It is best to prune after flowering. Forsythia is a sturdy plant that can take vigorous prunung so take it down as far as you want to. In order to maintain a healthy plant, remove about a third of the old canes at the ground level. This will keep the center of the plant looking good.
If you don't want to cut it all down at once, I think Caseyem11's idea is the way to go. I did this a while ago on a very over-grown, messy row of forsythia. I didn't want to take it all down to 18" because it provides privacy from a neighbor. So I went to work, cutting out all the oldest, least-productive canes. The following spring, the forsythia bloomed beautifully. Now, each spring I cut out some dead canes, and it keeps the shrubs looking neat when they're not blooming. This also works on a Kerria plant that gets rangy.
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https://www.gardenseaker.com/pruning/pruning-forsythia.htm
I trim mine after it blooms. I have cut mine as low as 18 inches in the fall.
It is best to prune after flowering. Forsythia is a sturdy plant that can take vigorous prunung so take it down as far as you want to. In order to maintain a healthy plant, remove about a third of the old canes at the ground level. This will keep the center of the plant looking good.
If you don't want to cut it all down at once, I think Caseyem11's idea is the way to go. I did this a while ago on a very over-grown, messy row of forsythia. I didn't want to take it all down to 18" because it provides privacy from a neighbor. So I went to work, cutting out all the oldest, least-productive canes. The following spring, the forsythia bloomed beautifully. Now, each spring I cut out some dead canes, and it keeps the shrubs looking neat when they're not blooming. This also works on a Kerria plant that gets rangy.
It needs to be done early in the spring before it blooms or wait until after its done blooming.