Forsythia mandshurica

The forsythias attract deserved attention when they flower brilliantly in spring. In addition to the old favourites, the Korean forsythia (F. ovata) and the variety F. ‘Northern Gold’, the extremely promising F. mandshurica deserves attention. It is native to a small area of north-east China and has held elite plant status in Sweden for years, while in America it is considered one of the hardiest of the genus. It has long been grown in Finland, too, but has been limited to a few collections.

The yellow flowers are larger than most of the other forsythias and appear earlier, at Mustila as early as the beginning of May. The leaves are also slightly rounder and larger than in other forsythias. In autumn they turn yellow-orange or even wine-red. The shrub is erect in habit but only grows to about one metre high, though it spreads widely from root suckers.