Forsythia's magic: First to bloom, first to lift us from our winter gloom

ROCHESTER — Don't let that chill in the air fool you. Spring has sprung, and the best indication are the area's many forsythia bushes that are already well ahead of their blooming schedule.

The forsythias are usually the first spring flower to bloom, and this year is no different. In fact, some gardening enthusiasts feel this spring is one of the best for forsythias in recent memory.

"This is a very good year," said Henry Homeyer, UNH Cooperative Extension Master Gardner and author of several books on gardening including "New Hampshire Gardener's Companion." "Even if you have an old-time forsythia plant, it's probably looking pretty good."

There's lots to like about the forsythia bush, according to Jeffrey Meulenbroek of Studley's Florist and Gardening Center.

"They do very well around here," he said. "They're easy to care for. They're adaptable to a wide variety of soil types."

"It's an early spring flower, one of the first things that come up every year," said Homeyer. "It's bright, yellow and cheerful."

Meulenbroek believes forsythias are among the most popular flowers in the area because they represent the rebirth that comes along with a new, warmer season.

"It's that first flash of golden spring color," he said. "The length of the bloom time is typically dependent on weather. The cooler it is, the longer it will be in bloom. Usually we get two to three weeks."

When Meulenbroek took out his overwinter forsythia containers this year they were already budded and started to bloom within a matter of days.

Meulenbroek sells several varieties of the forsythia at his store, including a new brand called "Show Off" that is much more compact than the usual unwieldy forsythias.

"It only grows to three to six feet, as opposed to the types that are eight to 12 feet that will swallow your house," he said.

Like with most bushes and plants, the location of the forsythia is the major factor in how much it will grow.

The forsythia (named after 18th-century Scottish horticulturist William Forsyth) might be ubiquitous in New England now, but according to Diana Wells' book "100 Flowers and How They Got Their Names," the forsythia bush didn't arrive in North America until 1842, when plant explorer Robert Fortune brought it over from China.

The University of Oxford's information website on forsythia says there are around 11 species of forsythia, with most of them originating from eastern China and one from Europe.

New Hampshire has its own history with the forsythia plants. Homeyer said the variety known as New Hampshire Gold was developed and created by the late Paul Joly, a gardener from Cornish. Joly made New Hampshire Gold as a hybridization of forsythias that would be hardy in the coldest of cold N.H. winters.

"It's hardy in temperatures as low as 25 to 30 below," Homeyer said.

No matter the variety, the beloved flower is a gift that keeps on giving for gardeners.

"Once people get spring fever they come out, and forsythias are one of the first things they look for, because of its color," said Meulenbroek. "I do sell them throughout the summer, and I carry it year-round. It's a plant everybody knows."