When is the best time to prune ornamental shrubs? Pruning ornamental plants: the secrets of a beautiful hedge. What types of pruning are there?
Late autumn is the time for hard work in the garden. It's time to carry out a number of activities that will allow the bushes to show themselves in all their glory next season. These include autumn feeding, pruning and covering. Pruning ornamental shrubs in the fall is a necessary measure for their successful formation and wintering. Autumn pruning is carried out after the end of sap flow, when the leaves on deciduous shrubs have completely fallen off, but before the onset of stable frosts. This time interval is dictated by the basic rule - “do no harm.” If you start earlier, when the bushes have not yet entered the dormant period, then the juice will come out for some time at the cut, thereby weakening the plant. Pruning in frost will not allow the cuts to heal and will leave a “gate” for infection.
The set of tools required for pruning work is quite small. A hacksaw for cutting old thick trunks, garden shears for cutting immature shoots and a gardener’s good assistant in all matters - a pruner with long blades that allows you to grab branches with a diameter of up to two centimeters. Everyone who spends at least a little time caring for their garden has all this simple equipment.
Types of pruning
All types of autumn pruning are conventionally divided into two groups: sanitary And formative. Another type - rejuvenating, performs both functions both to improve the health of the bush and to give it the desired shape. The decorativeness, appearance and intensity of flowering of the garden in the next season depends on the quality and timeliness of the work carried out.
Autumn formative pruning is not permissible for all bushes, but only for summer-flowering ones. By pruning spring-flowering plants in the fall, there is a risk of getting a minimum of decorative value from the bushes in the spring, since they bloom on last year’s shoots. This type includes:
- forsythia;
- mock orange;
- large-leaved hydrangea;
- chaenomeles (Japanese quince);
- weigela;
- vesicular carp;
- three-lobed almonds;
- lilac;
- all white-flowering varieties of spirea (Vangutta, ashen, Nippon, Arguta, Thunberg, etc.);
- Thunberg barberry;
- action;
- bean (steppe almond), etc.
These types of shrubs are subjected to sanitary and anti-aging pruning in the fall, but in no case are they formed. When rejuvenating such bushes, branches older than five years of age are removed, and only those shoots that are clearly thickening the bush.
Formative pruning
The group of shrubs that need not only sanitary, but also formative autumn pruning is no less extensive and requires a very careful approach, since its flowering and decorative appearance next summer largely depend on the timely and competent formation of the crown of the bush. These include:
- tree and paniculate hydrangeas;
- fieldfare;
- Japanese spirea, Bumalda, Macrophylla, Froebel;
- Spiraea paniculata (Billard, Douglas, willow);
- David's buddleia;
- bush cinquefoil ( Kuril tea);
- white derain, etc.
Buddleya- a shrub with the above-ground part dying off in the winter. Therefore, it makes no sense to preserve it in winter. Only the buds on the root collar overwinter. Therefore, buddleia is cut to a height of twenty centimeters for shelter. 
Fieldfare, similar to a large overgrown astilbe, practically does not need to be formed; faded panicles are cut off in the fall, cutting off the shoots to the strongest bud, the cut is made at an angle to avoid moisture accumulation. The pruning height for this shrub is not particularly important, so it is chosen solely based on design considerations.
Derain white- a variegated beauty with an unusual beet-red bark color. The flowering of this shrub is not of particular value; it is completely inconspicuous against the backdrop of gorgeous foliage. Therefore, the turf is cut to form the desired crown. This shrub grows quite quickly; it can grow up to one and a half meters in a season and will not cause much trouble. In the fall, cut out all old branches that are more than five years old. In spring, the bush will send out powerful vertical shoots from the root. If the goal is to get a “shaggy” rounded bush, then in the fall it is recommended to trim the annual growth by two or three buds, which will speed up their lateral branching in the spring. If you plan to admire the bright picturesque branches against the backdrop of snow, then it is better to leave the annual shoots untouched - they have the brightest bark color.
Bush cinquefoil (Kuril tea) in itself has correct form crown, therefore it is subjected to severe pruning only when the bush is deformed (collapsed). During normal development in autumn, unrooted shoots are pruned to a length of up to twenty centimeters, and old and damaged branches are cut out.
Pruning hydrangea
Hydrangeas that need fall pruning include: paniculata And tree-like. These types of hydrangeas bloom on new growth, so formative pruning is carried out in the fall to obtain stable, intense flowering. Taking into account that the flowers of these species are decorative until late autumn, they, as a rule, are not removed until the garden is prepared for winter.
The severity of pruning depends solely on the age of the bush and the desired result. If the hydrangea is no more than five years old, then it does not require rejuvenation. In this case, cutting off the faded inflorescences, they grab the branches to a height of thirty to forty centimeters from the ground level. This allows you to get a massive growth of young shoots in the spring on last year’s strong foundations, which will not allow flexible and long shoots to fall apart under the weight of flower caps. If the bushes are old, they are cut out at ground level, leaving no more than five old branches, cut according to the first scheme. In the spring, young, full-fledged shoots will emerge from the buds dormant on the root collar, which will also bloom.
Shrubs in landscape design have a special place - they maintain a balance between woody and herbaceous...
