily × 8, pink
Why this plant
- The only bells. The others are open bowls, dense clusters, airy sprays and others. Shape reads at a distance, where colours blur.
- Part of the bed's structure. Shrubs and grasses keep their shape when the perennials die down. So do big bluestem and little bluestem.
Why here
- Anchors a back corner. At 7 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 stiff goldenrod (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 early April to late April.
- Opens the season. In all that time nothing else on the plan is in flower.
Planned as an English border: 13 of the 16 groups (81%) are drifts, longer along the bed than they are deep. The bed is balanced: the left half carries 51% of the visual weight and the right half 49%. Gloriosa daisy stands beside little bluestem, a proven pairing.
The planner's own design check: 14 Excellent, 2 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 'Northern Gold' goes in a border
At 7 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.
In cold regions ordinary forsythias flower only below the snow line. This one flowers to the tips. The choice for zones 3 and 4.
- Forsythia for cold climates
- Hedges and screens
- Early spring colour
What to plant with forsythia 'Northern Gold'
Plants recorded as good partners for it, and what each pairing does:
- Siberian squill: blue against yellow, opposite each other on the colour wheel, in flower together for three weeks; low enough (5 in) to stand in front of it.
- Daffodil: in flower together for three weeks, from mid April; low enough (16 in) to stand in front of it.
- Common lilac: takes over when it finishes, flowering from early May.
Questions about forsythia 'Northern Gold'
Does forsythia 'Northern Gold' need sun or shade?
Forsythia 'Northern Gold' grows in full sun (6 or more hours of direct sun a day).
It wants ordinary well-drained soil, of average fertility, and little watering once settled.
What zones does forsythia 'Northern Gold' grow in?
USDA zones 3 to 8. It is hardy to zone 3, which means it survives winter nights down to about −30 °F (−34 °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 'Northern Gold' flower in my zone?
In zone 5 it flowers early April to late April. As a spring flower it moves about a week for every zone: earlier where it is warmer, later where it is colder.
| Zone 3 | Mid April to early May |
|---|---|
| Zone 4 | Mid April to early May |
| Zone 5 | Early April to late April |
| Zone 6 | Late March to mid April |
| Zone 7 | Late March to mid April |
| Zone 8 | Mid March to early April |
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 'Northern Gold' be planted?
6 ft (180 cm) apart, from the middle of one plant to the middle of the next. That is a little closer than its full width of 6½ ft (200 cm), so a group knits into one patch.
It grows 7 ft (220 cm) tall. Give it the full distance from anything taller, or it will lean out towards the light.
How many forsythia 'Northern Gold' plants do I need?
Usually one. At 6 ft (180 cm) across, it is a plant you place, not one you mass. For a hedge or screen, set them 6 ft apart: two plants for a 10 ft run.
In the bed above, the planner used one in one group.
Is there a native plant like forsythia 'Northern Gold'?
Forsythia 'Northern Gold' 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; 12 in narrower, pink, not yellow.
- Fragrant sumac: the same job in a bed, the same flowering time and the same colour; 2½ ft shorter, 8 in wider.
- Korean rhododendron 'Cornell Pink': the same job in a bed and the same flowering time; 20 in narrower, pink, not yellow.
Matched the way the planner's Swap button matches plants: the same job in a bed, then size, then flowering time.
What flowers after forsythia 'Northern Gold'?
Forsythia 'Northern Gold' is over by late April. These start as it finishes and carry the same spot on, so it never goes flat:
- Common lilac: from early May to late May, 11½ ft tall (a recorded partner).
- Blue false indigo: from late May to mid June, 4 ft tall, to stand in front of it and cover its fading stems.
- 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 'Northern Gold' look like in winter?
Forsythia 'Northern Gold' 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 'Lynwood' Forsythia x intermedia 'Lynwood'
In these guides
Zone guides: Zone 3 · Zone 4 · Zone 5 · Zone 6 · Zone 7 · Zone 8
In flower in: April
Every fact on record
- Type
- Shrub
- Size
- 7 ft (220 cm) tall, 6½ ft (200 cm) wide
- Plant
- 6 ft (180 cm) apart
- Height class
- Super tall (over 6½ ft)
- Place in the bed
- Back
- Flowers
- Early April to late April; hanging bells; yellow
- Leaves
- Medium texture, deciduous; green
- Shape
- Upright, clumping
- Hardy in
- USDA zones 3 to 8
- Light
- Full 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.