Any hope for this weeping forsythia?

Question

We are in west central Florida, zone 9a. Several years ago, I brought back some weeping forsythia cuttings from a trip to West Virginia. They struggled with our heat, and “full sun” in our zone is not like “full sun” in WV. I moved them several times and finally found an area with light shade during the heat of the day that they seemed content in, in spite of the “soil” that is actually more like a cross between sand box sand and talcum powder.

Then, for two years in a row, my husband “helped” me by pruning them down to about a foot above the ground, down from about 3 feet at that time, causing several new shoots to appear about a foot from the ground. He was thinking they were the hedge type. Early this spring, I was stunned to see a branch had grown about 9 feet tall, up into the sheltering live oak. Soon, a couple of others followed. I now have a weeping forsythia with 3 long branches climbing up an oak tree, several 2-4 foot branches which have bent over and rooted, sending up new plants, and all of this activity about 2 feet away from the side of the screen room.

Is there anything that I can do for this family keepsake that seems to be doing its level best in spite of everything nature and humans can throw at it? It has become like a faithful dog, always trying hard, and I want to help it look as nice as it can under the circumstances, while remembering the beautiful huge waterfall-like forsythias of my childhood.

Any suggestions greatly appreciated!
Karen

Answer 1

Here is a great article about proper care and growing patterns of Weeping Forsythias.

https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/ornamental/shrubs/forsythia/growing-weeping-forsythia.htm