Spirea pruning
Summer-flowering spireas are pruned in the fall to obtain next season lush, intense flowering plants. Just as for hydrangeas, the cutting height depends on the age of the bush. For bushes older than ten years, it is recommended to prune at the level of the stump to completely renew the skeletal part of the crown. Such a “zero” haircut will not affect flowering in any way. These spirea bloom on the shoots of the current year, so strong young branches grow from dormant buds in the spring, blooming at the right time.
If the bushes are young, they can be thinned out slightly, the oldest branches removed, and the rest shortened to a height of thirty centimeters. With this pruning, shoots in the spring will develop from the lateral buds. After pruning, it is very useful to mulch with peat or humus, this will feed the bush and cover it root system from unwanted hypothermia.
To summarize the above, it should be noted that pruning ornamental shrubs in the fall is not too labor-intensive, but is very important for plants that will certainly reward your love and care with lush flowering in the coming season.
Growing shrub plants on local area, cottage or garden, pay special attention to proper care. Pruning shrubs often goes by the wayside, and in vain. After all, as the bushes grow, they become voluminous and their crowns lose their attractive appearance. Therefore, pruning them is an important agrotechnical measure. It is carried out in compliance with deadlines and taking into account the specifics different types crops Read about this in the article.
How is pruning done?
There are two ways to carry out the procedure:
- Shortening branches.
- Thinning the bush.
Both methods have the same goal - to redistribute nutrients along all branches. This stimulates them to begin to grow intensively. In the process of pruning, the buds become smaller, as a result of which the path from the roots to the leaves is shortened, and the growth of the plant increases.
Branches are shortened when it is necessary to partially remove top part escape. Thanks to this procedure, the thickness of the branches increases, young shoots grow quickly, and the buds develop intensively. Thinning is carried out when all branches need to be removed. This type of pruning of shrubs does not allow them to thicken, preventing the appearance of pests in them and the development of various diseases.
What types of pruning are there?
It depends on what result is expected from this procedure. In general, there are several types of shrub pruning:
- Sanitary.
- Formative.
- Rejuvenating.
To bush for a long time pleased with the lush flowering, lush greenery, beautiful crown, it is important to perform all types of pruning, alternating them depending on the timing.
Sanitary pruning
All shrub plants undergo this procedure. It is held in autumn period. Its main goal is to prevent infectious processes to which plants are exposed and prevent them from rotting. The procedure for pruning shrubs is simple. It is necessary to remove all damaged and broken branches, and to ensure that the crown is well ventilated, it should be thinned out. To do this, some of the immature branches growing inside the bush need to be cut off at a level of two to three centimeters above the bud.
Formative pruning
In the autumn, this procedure is carried out only for blooming in summer bushes. If you cut blooming in spring plants, their decorative quality will significantly deteriorate, since flowers are formed on last year’s shoots. With the help of molding pruning of shrubs, ordinary plants are turned into decorative ones, for which several shoots with great growth vigor are added annually to the key branches.
In some shrubs, the root shoots grow quickly, which makes them too wide, so during formation you need to remove shoots around the perimeter. But you shouldn’t be too zealous, as this can affect the density of the plant’s crown; it will become loose and unsightly. First of all, weak branches coming from the roots are removed. It is also possible to trim strong shoots directed into the bush that interfere with strong branches growing nearby. The most correct thing would be to leave those shoots that will be replaced by sick or old ones in the future.
In shrubs with poor winter hardiness, the formation of dry branches is a common occurrence. They should be removed during pruning. The cut should be made above the level of the second bud from the base. If individual branches have fallen and spoil the decorative appearance of the bush, you need to get rid of them. During wintering, the upper shoots may freeze, although the lying branches are not affected by the frost. In this case, you just need to tie them up and leave them.
Anti-aging pruning
It is carried out on mature shrubs so that their flowering is more luxuriant. Anti-aging pruning is also carried out on plants with an annual growth of less than seven centimeters. This procedure involves shortening old branches. After it, dormant and accessory buds activate their growth. The timing of pruning shrubs is extended over time. This can be done starting from the last month of winter and ending in April, as well as in August and September.
The rejuvenating procedure consists of cutting off the branches by 30% from the very top after the end of the flowering period. To make it even more abundant, remove one, the most old thread in the bush. Shrubs should be rejuvenated once every two years.
Indications for radical rejuvenation
This procedure is necessary if the bush is no longer able to produce both strong and weak shoots. In this case, all branches are cut at the same level with the ground. But if the plant was formed on a rootstock, then the cut is made 10-15 cm above the graft. This is the only way to make the buds activate and produce new growth of shoots. After one or two seasons, weak and poorly placed branches are pruned.
Ornamental shrubs
They are grown for use in landscape design. Pruning of ornamental shrubs is carried out to give them an attractive appearance. The first procedure is carried out during planting, in the spring. The shoots of young seedlings are shortened by 10-15 cm. Three to five buds are left on each. New shoots will grow from them within the first year. During autumn pruning of shrubs, they get rid of broken, diseased, dry shoots and those lying on the ground. If during the first year the growth of the bush was weak, all shoots are cut off at a level of three to five centimeters above the ground.
