Forsythia is very hardy. I'd go ahead and plant them and mulch them well. Make sure to keep them watered a couple of times a week for a month, until they get settled in and grow some feeder and tap roots, then they should be fine.

well.. you found out how easy it is to succeed ...

you could have just stuck the cuttings in the ground.. and have a very high success rate..

so on that logic.. just plant them ...

and worse comes to worse.. start some new ones next spring ...

did you know.. that the flowers are already set on older plants.. and you can take cutting in feb or so.. and bring the bare sticks in.. and they will flower in the house ... and then root

just plant them.. ken

ps: since we tend to learn most form experimenting.. and you have a lot of them.. keep two in pots.. and try storing them.. and see what happens ....

Thanks so much for the response. I like the idea of keeping some in the pots and planting the others. If I keep them in pots should I keep them inside or leave them somewhere outside? I'm thinking next to the house maybe they have better protection. Or in the garage would they need extra lighting? I took a whole bunch of cuttings and these were the only ones that made it so I would prefer them not to die plus lose all that time and care I've invested in them. Of course this was a first attempt so maybe next time would be better. Is now a good time to take cuttings so they would be ready for spring?

In your zone, these are TOTALLY hardy - leave them outdoors.

the only caveat .. in my world.. is dark pots in sun in winter.. they can warm so much.. that the plant breaks dormancy ... and then it gets cold again ... if that happens too often.. plants die .. nothing specific to your specific plants ...

so .. my only recommendation is somewhere where the sun will never hit the pot.. which at my house.. is the north side of a structure ...

dry winter winds are also a problem for me ... so one might contemplate such ... but i dont know if that is an issue for you .. all the moisture up here in the great white north.. is locked up in snow and ice .... you may have to deal with rain.. more than the frozen stuff ...

and finally.. in my zone.. the pots freeze solid.. and if water accumulates ... it can cause the roots to freeze into an ice cube.. and that is bad as they need air also .. so we tip the pots on their sides.. to avoid such .. again.. i dont know if your pots freeze [i doubt it] .... or if this need be done ... but you need to think about drowning dormant roots .. which leads to root rots ...

i am just listing the variables i know to be important ...

good luck ...

ken

ps: i think you are going to be hard pressed how to figure out how to kill them.. lol ...

Thanks once again for all the advice. I'm glad to hear that forsythia is hard to kill! I'm just new at this so want to make sure that I give them a good chance of making it to the spring.