Next door prune heavily. Where their shrubs overhang the fence I try to leave them to do their own thing. This year the arching stems of the forsythia (not my favourite anyway let alone when shaved!) that I was 'saving' were hacked off in August: I think she thought I couldn't reach them!
There was a forsythia overhanging the garage from next door. It bloomed magnificently on our side every year. We never touched it, too hard to get at. The neighbour cut it hard back on their side and never saw any flowers. Sadly it went when they replaced the fence and realised the root was on their side of the fence. To finish the job they poured weedkiller all over it. That killed the jasmine on our side of the fence too.
Thanks to all for the comments and advice. I have in fact cut 1/3 old wood initially, then after 3 years all old wood to the ground level. The plant grows well vigorously from the buds of the pruned younger stems with huge dark green leaves but no flowers. Another new shoot had come up from the ground ( sucker ? ) about 2 feet from the mother plant. I will leave the plant without pruning for another year and see if it flowers. CharlotteF said:
Thinking further, have stems been regularly removed to the base or do you have 16 year old wood at the base? If might be worth removal of a few of the oldest stems over winter to rejuvenate it if that's never been done.
It's worth saying, I think, that if you have pruned this year you will not see flowers until 2023. The flowers form on young wood so if you have cut it back, they cannot form.
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