In the second year of life, the bush forms several powerful branches. In autumn it is necessary to carry out sanitary pruning. The cut must be made at the very base. If necessary, this pruning is repeated in the spring. But it should be carried out until the buds swell and the juice begins to flow.
In the future, when carrying out pruning, it should be remembered that only during the first year of life the branches grow quickly, then the rate of their growth decreases, and by five to six years of life it stops altogether. The formation of the crown of shrubs ends in the fourth or fifth year after planting.
The ratio of shoots on a bush-type plant
Looking at a bush, it is very difficult to determine “by eye” how many and what kind of shoots it has. But it probably won’t hurt to know their age ratio. Each bush has four to five one-year-old branches, three-four two-year-old branches, two or three three-four-five-year-old branches. Old branches that are more than five or six years old are completely removed.
When forming an ornamental shrub, it should be remembered that when removing shoots, their physiological state, strength and direction of growth are taken into account. Therefore, the above ratio can always change, but this does not mean that the bush is formed incorrectly.
Hedge trimming
Appearance Such a structure from a growing shrub depends on how it will be formed during the first year after planting. Gardeners often do not attach importance to this and do not prune plants for several years, leaving this procedure for later.
Without pruning at the beginning of growth, the branches of the bush will stretch upward, and hedge the lower part will be bare. To prevent this from happening, during the first year of the plant’s life, you need to cut out all the shoots at a level of 15 cm above the ground surface. Powerful root layers will begin to grow.
A year later, you need to do the same pruning again, which will help form the crown correctly. If its density is insufficient, severe pruning will be required on next year. In the third year of the bush’s life and in all subsequent years, only cosmetic pruning should be done, since strong basal growth will finally form.
Curly trimming
In landscape design, the most fashionable were once alpine coaster, well-groomed lawns. But time is running, the fashion for landscaping is changing. Currently, it has gained great popularity new trend in this direction - figured pruning of shrubs, which is one of the types of garden creativity and is called topiary. Skillful hands masters transform shrubs into masterpieces that decorate not only gardens and parks, but also palaces. Unusual figures are created, usually from evergreen or small-leaved plants. The crowns of bushes and trees are pruned using geometric shapes.
Cone
This shape is the easiest to trim. It will be easier to give it to a plant if it is naturally cone-shaped. The haircut should start from the crown, from its top, gradually going down. To make the cone proportional, poles are used. They are placed next to the trunk on four sides, and the tops are collected slightly above the crown. It turns out to be a pyramid. Those branches that extend beyond its contour are cut off. This geometric shape is suitable for barberry and juniper.
Ball
This geometric shape can be obtained by trimming shrubs such as laurel and gooseberries. The process is labor-intensive, but it can be made easier if you make a wire template in advance, which is a ring with a handle. The main condition is that the width of the device must be smaller than the crown. The ring is attached to the bush, and excess branches are cut off. If the plant has a naturally spherical shape, you just need to maintain it.
Spiral
This element is very effective, but also quite difficult. It can be used on shrubs that have a cone shape. There are two ways to trim the plant to form a spiral:
- Using regular tape that needs to be wrapped around the crown. The areas of the plant located between the turns are trimmed. Great care is needed here.
- Another method is carried out using a stick, which is inserted into the ground at a close distance from the bush and tied to it. You need to take a rope, fix it at the very top of the stick and lower it in a spiral downward. The shoots need to be cut down to the trunk, which is considered the main one, following the shape outlined by the rope.
Gardening Tools
They are needed for “trimming” plants whose branches have different thicknesses. Therefore, tools for pruning bushes are for various purposes.
- Secateurs are devices that are used to cut branches with a diameter of up to two and a half centimeters. They come in two types: with curved and straight blades. The operating principle of the first type is similar to that of scissors. The main goal in working with it is to cut a thick shoot efficiently, without gaps. To do this, the tool must be well sharpened and have a gap between the blades. The second type of pruning shears has a straight blade; during operation it rests against the plate, or more precisely at its end. The advantage of this mechanism is that there is no need to check the gap between the blades, but the disadvantage is the inability to get to hard-to-reach places.
- Lopper. This tool easily copes with thick shoots with a diameter of five centimeters. With its help, you can remove branches deep in the lush crown, where other tools cannot reach. Its variety is a rope lopper, which is used for trimming branches growing at a fairly high altitude.
- Saw. It is used to remove branches that are too thick. The teeth of the saw reach a height of five to seven millimeters and are set wide enough so that they do not become clogged with wood during work.
- The knife is the most sought after garden tools, it is used to trim and clean thin branches, cut off bark, and correct crooked cuts.
- Scissors for trimming bushes. Gardeners use them to form a figured crown and decorative hedge. With their help, shrubs are given an interesting shape.
- Stepladder is garden tools, without which it is difficult to care for the bush. The ladder should be stable and its legs should be widely spaced. This way it will be more stable.
What to feed after pruning?
