Common Pruning Methods for Woody Plants
Today's plant experience and knowledge about flowering常识, let's take a look at the common pruning methods for woody plants together!
Woody plants come in many varieties, including those that are appreciated for their flowers (such as Japanese quince, weeping cherry, cherry blossoms, etc.), those that are appreciated for their fruits (such as ornamental pomegranate, firethorn), and those that are fruit trees (such as peach, apple, pear, apricot, pomegranate, etc.).
For mature woody plants, there are generally two types of branches:
Long branches, which are nutrient branches, are generally used for cultivating the main plant shape. During pruning, they can be trimmed, removed, or retained based on the actual situation.
Short branches are usually fruiting branches, which are important flowering and fruiting groups. They are common in woody plants that bloom early in spring, such as peach, apple, pear, and cherry trees.
In summer, woody plants that bloom in large numbers have both types of flowering branches, such as pomegranate (some flower buds appear on short branches, while others are at the top of the branch), crape myrtle (long branches bloom mainly), and jasmine.
Pruning principles for woody plants:
1. Shape according to personal preferences and the plant's growth characteristics, which is suitable for bonsai shaping, but also consider ventilation and light (suitable for fruit trees).
2. Remove all weak and diseased branches; for branches with nutritional value, retain and trim them appropriately based on the situation.
3. For parallel and overlapping branch groups, prune and retain them purposefully according to the plant shape to achieve ventilation and light effects (this is especially important in pruning fruit trees).
Common pruning methods:
1. No pruning of the entire plant.
No pruning, also known as delayed pruning, is also a pruning method. It is more suitable for young plants in the early stages of shaping.
There is also twisting, which involves manually softening the young branches during the initial growth stage to change their direction and position.
Pulling branches involves using wire and driving stakes into the ground to control the growth direction of thick one-year-old branches, which is suitable for ground planted plants and commonly used in the juvenile stage.
2. Minor pruning.
Pinching the top: This involves removing the top of the branch with 3-4 small leaves to promote branching, which is suitable for growing nutrient branches. It is important to note that only pinching the branch is effective, not just the leaves (this is especially important for plants with compound leaves).
Shortening: For a one-year-old branch, the pruning degree is between pinching and heavy pruning. After pruning, retaining more than half of the branch can activate the growth of some buds at the top of the branch, which will also promote more branching.
Heavy pruning: For a one-year-old branch, after pruning, retaining less than half of the branch can activate the dormant buds at the bottom, causing them to grow. The activated dormant buds may form new long branches or become short branches (fruiting groups).
Retraction: For a long branch over two years old, removing the previous year's growth can change the branch group and promote more branching. This is very useful for fruit trees, as it can effectively control the fruiting position and prevent it from extending outward each year.
3. Major pruning:
The first two methods will not significantly affect the overall tree shape, but this type of pruning is different. After pruning, the original tree shape may become completely different.
Methods such as shaving the head or top grafting are suitable for rejuvenating old trees and can also be combined with grafting, which may have different requirements for different types of plants.
A brief introduction to pruning timing:
1. For woody plants that bloom early in spring (such as weeping cherry, wintersweet, Chinese primrose, forsythia, etc.), the entire plant shape needs to be determined before midsummer, as the period from summer to autumn is when flower buds differentiate. Pruning too late may cut off branches that have already formed flower buds, affecting flowering and fruiting the following year. Generally, pruning is done once after flowering or fruit harvest; before midsummer, overly vigorous branches can be controlled with pinching or shortening; winter pruning can involve shortening or retaining some long branches (suitable for fruit trees).
2. For woody plants that bloom in summer and autumn, it depends on the specific species and its ability to generate branches.
For example, strong-branching jasmine can be pruned heavily once after spring germination, and minor pruning should be done after each flowering (at the position of 1-2 pairs of leaves below the flowers).
Rose: Prune heavily once during winter dormancy, and do minor pruning after each flowering.
Pomegranate: After autumn leaf fall and dormancy, prune the entire plant once, but not too much. If pruned too severely, it may affect flowering the following year. Normally, prune according to the plant shape and personal preferences, as pomegranate branches are relatively easy to manage and have strong branching ability.
This point may be补充ed in detail in the future (specific to a certain species).
The above is a detailed introduction to the common pruning methods for woody plants. Did you get it?