Question
Hi,

I have a couple of rather large forsythia bushes along the border of my yard that for the last few years have nearly ceased blooming.  They are in full sunshine but only produce sparse blooms.  Do you think that pruning them would help?  They haven't been pruned in ages.

What is the best time to prune forsythia (I want to cut them back anyway because the stalks get in my way when I cut the lawn)?

Answer
Forsythias flower from the previous season's growth, and not on new growth.  Therefore, pruning should be done immediately AFTER this year's flowers have faded.  Sounds like your particular Forsythia is drastically overgrown from years of neglect, and has stopped blooming altogether.

So, one drastic step is to cut the entire plant to the ground (leave about 2 ?3 inches of stems).  It may take a few years before you'll see blooms again, but your shrub will come back, better than ever!  Once restored to its former glory, each year, you should prune back about one fourth of the oldest stems to within 4 inches of the ground.  

If you simply cannot wait, then plant new ones.  They'll do O.K. when planted any time of year, but do best when planted during the winter dormant season.  Forsythias like an annual fertilization, applied in early Spring ?February to May, is best.  

Hope it looks great in a few years!!