Regardless of the season of the procedure, plants need increased nutrition, since it is at this time that the vegetative mass increases. The indication for fertilizing the soil is to reduce the concentration useful substances in it. Plants especially need nitrogen and potassium at this time. You can use a solution you prepare yourself. Take potassium nitrate (three spoons) and water (10 liters). Everything is mixed, after which the bush is watered to the very root with this mixture. You can use nitrophoska or a mixture of urea and ash in a proportion of 30 and 100 g, respectively, per bucket of water.
If pruning of shrubs is carried out in August or September, the plants are in dire need of phosphorus, since the active formation of the root system occurs during this period of time. Fertilizer is scattered over the surface of the soil into the plants. Its application is combined with watering.
The most effective feeding for both ornamental and fruit shrubs is compost infusion. To do this, half a kilogram of organic matter is diluted in 10 liters of water, left for two to three days and watered the plants in the evening, when the sun has set. If the summer is hot and long time the drought continues, first trunk circles watered with plain water and then with a solution.
Proper pruning shapes the bush in such a way that each branch has enough light and air for normal fruiting. Autumn pruning frees the bush from fruit-bearing shoots and relieves the plant of the need to feed them during the dormant period. However, if for some reason you were unable to prune in October or November, reschedule it for late winter or early spring - from late January to early April, when the snow has melted and the air temperature has risen to at least -8 ºC, will remain at this level for several days. Avoid pruning in cooler temperatures or on a day when it is snowing or raining, and try to complete the process by the time the bushes begin to bud.
Sanitary pruning is carried out when the need arises, regardless of the time of year.
Pruning berry bushes in winter
Contrary to the claims of many gardeners, pruning in February, if done in necessary conditions and, subject to the rules developed for this procedure, does not lead to negative consequences, just like pruning in March. As you know, the beginning of sap flow accelerates the healing of wounds and cuts, especially since at this time there are no leaves or flowers on the bushes, and all the plants’ energy goes into healing the damage caused by pruning. There is practically no other work in the garden in winter, so why not relieve yourself of a busy spring schedule, by pruning trees and shrubs at the end of winter?
Wait for the desired temperature and snow melting, since in some cases you need to trim the branches of the bush to the very surface of the soil, and proceed to sanitary pruning: remove from the bushes frozen, mutilated, broken, dried branches affected by diseases and pests, as well as tops and shoots. The shoots are removed at the root, and when pruning mature branches, stumps must be left to prevent the tissue from freezing at the cut site. These stumps can be removed in the spring. Bushes are trimmed with pruning shears and a garden saw.
Pruning fruit bushes in spring
In addition to sanitary pruning, which maintains the health of the bush, formative or rejuvenating pruning may be necessary. Best time pruning that forms the bush - autumn, but you can do this work in the spring, just before the start of sap flow. Each species has its own plant formation scheme, and we will briefly remind you how to prune berry bushes, the most popular in amateur gardening.
Pruning raspberries in spring
Raspberry varieties that bear fruit once per season are pruned as follows:
- two-year-old branches that will no longer bear fruit are cut to the ground;
- Of the annual shoots, 10-12 of the most developed ones are left, the rest are removed;
- all weak shoots are cut out;
- the tops of the shoots remaining after pruning are shortened to 2.2-2.5 m, and if the bush is not tall, then the tops are cut by 10-15 cm.
Remontant raspberry bushes are cut off completely at the root, and it is better to do this in the fall.
Pruning black currants in spring
Pruning blackcurrant branches is somewhat more difficult than pruning raspberries, since the bush consists of branches different ages, and each branch can actively bear fruit for up to five years. Blackcurrants are trimmed according to this pattern:
- the number of old branches cut out annually should be equal to the number of new branches left from basal shoots: We cut out 3-5 old branches, they should be replaced by 3-5 new branches;
- Every year it is necessary to cut out those branches whose age has reached five years;
- When removing old and unnecessary new branches, make sure that the remaining branches do not interfere with each other, do not cross, do not lie on the ground and are conveniently located.
Pruning red and white currants in spring
Red currant branches can bear fruit for 7-8 years, but the main harvest is formed on branches aged from 2 to 5 years. It is necessary to ensure that on a bush formed from 12-15 branches there are branches of different ages, otherwise a year may come when all the branches will have to be cut out. Of the new shoots, 3-4 of the most developed ones are left annually to replace the removed seven-year-old branches.
Pruning gooseberries in autumn
Gooseberry bushes are formed in almost the same way as currant bushes: the bush should have 15-20 branches of different ages. The main harvest comes from branches aged from four to seven years, so mainly those shoots that have reached the age of seven, as well as weak and extra shoots of the first year, are cut out. Do not shorten those annual shoots that you decide to leave - this will reduce the yield of the bush.
Pruning honeysuckle in spring
Of all garden shrubs Honeysuckle is the most light-loving, and therefore it requires mandatory annual pruning. In the first years, remove only strong tops and root shoots, but as soon as the bush gains volume, begin thinning the crown. Try to keep an adult bush in the following parameters: height - 2-2.5 m, diameter - from 1.5 to 2.5 m. Short weak shoots, branches that have stopped growing, old, thickening and cross-growing branches must be pruned. Pruning old branches can noticeably rejuvenate the bush, and if aging has affected most of the crown, cut the entire plant to the base and form a new bush from the root shoots.
