so much for size descriptions.. lol ...

and you are supposing.. the plant actually matches the tag... which is usually questionable ...

google: rejuvenation pruning of flowering shrubs ...

after bloom.. cut it down..near the ground ...

you can root it rather easily ...

all plants have an annual growth rate.. and the way this one spiked... and grew taller than the description in one season ...... makes me think it is not the named plant ..

get rid of it... if it doesnt please you [which makes me wonder why you would want to root it... lol) ...

frankly.. i have never met a forsythia that ever stopped growing.. they just keep piling on top of themselves ..... until sooner or later.. they are bigger than the house...

therefore... its all about aggressive rejuvenation pruning....

good luck

ken

Small new specimen like this should not be rejuvenated - it's already juvenile. Forsythias are cane growers like roses and lilacs etc., which grow by sending up new canes from the bud head near the base. If the one stem is too long for you tip it back a bit, keeping in mind that such pruning takes away the natural shape of the plant. With forsythias that have not been selected for dwarf, stubby growth habits much of the appeal is in the fountain of arching branches the shrub eventually becomes - if not headed back into something less interesting and attractive, like a yellow ball.

I'm a bit surprised by the responses talking abour rejuvenation and cutting everything to ground...

I was only asking about ONE branch or sucker which is obviously growing very abnormally long compared to the many other branches of the plant. I haven't heard anyone comment if the center one could be a sucker and hence should be cut to ground or is just a branch growing oddly big and can just be cut the length of the other many branches. That's the info I was after...

Cane growers sending up new canes in leaps is normal for them, except where they are abnormally compact dwarf cultivars. Non-bedding type roses, cane berries, elderberries, mock oranges, kolkwitzia, abelia, on and on - they all grow like this. With climbing roses the newest canes are so long the plants can hoist themselves up into taller plants or onto other supports including buildings, where there is something for the thorns to hook into.

Forsythias will also do the same thing, when situated where there is a taller plant above them and they want more light.

This post was edited by bboy on Sat, Mar 15, 14 at 4:38

The reason some of your branches are shorter is that they were probably already pruned back, and that is why they bend. You have three straight branches or canes, and those are really how the plant should develop, if you want a graceful, natural-looking plant.

I like the natural look, so if I were to cut anything back after flowering it would probably be the bent canes--but I wouldn't,this year, because the plant is still so small.

Instead, I would wait a few years until the plant begins to form new branches or canes from the base, and then eliminate any bent ones where that does not destroy the balance or look of the plant for you.
If you cut any branches to force flowers indoors, that is also a good time to shape your plant to your liking, but I also would wait a few years to do that in order not to stunt the plant's growth.

Forsythia buds and blossoms have some herbal uses you might find it interesting to Google.

I wouldn't have thought this plant would be grafted so I'm thinking you don't have a Gold Tide.

You could completely cut it out and see what the plant does but overall that form just isn't looking like a Gold Tide.

I had a dwarf form of Forsythia and it grew much larger than advertised. I new I had the right form due to the variegated foliage. With that said many shrubs are a crock for what sizes they list.

I was going to try a Sugar Baby with the assumption it will reach 4' (which is still quite compact for a forsythia) vs 18-30".

By the way that looks like a branch. A sucker is a shoot that grows from the roots or from a bud at the base of the plants...which as mentioned prior are canes.

I'm a bit surprised by the responses talking about rejuvenation and cutting everything to ground...

===>>> perhaps you and bboy misunderstood my point ... EDIT: which means i failed at communicating such ...

yes.. deal with this one branch now.. however you wish ... half back.. all back.. root it.. whatever ...

but over the next 3 to 5 to 7 years ... if you have any inclination.. or need to keep it within the description size.. THAT APPARENTLY YOU NEEDED SINCE YOU BOUGHT IT BASED ON SUCH.... well then you will have to be proactive on keeping the plant young.. rejuvenated ...

forsythia roots in a glass of water.. i simply can not comprehend.. someone spending lots of money and time .. to graft such ... but who knows ..

good luck!!!!!

ken

This post was edited by ken_adrian on Sat, Mar 15, 14 at 9:05

Thanks for the advice. As I originally stated it has been in ground for a few years so in a lot of ways is acting like a dwarf except for this one cane shooting up super high. Who knows, maybe it was just slow to establish and now the rest of the canes will take off. I have not pruned it since I bought it and all canes were small when I bought it a few years ago.

Nothing abnormal about growth shown in photo at all. As the newer, taller canes is how shrubs of this growth type progress cutting out "suckers" is counterproductive - the part you get rid of over time is the older, twiggy and shorter canes. Ones that have become enfeebled and not growing or flowering well are the ones to choose for elimination.

bboy: did you even read my post re: your comment "nothing abnormal about growth"? I state that tall branch is over 2', the specs for this variety named Gold Tide state 2' tall x 4' wide, this specimen is already taller than the specs say yet not wide at all. It's understood Forsythias will often get larger than their stated specs but you would expect that to be somewhat proportional to their specs re: this variety supposed to be MUCH wider than tall. So either mis-labelled plant or abnormal growth.

Behavior so far just means it's not going to stay that short for very long on your site.

Very unlikely to be grafted.

And you can see by the structure of the shoot that it is the same variety as the rest of the shrub anyway.

Growth sizes given by commercial sources are frequently understatements and always representative rather than all inclusive. Catalogs are full of tall tree cultivars that somehow all grow only 20 or 30 ft. tall, as well as dwarf shrubs that conveniently manage to remain frozen at 1 or 2 ft. high - yet remain attractive and alive.

This post was edited by bboy on Sun, Mar 16, 14 at 22:16

Hi this is second year I've tried to research this same issue. My situation is same as the originator of this thread. These look like suckers and dramatically taller than the base plant which has no shape yet and dwarf like. I didn't get info on google or blogs so last year all five suckers were pruned to the ground. Mine and her plants are immature so not sure why suckering general knowledge is not associated with forsythia. I'm pruning back again this year. Wish I knew if this is correct though. Now looking at my own photo these look like canes.

if your issue is the same as the original ..

then the answers are the same ...

why would we need to repeat them???

a sucker is a new shoot from the root system ... period ... OP had that wrong.. and it was never corrected ..

next time start your own post ... its the preferred method ... besides.. we can argue it all over again.. not having the old answers here.. lol ...

ken

FYI last year I cut the ONE tall cane off and over a year later and the Forsythia is compact, everything the same height, no new tall canes have grown.

No need for such comments Ken. No one wants to cultivate suckers. They are not shoots either. They look entirely different and rule of thumb is to get rid of them. They are easy to spot especially if they are outside the root. It's to wet and still raining and I don't care anymore.

Thanks UK. As mentioned I cut back last year so okay maybe they are canes maybe not. I'm thinking I will tip them off. Think someone gave that advice earlier last year. lol.

Marsha - maybe our definitions of what a sucker is are different. But in my opinion the long tall growth on your Forsythia, whilst maybe different in growth habit from the current branches, is not a sucker. It is normal for Forsythias to throw up these kinds of branches/shoots. Later they branch out and become 'normal' looking. Cutting the shrub back last year may actually have precipitated these long growths. 'Rule of thumb' is precisely that and doesn't apply to every species under every circumstance. But you must treat your shrub as you wish. They are tough as old boots and it's hard to do much damage to them.