Have you ever wondered about the bundles of bamboo stems you see for sale just about everywhere, from novelty stores to warehouse clubs?They’re called “lucky bamboo,” and despite their ubiquitous presen
07.06.2023 - 09:34 / gardenerspath.com / Nan Schiller
How to Grow and Care for Forsythia Forsythia spp.The Forsythia genus is a group of plants in the Oleaceae, or olive family. It includes 11 species of deciduous woody shrubs that bear bold yellow flowers in early spring.
Suited to gardeners in USDA Hardiness Zones 5 to 8, these plants are fast-growing and range in height from 12 inches to 10 feet tall.
In this article, you’ll learn how to cultivate and maintain forsythia in your outdoor living space.
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Here’s what’s in store:
Let’s find out how this ornamental shrub made its way to the American garden.
Cultivation and HistoryThe history of forsythia as outlined by members of Harvard University’s Arnold Arboretum reveals popularity among gardeners progressing through Japan, China, Europe, and Korea, before becoming a botanical attraction and finally a garden staple in the United States.
Here in the Northeast where I live, it has naturalized to the point where many folks presume it is a native species.
In the late 1700s, a Dutch expedition of plant collectors travelled to Japan. One was Carl Thunberg, a student of the prominent Swedish botanist and taxonomist, Carl Linnaeus.
He brought back a shrub with arching branches and yellow flowers that was thought to be a lilac, and classified it as Syringa suspensa.
In the 1800s, it was decided that the plant was not actually a lilac, and the Forsythia genus was created.
The new species was called Forsythia suspensa, in honor of William Forsythe, a Scottish botanist who was a founding member of the Royal Horticultural Society, and Director of the Royal Garden at Kensington.
Dutch cultivation continued into the mid-1800s, when
Have you ever wondered about the bundles of bamboo stems you see for sale just about everywhere, from novelty stores to warehouse clubs?They’re called “lucky bamboo,” and despite their ubiquitous presen
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