Key Techniques for Pruning and Shaping Flowering Shrubs
The topic of flowering shrub pruning and shaping techniques, standards, and precautions is introduced for you, with details as follows:
Flowering shrubs are灌木类 plants that are mainly appreciated for their flowers, with diverse shapes that can create colorful scenery and are considered an important part of landscape architecture. Flowering shrubs are suitable for lakeside, streamsides, roadsides, park layouts, small courtyard decorations, and potted plant appreciation, and are also commonly used for cut flowers and making bonsai.
Pruning is one of the key measures to promote the healthy growth of flowering shrubs. Scientific and reasonable pruning not only cultivates an elegant tree shape but also further adjusts the rational distribution of nutrients within the tree, controls excessive growth, increases flowering and fruiting, making the shrub foliage lush and flowers blooming continuously.
Before pruning various flowering shrubs, it is first necessary to understand their growth habits and prune them according to their natural growth patterns at the right time to achieve the best ornamental effect in the garden.
1. Flowering shrubs that bloom on the current year's shoots, such as hibiscus, crape myrtle, pearl bush, and roses, are suitable for pruning in winter or early spring. These shrubs differentiate flower buds on the new shoots in the spring and bloom in late spring or autumn. Winter pruning mainly involves shortening and thinning branches.
Shortening usually adopts the method of "light pruning for strong branches and heavy pruning for weak branches." For strong branches, only 1/5 to 1/4 of the total length of the branch is cut. Removing the top of the branch stimulates the lower half-full buds to germinate, distributes nutrients in the branch, and makes it easier to form flower buds. For weak, old, or old and weak branches, 2/3 to 3/4 of the total length of the branch is generally cut.
Thinning branches involve removing branches from the base, which can adjust the even distribution of branches, increase space, improve ventilation and lighting conditions, and are beneficial for the growth and flower bud differentiation of internal branches, enhancing the ornamental effect of the tree and controlling vigorous growth. Thinning is mainly done to remove dense, old, and diseased branches, and should be done during the dormant period. In cold winter and dry spring areas, pruning should be postponed to early spring when temperatures rise and buds are about to sprout.
2. Flowering shrubs that form flower buds on the previous year's branches, which bloom first and then grow leaves or bloom and grow leaves simultaneously in early spring, such as Prunus triloba, forsythia, peach, forsythia, syringa, cherry blossoms, etc., form their flower buds on the previous year's branches and bloom the following spring. Therefore, pruning is generally done after the flowers fade, from May to June. If pruned in winter, the branches with flower buds formed in summer and autumn will be cut, affecting the ornamental effect the following year.
However, if there are too many flowering branches on a branch, not pruning will consume too much nutrients, resulting in small flowers, short blooming periods, and easy falling. To enhance the ornamental effect, dense short branches can be thinned appropriately, and long flowering branches can be cut to retain about 7 groups of flower buds (cutting buds are leaf buds).
3. Flowering shrubs with flower buds on multi-year branches, such as Cercis chinensis and Chaenomeles speciosa, although most flower buds are on two-year-old branches, when the nutritional conditions are suitable, these old branches can also differentiate flower buds. The pruning amount for this type of flowering shrub should be minimal. In early spring, the dry part of the branch tip is cut off, and during the growing season, pinching can be done to prevent excessive growth of the current year's branches from affecting flower bud differentiation, allowing nutrients to concentrate.
4. Shrubs that have multiple flushes and bloom multiple times a year, such as roses, can be pruned or shortened for strong branches during the dormant period, and crossing branches, diseased branches, suckers, weak branches, and dense inner branches should be removed.
In cold areas, strong pruning can be done, and necessary measures such as earthing for frost protection can be taken. During the growing season, pruning can be done multiple times. Most rose flower buds are differentiated at the top of the current year's new branches. As long as new branches continue to grow, they can bloom continuously. Therefore, pruning should be done immediately after the flowers fade, cutting at the饱满 bud below the残花. The cut bud will quickly sprout and form flower buds, and after the flowers fade, pruning is repeated, allowing continuous blooming.
Additionally, for ornamental branch shrubs such as Kerria japonica and Cornus alba, whose ornamental parts are the bright young branches (old branches are often darker), they are often retained for winter viewing. To extend their ornamental period, pruning is not done in autumn or winter but in early spring before the buds sprout to fully utilize the ornamental value of the winter branches. Pruning should be heavy, leaving only 15cm to 20cm above the ground, and the rest should be cut to promote more new branches, while also gradually removing old stems for continuous renewal.
For ornamental fruit shrubs, such as holly and honeysuckle, heavy pruning is not recommended. To avoid affecting autumn fruit viewing, pruning is not necessary after flowering or some dense branches can be removed to allow ventilation and light.
The above content introduces the key techniques for pruning and shaping flowering shrubs, as well as the standards and precautions for shrub pruning. Have the green plant enthusiasts understood it?