Forsythia for mulch?

Good Afternoon,

I have a significant sized hedge of forsythia that needs thinning and I'm trying to figure out the best way to utilize it.

I have for years added it to brush piles near my property line along with hardwood branches but it takes up a large volume of space.

Would I be wasting my time if I shred/chipped the thinned branches to utilize it as plant mulch? I assume it would break down quicker than a proper hardwood and that is not a concern. Maybe I can use the mulch to help mushroom spawn grow. I'm trying to think of all avenues and try not to miss anything that might be obviously staring me in the face.

Let me know your thoughts.

Should work fine.  Observe how it breaks down and what life develops under it. That is the permaculture process: implement, observe, adjust or adapt and implement again.

I put forsythia cuttings in my garden bed, they break down same as other twigs.

Yes it would make fine mulch! I have a dearth of biomass around here so I snip up all my thinner prunings and use them for mulch in the garden. Works fine.

I have far more forsythia than anyone should have to cope with.  (Do you watch how it reproduces?  Tip layering.  When the branch tips reach the ground, they take root.  My "hedge" is at least 20 feet wide.  Ugh.)

I've been hacking it up and adding it to the compost pile. I have  to much green (this time of year) so I probably should wait, but it also adds air space, so I think that is probably a good thing.

Mulch is a good idea!  I have used the branches whole under where I've trimmed the bushes, hoping it discourages further tip layering.  Also, I have 2 piles of wood chips, so I don't need to make mulch from them.  But a good idea!

Tim I don’t know what you do for money buddy but, that plant roots so easy and a 1 gallon forsythia sells for $20 if you got a wet spot on the property plug some in pots and get your hustle on!

If you have some cool job and no time just mulch that weed flower in. I’ve repeated tried cutting mine to death… always always always comes back. I hit the stump with an ax in a last attempt… next year came right back smiling with double birds flying my way. Lol

I wanted to circle back to this thread.

Forsythia is indeed a fantastic candidate to turn into mulch. It snaps easily by hand so you can trim up larger pieces and it feeds well into a wood chipper. The resulting chip is light, I kind of expect it to 'chew down' pretty quick when it is exposed to nature. I'm going to experiment with Winecaps in this material and hope to get a flush!