Pruning rose hips in spring
Rosehip is not very popular in summer cottages, it's a pity. Its bush attracts the eye with its beauty and nobility, and the buds, leaves, fruits and even roots have healing powers that humanity has used since time immemorial. The rosehip reaches a height of 1 to 3 m; its bushes can be either compact or spreading. Rosehip is light-loving and picky about soil composition. After planting, the rosehip seedling is pruned short, leaving 2-3 buds on each branch, after which the plant is freed from pruning for two years. In the third year, sanitary pruning of the bush is carried out, removing root shoots, weak ones lying on the ground, broken and extra branches, and strong ones are pruned at a height of 20 cm. When the newly grown shoots reach a length of 70 cm, their tops are pinched. Starting next year, it will be necessary to normalize the number of branches, of which there should be about 20 in total. In the future, branches older than 5 years will be cut out, and new shoots will be formed to replace them from strong growth.
Pruning chokeberry in spring
By its nature, chokeberry is a typical shrub, although it is often formed into a tree. But it’s not so difficult to regulate the number of branches in a bush and not force the plant, turning the bush into a tree. After planting, cut off all branches of the seedling at a height of 10-20 cm, and from those that appear in next year leave 3-5 strong shoots of the root shoots, cutting them so that they are approximately the same length as the branches of the bush. Cut the rest of the growth to the ground. Next year, add 3-4 more basal shoots to the bush. With this number of branches you can finish the formation - for a chokeberry bush it is quite enough to have about 10 branches.
When the bush is formed, make sure that sunlight could penetrate into the very depths of the crown, otherwise it would be difficult to achieve normal branching and the formation of flower buds in chokeberry. The most productive chokeberry branches are 8-10 years old, so plan pruning based on this, and prepare strong root shoots in advance to replace old branches. Every year you will have to replace only 2-3 old branches.
Pruning ornamental shrubs
There are two types of pruning of ornamental shrubs - regular, which forms the correct crown and stimulates abundant flowering, and rejuvenating, prolonging the life of the plant. The timing and nature of pruning depend on the type of shrub. In relation to pruning ornamental shrubs are divided into three groups:
- deciduous shrubs growing not from the base of the bush, but along the perimeter of the crown - common barberry, chaenomeles, bladderwort, flowering turf, flowering dogwood, cotoneaster, magnolia, euonymus, mackerel, daphne, cherry laurel, Syrian hibiscus, viburnum, serviceberry and others;
- deciduous shrubs that bloom on last year's shoots in spring or early summer - spring-flowering spirea, large-leaved hydrangea, weigela, forsythia, deutzia, Japanese keria, tamarix, colquitzia, jasmine, mock orange, blood-red currant, lilac and others;
- deciduous shrubs blooming on the shoots of the current year - paniculata and tree hydrangea, David's buddleia, willow spirea, Japanese, Boumalda and Douglas.
Plants of the first group They need minimal sanitary pruning in early spring, before the sap begins to flow - weakened, diseased shoots growing inside the crown and crossing shoots are removed. Sometimes living shoots are slightly shortened to make the bushes more decorative.
Shrubs of the second group pruned immediately after flowering - the faded shoots are shortened by about a third so that the plants grow new ones. Try not to cut the shoots at the same height every year, otherwise, over time, thick growths will form on them, due to which the plant cannot develop new shoots. If you begin to form the crown of a shrub of the second group in the spring, you can remove all future flowers, since the flower buds of these plants form on last year’s shoots. When rejuvenating pruning, all shoots are cut at soil level.
Some early flowering plants of the second group require radical pruning after flowering - willow, gorse, three-lobed almond. They need to be pruned to strong new shoots or to the ground, and next year they will bloom more luxuriantly than before.
The third group is represented by late-flowering shrubs that form flowers in summer or autumn on the shoots of the current year, so pruning them in early spring is quite justified. And the more the bushes are pruned, the more abundant their flowering will subsequently be. This pruning is not carried out annually, but once every three to four years, but between heavy prunings, from time to time, still remove old branches and shorten the shoots to the required height so that the bushes look neat.
For any type of pruning, you may need a garden saw, a lopper, a pruning shear with two blades, a garden knife for trimming annual growth, a hedge trimmer for performing formative pruning and trimming hedges, a ladder, garden pitcher or rannet paste. All instruments must be sharp and sterile. A day after pruning, treat sections with a diameter greater than 7 mm with garden varnish or wound-healing paste.
For a novice gardener, this problem is one of the most painful. How to cut? When to cut? How much to cut? There are so many plants, they are all so different... At some point it may seem that you will never master this wisdom.
In fact, everything is not as difficult as it seems. After gardening for several years, you will intuitively begin to understand how pruning a particular plant depends on the time of its flowering, growth characteristics and branching.
Of course, experimenting for years is not at all necessary. You can open a book and find out about everything at once. But here’s the problem: we have a problem with good literature on this topic. One book will intelligently explain to you how to prune summer-blooming and spring-blooming spireas. From the other you will understand how to cut wood. But building a coherent and logical system based on this fragmentary information is very difficult.
At one time I bought all the books in Russian and English languages, on the covers of which it was written: “Cutting...” And finally, I found what I was looking for. It was the English edition: `Successful Pruning`. I flipped through it, and somehow everything immediately fit into my head.
