Anyone in CO having their forsythias blooming?

I'm getting way too antsy for spring to show up. I know I can't do anything as far as pruning or planting yet, until the forsythias bloom (ie: "Do not prune until the forsythias bloom"). Mine's still just sitting there like a lump. Anyone having any luck with their forsythias yet? I know springs here because, when I was watering yesterday, I disturbed a new anthill. GAH! I hate ants... they totally creep me out.

I don't have forsythias in my garden, but I've seen some just starting to bloom in other gardens. I don't keep good notes, but it seems to me that things are much later this year than most years. I've been cleaning up perennials and pruning the sub-shrubs that put out new growth every year -- Russian sage, Salvia greggii, blue-mist spirea, agastache, artemisias, etc. I'm hesitant to pull away all the leaf mulch bc I'm expecting more spring snow, but I think cutting back and pruning is safe now.

You trim your russian sage? I thought you weren't supposed to do that. Mine's like 5'+ tall... I wanted it a little more manageable, but I read that you weren't supposed to trim it back.

Oh yeah, whack it down to about 6-8" above ground level -- basically where it starts to branch. Same with the other sub-shrubs. I do every year, and get plenty of new growth no problem. If you don't it gets raggedy at the bottom.

I see you live in Parker -- do you go to the DBG spring sale? want to meet up with us Denverites? We meet at opening time Saturday at the gate. But be warned -- we encourage each other to buy things ;-)

This message was edited Apr 6, 2010 4:22 PM

Is it this Saturday? The next 2 Saturdays are taken.. this Saturday I'm going to set up at the flea market & next Saturday I'm going to the RMSA Cage & Stuff Auction (I do birds as well). And I honestly don't need that much encouragement to buy things! LOL!

I think Trisha is right about things being later this year. I have notes from last year that say my forsythia opened the week of March 15. Just this week I finally am seeing buds, will still be a bit before they open.
Also my notes say that my clematis were showing growth...nada yet this year. I'm getting antsy like you skiel!

I see forsythias blooming all over capitol hill, but just barely starting on our side of the highway/river in west highland (we're about 200' higher than cap hill).

DBG plant sale is May 7 & 8. We're getting together on the 8th. http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/1077140/

I can make it the 8th.. the 7th interferes with work (I *do* have to work to earn money for my gardening habits! :D ). Yay!

Haven't seen any Forsythias blooming in West Glenwood Springs or the Roaring Fork Valley, but I saw the first of the buzzards which is a sure sign of Spring!

The Glory of the Snow have been up for two weeks and the onions in the refrigerator have sprouted, what better signs do you need?

LOL

Sonny

This message was edited Apr 7, 2010 5:24 PM

You got buzzards? Haven't seen any yet.. and they definitely are a sign of spring. My chickadees are already gone (they only hang out for like 2-3 weeks) but my goldfinches are in! :)

And my onions sprout year round in the fridge. :D

Mine started blooming the last week of March and have been in full bloom since the first week of April.

I bought a forsythia yesterday. Every spring when I see them blooming I say I want one but I talk myself out of it. I thought about asking my neighbor for a cutting when I realized she had them in her back yard - but it's too late, they're already blooming, so I gave in & bought one. Instant gratification :o)!

OK, I think it's just my particular forsythia that isn't blossoming. I saw a nice hedge of them like 6 blocks away yesterday in full bloom, so I went ahead and started my rose pruning. I just need to realize that my poor forsythia isn't destined to be a pretty plant and find it a new location. I hate the front 6' of my front yard.. half is always under water or has very very very wet feet and the other half is harder to dig than concrete.

Nice to have one, lisabees. I don't worry about buying plants. Some people seem to have a great deal of angst about paying $5 for a plant when they could spend $2 on base materials and lots of time to propogate their own. For me, the $3 difference doesn't pay for much of my time if I'm not having fun with it.

No, my house faces north, but it slopes towards the street. The water builds up at the end of the yard (or beginning of the yard, depending on your perspective) near the curb. That's the lowest point on the yard and my neighbors.. well, I *swear* they have a busted pipe or something. I should NOT be seeing water if I dig down 12"!!, especially on a upper part of a slope! Anyways, it's also right next to the Comcast cable box which I cannot get moved. If you follow the fence in the included picture, the section under question is on the bottom left of the picture. You can see the grade of the land and it would take way too much energy for me to bring in 10+ tons of topsoil to try & raise that area. I'm thinking of making it just a rock zen garden.

That is in the drainage path for water. I wouldn't expect it to stay wet ALL the time. Maybe you are right about there being a water leak. If it is just wet, perhaps you could grow Asparagus there.

Looks like a logical place for a broken service line. It is that time of the year when leaks surface.

If you look between the split rail fence and your stepping stones you will notice an elongated depression heading from the street to the houses. This is probably where they buried all the underground utilities including your water line(s).

Skiekitty check your dmail.

Sonny

This message was edited Apr 14, 2010 5:22 PM

Forsythia blooms on last year's wood growing out of OLDER wood. If you have a Forsythia die-or-get-cut-back to the ground, you will loose the blossoms for two years, and it will probably only bloom lightly the 3rd. You need a little 3 year old wood at the base of the bush.
My forsythia is past peak - my mother's is just peaking. The fruit trees are behaving similarly. This is backwards from normal - her yard is usually two weeks ahead of mine. Weird winter?

