Gold Tide Forsythia
Forsythia x intermedia ‘Courtasol’ · a low spreading forsythia
A low, spreading forsythia that covers banks and slopes with lemon-yellow flowers in early spring, a flowering groundcover where taller forsythias would sprawl. In the coldest part of its range a hard winter can kill the flower buds. Prune right after bloom.
- Mature size
- 2 × 4 ft
- 0.6 × 1.2 m, tall × wide
- Hardiness
- Zones 5b–8b
- USDA
- Sun
- Full sun to part shade
- Water
- Medium
- Blooms
- Mar–Apr
Gold Tide Forsythia at its mature size
A mature Gold Tide Forsythia grows 1 to 3 feet tall and 3 to 5 feet wide.
Drawn to scale beside a 5 ft 9 in person. With VeraScape, you see it at this size in your own yard.
Typical mature size, unpruned. Sources: Purdue Arboretum, Clemson Extension, rhs.org.uk, plants.lurveys.com.
Through the year
What Gold Tide Forsythia looks like month by month in a typical zone 6–7 garden.
Dormant · Dec–Feb
A low, spreading mat of bare arching tan-brown stems.
In flower · Mar–Apr
Low, spreading leafless stems covered in lemon-yellow bell flowers.
In leaf · May–Oct
A low, spreading mound of rich dark green lance leaves.
Fall · Nov
Leaves still mostly green, some yellow-green or faintly purple-tinged.
Growing Gold Tide Forsythia
- Grows well in
- The Northeast, the Southeast, the Midwest, the Plains and Mountain West, and the Pacific Northwest.
- Growth rate
- Fast
- Good for
- Small space, foundation planting, slopes, and fast growing
- Leaves
- Drops its leaves in winter
- Native to
- Garden hybrid
Spacing
VeraScape spaces plants so their grown canopies just touch. For Gold Tide Forsythia, that’s about 4 ft apart, center to center.
Place a row in your own yard and VeraScape spaces them at their mature width, so you can see whether they’ll crowd the walk.
See Gold Tide Forsythia in your yard before you dig
Visualize it at its true size, alongside the rest of your design.
Other forsythias
Gold Tide Forsythia
Show Off Starlet Forsythia
Show Off Forsythia
Border ForsythiaAll drawn to the same scale.