Today we offer you an adapted translation of this publication. Not the whole book, of course. But what seems most important to us. We offer you a harmonious and understandable, as it seems to us, system for pruning ornamental shrubs.
Actually, the whole system comes down to nine pruning techniques, which will be outlined below.
TECHNIQUE 1. CUT TO MAINTAIN SHAPE
This technique is used for shrubs that are grown in molded hedges and require constant pruning.
So: if you form a hedge in the spring, you remove only the growth of the previous year. If you prefer a haircut in the second half of summer, you will remove the current year’s growth accordingly. You may have to do both spring and summer pruning if you are dealing with fast-growing plants. (Please note: we are talking about pruning shrubs that have already been formed for a hedge and have reached the desired height and dimensions).
Formative pruning will help you keep the plant neat and compact - in the desired size and shape. And remember: once you have used this type of pruning, it is advisable to do the same thing annually.
Note: small plants can be cut with scissors or electric trimmer. For large ones, you need to use pruning shears, since damaged leaves and stumps remaining from the shoots will turn brown and die.
(For more information on trimming hedges, see the articles on our website.)
Using technique 1, the following are pruned: hedges of barberries, privet, hawthorn, honeysuckle, cotoneaster, and snowberry.
It is always recommended to prune Salix lantana using technique 1 to maintain its shape.
TECHNIQUE 2. REMOVING HALF OF THE NEW GROWTH
Do not allow broom and other gorse bushes to spread widely and expose the base. Trim new growth by half each year. Start doing this when the plant is still young. If several years are missed for pruning, in the future young shoots will grow, falling down from the old, coarsened branches, which will sharply reduce the decorative value of the shrub. Trim back any new green shoots to encourage new branches and bush growth. Don't cut to the old one rough wood. Remove dead branches completely.
After pruning, the bush will look more elegant and compact.
Prune shrubs such as gorse after the flowers have faded but before the seeds have ripened.
Using technique 2, the following are pruned: Russian broom, creeping broom, English gorse.
TECHNIQUE 3. CUT OFF DEAD ENDS
Prune heathers and similar plants by removing dead shoot tips with scissors. This will help the plant to be slender and compact and encourage it to bloom.
Once the flowers begin to die, remove them with scissors. Wait until spring to prune fall-blooming heathers.
Remove shoots close to the base of the current year's growth. Do not prune onto old, dark wood.
Technique 3 is used to cut heathers and almost all erics.
TECHNIQUE 4. SHORTENING THE SIDE BRANCHES
We are talking about shrubs that bloom on the shoots of the previous year. As a rule, these are summer-flowering shrubs. Pruning such shrubs stimulates the growth of a large number of lateral branches and more abundant flowering. The shoots should be trimmed by one third from the top to well-developed buds immediately after flowering. (Hydrangea paniculata can be pruned in early spring if you want to admire its powerful inflorescences in winter).
After pruning, the plant will not appear to have grown significantly compared to last year. But it will become more compact, and flowering next year will be more abundant.
Using technique 4, the following are pruned: hawthorns, paniculata hydrangea, rugosa rose (if you grow it not for fruits, but for flowering), Erica arborescens. The latter should be cut not by a third, but by two thirds of the shoot.
TECHNIQUE 5. REMOVING ONE STEM OUT OF THREE.
A large number of shrubs that produce many new shoots each year will look healthy and beautiful if you cut back one shoot out of three each year. This very common technique allows the bushes to avoid excessive thickening and also stimulates flowering on strong shoots.
The technique is applied to three groups of bushes:
- Those that bloom early on the shoots of the previous year (forsythia, Spira vanguta, ornamental currants)
- Those that bloom profusely throughout almost the entire summer (shrub cinquefoil).
- To some shrubs that are grown for their beautiful foliage (white turf "Elegantissimo").
This type of pruning should begin when the bush reaches three years of age. And if every year after that you cut out one branch out of three, the bush will look strong and compact at the same time.
Remove one stem out of three, cutting it as close to the ground as possible. Select the weakest and oldest branches first.
After all old and weakened branches have been removed, remove those that extend far from the center of the bush and disrupt the shape of the plant. If you don't see a bud near the ground from which a new shoot can emerge, leave a short stem with a bud. You can later delete this branch as well when there is enough new growth to replace it.
After pruning, the bush may look somewhat sparse. But soon new shoots will appear to fill the space.
Using technique 5, a significant part of the bushes are pruned, if they need to be formed as tapeworms, and not for hedges. Among them are barberries, cotoneasters, hazel, deutzia, white derain "Elegantissimo", colkvitia, honeysuckle, sea buckthorn, mahonia, weigela, snowberry, stephanandra tanaki, mock orange, oleaster, ornamental currants, forsythia, cinquefoil, lilac (with a small caveat: remove you need not one of three, but one of four shoots), elderberry (if you need to stimulate not foliage growth, but flowering and fruiting); spirea - arguta, vanguta, thunberga, nipponica, Japanese - "Bumalda" and "Shirobana", viburnum (if you want to keep the bush more compact).