Well, my crabapples and the neighbors haven't even thought about blooming yet. My aspen "fuzzied wormed" out (you know, those little fuzzy wormie like thingies.. I think it's aspen flowers), but still no leaves on it. Everything's just holding it's breath for something.. I don't know what. This is a 3rd year forsythia.. I had a few little flowers last year, but nothing exciting. I'm thinking that it's the location. My delphiniums are finally starting to go, my mums are up, I have a few grape hyacinths starting to bud out and 1 little tulip starting to bring forth a flower (exciting for me.. I have no idea what it'll look like as I planted them like 4 years ago and 99% of them rotted :( ). All of my roses that made this horrid winter are putting forth itsy bitsy leaves or leafbuds (I call them pimples). The lilacs are just starting to swell with flowers... this whole spring has been on the backburner for so long, I don't know if the plants know that winter's over! The birds do.. I've had tons and tons of goldfinches now. :) :) :)

Skiekitty, I'm jealous of your goldfinches! I hardly ever see them here & I'm not so far from Parker :o(. We do have lots of the little red headed house finches at our feeders though. My Spring snow crab-apple is fat with buds, I'm hoping it'll bloom while my in-laws are visiting next week. Last year the buds all froze and we got practically NO blossoms on it at all.

My plants know it"s spring, they've really started to take off with all the warm days we've had lately. I posted some of the progress on the favorite flowers thread, http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/1082146/#new but maybe this is a better place for it. My hostas & lilies have broken ground and are really starting to shoot up & the hellebores that sat apparently lifeless for so long have new leaves! And right now it's almost raining! Yay!

Yay, Lisabees! We seem to be quite a bit behind everyone... then again we got snow again last Monday. It didn't last though, thank goodness! Two of my clematis are starting to grow, lots of tulips leaves (no buds yet), periwinkle is growing and blooming!!! One bleeding heart is getting started, one is not.Some astilbes and one fern coming up in the shade garden, and both hydrangeas have new growth! We cleaned up the shade garden today, fixed a lot of broken things and raked up 11 bags of leaves, cleaned the lawn furniture and put the cushions back on. We can sit out there now! Hooray! I hope a lot of the shade perenials that I planted last year do a bit more this year... this 1st year sleep, 2nd year creep has me anxious for the 3rd year leap! Alas, it is only the 2nd year, yet I'm optimistic! We don't have any forsythia, and the lilacs are a ways out yet. But it was warm enough for a T-shirt outside today!

Brenda

Yay!

I talked to Leo Jammaron, (He who has been farming and ranching in the valley for 70? years. Leo says everything is two weeks behind.

Saw my first forsythia this past week, feral apricots are in full bloom, the first tullip came out yesterday, daffs are up and going. This is always what I imagined a Rocky Mountain "perfect" Spring should be. Planting some nasturtuims in the wastelands above the rock walls. Just for good cheer I am planting some "Kong" sunflowers hmmm...horse manure and a leaky faucet will work well to raise some eye popping abominations for my neighbors! LOL! ;))

Sonny

Wow, 70 years! I guess he should know the "schedule" by now. And I agree, it has been pretty much a perfect Spring so far (knock on wood).

Sonny, be sure to post pictures of those "eye popping abominations" when ya got 'em!

This will be fun, big HUGE flowers that give the impression you are being stared at! Or so neighbors have told me in the past. I just love them, and so do the birds.

The ones I had in California were 13 feet tall with a 30 inch face. The stalks were 3 inch diameter. Can you say monster?

Sonny

Those must be the same kind that my DH's neighbor had when he was a child in England. He hates sunflowers to this day (been almost 30 years).. say that they give him the heeby-geebies. :D :D :D

Skiekitty,

I'm sorry your DH has a problem with sunflowers. What would that be, Helianthaphobia?

There is something about looking up at flowers that is special!

Sonny

No forsythia blooms yet here. My forsythia is just getting leaves budding.

Lilacs have started blooming, and the apple tree is in full bloom. When I look out my second-floor bathroom window it looks like a snowstorm, just gorgeous! Bleeding heart is in full bloom. It's been magnificent this spring.

I am still way behind you, Trisha. Lilacs aren't even close yet, but I do have some tulips blooming, one of my clematis has buds, and the periwinkle is going gangbusters with lots of blooms!

Brenda

Periwinkle has given me one bloom, my one tulip (I don't even remember planting it.. and why would I plant only 1?) is blossoming, aspen is just barely barely barely starting to unfurl some leaves, forsythia isn't going to bloom this year for some reason (I have a few teeny leaves on it. Almost 100% of everything is STILL waiting, waiting, waiting. But! I just saw a buzzard, so I *know* warm weather is finally gonna show! Now, if only the lilacs would bloom, and my crabapples would finally wake up, I'd be happy. I'd be even MORE happier if my other trees (golden chain, gold rain, autumn purple ash) would actually show some sign of leaves...

Just a quick update... it's thunder snowing and thunder hailing here at the moment. Sigh.

BSavage - Not trying to be mean, but you can keep the snow!!! I don't need any of it! And I really really hope that you don't get much hail, and, with what hail you do have to get, please let it be the teeny stuff that doesn't hurt anything!!!

Thanks for the good wishes, Skiekitty... I don't blame you for not wanting the snow! The good news is this week should be gorgeous... 60 - 70 and sunny every day except maybe a couple of showers on Wednesday. Hooray!!!!!

Well up here in AK we have had a week of sun and very warm days. Shorts and tee shirts for the beginning of the salmon derby. It is supposed to reach in the high 60's today.

about 85 here. Ive been setting out the seedlings during the day for about a week now. I think we are supposed to get colder weather during the week so I probably wont leave them out during the night. Still too early to plant tomatoes and peppers. Oh and Happy Mothers Day to all the moms. :)

Happy Mothers Day from me too! Big winds here, but warm. We got our hanging baskets today, had them out for about 2 hours, and then I decided the wind was beating the crap out of them, so I brought them in. They will be coddled for another three weeks or so...