![]() “Plants are to the gardener what his palette is to the painter.”įarrand’s patrician background and connections-niece of Edith Wharton, darling of Henry James, Revolutionary War ancestors on both sides of the family-probably had something to do with her inclusion in the ASLA, considering her age (26) and gender (landscape design was a male-dominated profession at the time). “A garden, large or small, must be treated in the Impressionist manner,” she once wrote. It is unclear as to whether the plant sold in commerce today as ‘Beatrix Farrand’ is identical to the original cultivar.Famed gardener Beatrix Farrand, a founding member of the 115-year-old American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA), never liked the term “landscape architect.” If anything, the skill of the “landscape gardener,” as she preferred, was closer to that of a painter than a draftsman. Cultivar name honors landscape architect Beatrix Farrand (1872-1959). ![]() ![]() ‘Arnold Giant’ was crossed with several different diploid cultivars including F. This cultivar is the result of crosses performed by Professor Karl Sax at the Arnold Arboretum in the 1940s in which F. Produces long canes that can give the shrub an unbalanced appearance. Single, axillary, broad-petaled, golden yellow flowers (to 2” long) in abundant spring bloom. ‘Beatrix Farrand’ is a vigorous, heavy-blooming tetraploid cultivar. The hybrid name intermedia refers to the hybrid characteristics being intermediate between those of the parents. Genus name honors William Forsyth (1737-1804), Scottish superintendent of the Royal Gardens of Kensington Palace and author, among other works, of A Treatise on the Culture and Management of Fruit Trees which in its day was probably the most widely read work on the subject. Growth can be rampant, often requiring occasional rejuvenation pruning. Fall foliage color is typically an ordinary yellow-green, but sometimes purplish. Fruits (small brown capsules) are non-ornamental. Notwithstanding their excellent late winter-early spring bloom, however, these hybrid shrubs are often described as one-season wonders which somewhat fade into the landscape after bloom. viridissima), with × intermedia referring to the hybrid characteristics being intermediate between those of the parents. These shrubs are hybrids between weeping forsythia ( F. This shrub is sometimes referred to as the harbinger of spring or the ultimate symbol of spring because the flowers brighten the landscape at a time when not much else is in bloom. Flowers bloom before, or in some cases simultaneous to, the emergence of the new foliage. Shrubs are primarily noted for their brilliant, 4-lobed, often abundant golden flowers (each to 1 1/2” long) which typically bloom in clusters of 2-6 along the branches in late winter to early spring (February-March in Atlanta but March-early April in St. Most cultivars mature to 6-10’ tall spreading to as much as 12’ wide, but some compact cultivars rise to only 30” tall. Cultivars are primarily propagated by rooted stem cuttings.įorsythia × intermedia, commonly known as border forsythia, is a deciduous hybrid shrub with upright-arching to spreading, often square-stemmed branches clad with ovate to lanceolate medium to dark green leaves (to 3-5” long and to 1” wide) which have toothed margins in the upper 1/2. Shrubs have good tolerance for urban conditions. ![]() A wide range of pruning options exists for 6-10’ tall hybrids, one option being (a) an annual post-flowering removal of old wood combined with cosmetic shaping of the shrub, and (b) a major cut back of stems to almost ground level every 3-4 years for rejuvenation. Development of unkempt growth often occurs if shrubs are not regularly pruned immediately after spring flowering (pruning done after mid-July will remove flower buds for the following spring). Flower buds are typically lost when winter temperatures fall below -5 degrees F. Shrubs are vegetatively winter hardy to USDA Zones 5-8, but may not always flower well in Zone 5 because of harsh winter temperatures or late winter freezes of unopened flowers. Moderate drought tolerance once established. Tolerates relatively poor and clayey soils. Easily grown in loose, medium moisture, well-drained soils in full sun to part shade. ![]()
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