Please note: shrubs that bloom in early spring should be cut only after they have finished flowering. Letne flowering shrubs can be cut in early spring.
TECHNIQUE 6. Pruning to the ground
Use this technique to cultivate and improve the development of plants that throw up a large number of vigorously growing rods (such as sweet raspberries).
Some shrubs, such as ornamental raspberries, send out many new shoots every year. Old branches are best pruned to ground level in early spring.
This pruning is also used in cases where young shoots of plants growing like raspberries have a decorative color. Let's say Rubus cockburnianus has young shoots white. With age, their color changes and becomes less interesting. It is advisable to prune such a plant annually to ground level.
When pruning such plants, you do not need to worry about making a cut to the bud that is visible to you. Young shoots will come directly from underground.
Using technique 6, the following are pruned: decorative raspberries, stephanandra inquisa, bicolor lespedeza.
TECHNIQUE 7. Pruning to the base of the bush (A)
Plants that are grown for their beautifully colored shoots, such as white dogwood, will look more attractive if they are regularly trimmed back to 5cm from the base of the bush to encourage the growth of new shoots.
The same technique is necessary to stimulate the growth of large decorative leaves, such as elderberries with yellow leaves.
Allow the plant to grow for a season after planting and then prune it back to 5-7cm above the ground the following spring.
We do not recommend cutting plants in this way every year: if the bush is not well fed or poorly mulched, it will be able to throw out only weakened thin stems. But pruning to the base every second year is just what is needed. It will promote the growth of strong, thick stems, and the plant will not need intensive feeding.
Using technique 7, the following are pruned: tree trees with decorative bark and decorative leaves, willows with decorative bark, elderberry - if it is grown for its beautiful leaves.
TECHNIQUE 8. Pruning to the base of the bush (B)
The technique is exactly the same as the previous one. But pruning should be done in the first spring after planting and is required every year without fail. Buddleia and other shrubs that bloom on the current season's growth (such as tree hydrangea) will produce larger flowers on more compact plants if you prune the plant back to 5 to 7 cm from the base of the bush each spring. If this is not done, the plants will produce smaller flowers on spindly, elongated branches.
Trim off all last year's growth, leaving 2 buds at the base. This is usually 5-7 cm on last year's shoots.
If the bush has grown to a very large size and is overcrowded with shoots, cut one or two old stems to ground level. This will allow the plant to conserve energy for better flowering and get rid of poorly placed branches.
After pruning, many bushes can throw out shoots up to one and a half meters long or more per season.
The same technique applies to dwarf Japanese spireas. By cutting them to the base of the bush, you kill several birds with one stone: you create growing conditions for new strong stems, form a compact, beautifully shaped shrub, and in the case of yellow-leaved spirea, promote the growth of brighter and more expressive foliage.
Using technique 8, the following are pruned: buddleia, tree hydrangea, spirea “Little Princess”, “Golden Princess”, “Gold Mound”, “Nana” and similar ones.
TECHNIQUE 9. Pruning PLANTS WITH GRAY LEAVES
Regular pruning of plants such as lavender helps to create the correct compact shape. Start cutting the plant while it is young. If you resort to severe pruning of an adult plant for the first time and cut into old wood, the bush can become very weak and even die. Prune regularly every spring.
If the current year's growth comes directly from the base of the bush, cut the plant 5-10 cm from the ground.
Be careful with a mature plant with a woody base that does not have young shoots coming from the ground. Do not cut into old dark wood. Make do with trimming soft shoots from the previous year to 5-10 cm from old dark wood.
Using technique 9, the following are pruned: lavender, perovski.
That, in fact, is all the wisdom.
Of course, this scheme needs to be approached creatively. If, when we plant a shrub, which is usually pruned using technique 5 (one shoot out of three is removed), it has grown greatly, has lost its attractive shape and has begun to bloom worse, it can be radically planted on a stump using technique 8 and thereby be rejuvenated. If the ends of a bush that is pruned using the same technique 5 are frozen, you will still have to not only remove one shoot out of three, but also run pruning shears along the tips of the frozen branches. For example, I don’t really like it when my cinquefoils “Goldfinger” and “Tangerine” fall apart in somewhat shapeless bushes, and therefore every spring I cut them like gorse - by half of last year’s growth. In exactly the same way and for the same purposes, I cut the summer-blooming spirea “Bumlda” and “Shirobana”. Or, for example, paniculata hydrangea. Sometimes you cut it not into a third of the shoot, but much more, in search of a good pair of buds and a beautiful shrub habit as a whole.
In short, it is quite acceptable to deviate from the rules if you know these rules well and have a perfect idea of why you are making this or that movement with the pruning shears.
And finally: any pruning technique must be combined with sanitary pruning - remove all diseased, broken, crooked, weakened branches. But this is already quite simple...
Happy pruning!
Irina SAVVATEEVA, General Director of the Savvateev Nursery
A large number of shrubs grow on the plot: fruit, ornamental and others. Each type of shrub requires appropriate care and pruning of shrubs in the fall, only in this case will it bring good harvest, decorate the area or just bloom beautifully.
Pruning FRUIT SHRUBS - HOW AND WHEN TO DO?
In order to get a good harvest from a fruit bush, you need to make sure that its crown is properly formed. The penetration of the sun's rays into the bush depends on this, normal air circulation and as a result the plant will be less sick. In addition, after trimming the bush it will be easier to care for and harvest.
With the help of constant pruning, you can regulate the growth of a fruit bush, its flowering and fruiting. In the first few years after planting the bush, you need to properly form the bush, and then simply maintain it in perfect condition, removing thickening.
Advice: Before you start pruning fruit bushes, you must carry out sanitary treatment: cut off all broken, diseased, dry branches, remove those that touch the ground and those that have directed their growth to the center of the crown.
Each fruit bush has its own timing and features of pruning.
Summer raspberries should be pruned in the fall immediately after harvest. Raspberry berries grow on the branches of a second-class bush, so they need to be cut back to the very root.
There should be no more than 8 shoots left on the fruit bush, which will bloom and bear fruit next year. The following shrubs are pruned using the same principle: blackberries and autumn raspberries.
Black currants can be pruned either immediately after harvest or late autumn when the leaves have already fallen. The fruits of this fruit bush grow on both old and new shoots. But the berries on older shoots are smaller, which is why they need to be completely cut off.
Old branches are easy to distinguish from young ones; their crown is darker. It is best to leave about 10 branches on the fruit bush after pruning; they will not interfere with each other and will give a good harvest next year. Currant branches are cut to the very root or to the first strong bud.
White and red currants are pruned after dropping their leaves. Also fruit bushes You can additionally prune in mid-summer to prevent the bush from becoming too thick.
How to prune fruit bushes? The branches of fruit bushes are considered old after 5 years of fruiting, after which they will no longer produce crops, so they are cut off completely. The tops of these bushes are not pruned, since it is on them that the crop is formed.
Gooseberries are more prone to thickening than any other fruit bush, which is why they need to be thinned out annually, removing all new shoots. In this type of shrub, fruits appear only on branches that are already 5-7 years old, and then they are removed.
If fruit bushes produce a small harvest, then they can be completely rejuvenated by completely removing all the old branches at the root, leaving a few young shoots. After such pruning, the bush will completely restore its yield in a few years.
Advice: It is worth remembering that the stronger the basal branch of the shrub grows, the less it needs to be shortened, but it is better to remove weak shoots completely.
Pruning of ornamental shrubs - HOW AND WHEN TO DO?
There are a large number of ornamental shrubs, each type requires special care and timely pruning. Pruning shrubs involves the complete removal of diseased, weak and dead branches. After clearing the bush of weak branches, it begins to grow better and delight with lush flowering.
The main task of pruning ornamental shrubs is to achieve decorative effect, it is for this reason that gardeners decorate their personal plots them. They are appreciated for lush flowering, decorative foliage and beautiful view even in winter time. So, how to prune ornamental shrubs?
As for the methods of pruning ornamental shrubs, each type has its own characteristics. That is why, before you start pruning a particular tree, you need to determine exactly what type of shrub it is and how to prune it.
Conventionally, all types of shrubs can be divided into beautifully flowering and decorative deciduous.
WHEN TO PRUN FLOWERING SHRUBS?
Beautiful flowering shrubs are grown to decorate the area, which is why the main objective pruning is to make the bush bloom profusely.
According to the characteristics of pruning, flowering shrubs are divided into three groups:
- The first group includes shrubs that do not form powerful shoots from the base. Every year they send out new shoots along the entire perimeter of the crown. Such shrubs include: viburnum, cotoneaster, barberry, magnolia, hibiscus and others. These shrubs require minimal pruning in the spring. In the first years after planting, it is important to form a skeleton of strong branches, and then weak branches are removed every spring. For mature plants, it will only be necessary to trim off dry and diseased branches. If necessary, you can remove a strong shoot to achieve a decorative look.
Photo: Example of magnolia pruning
- The second group includes shrubs that produce color on last year's shoots. This species includes: weigela, deutzia, hydrangea, tamarix, kerria, mock orange, three-lobed almond, some types of spirea and others. Shrubs belonging to this group usually begin to bloom in spring or early summer. It is also worth considering the fact that these shrubs grow quickly, so they need to be planted no later than two or three years of age. These types of shrubs are pruned minimally in the spring, only damaged and dry branches are removed. Immediately after flowering, in the fall, faded branches are cut off and left strong and strong. In the future, every year after flowering, all faded branches are cut off. You also need to cut off a quarter of the old shoots almost at the root.
Photo: Example of pruning hydrangea
- The third group includes shrubs that bloom on this year's shoots. Such shrubs include: spirea, David's buddleia, hydrangea and paniculata. In early spring These types of shrubs are well pruned so that they can send out powerful shoots. If you do not prune them in the spring, then by autumn they will become very overgrown and will no longer bloom as much. In the first few years after planting, these types of shrubs are pruned lightly, giving them the opportunity to gain strength, and after that it will be necessary to prune them as much as possible every year.
Photo: Example of spirea pruning
Each shrub requires pruning; only in this case will it be able to produce a good harvest and bloom profusely. Don't be afraid to prune them; they recover very quickly and send out new shoots.
Pruning bushes in spring: Video
