How to prune sunflowers
As a popular plant in summer courtyards, sunflowers capture the hearts of countless gardeners with their strong vitality and brilliant colors. But if you want to achieve the bursting effect, pruning technology is particularly critical. This article uses five-step scientific pruning to reveal the maintenance secrets of how to make sunflowers more and more prosperous. Sunflower pruning golden opportunity for seedling stage pickings. When the seedlings grow 8-10 true leaves, use disinfectant scissors to cut the top of the main stem flat 1-2 centimeters. At this time, all lateral branches are retained, promoting the lateral development of the plant to form a hemispherical basic skeleton. During the growth period, the lateral branches are regulated and topped twice when the lateral branches grow to 5-8 cm long, and 3-4 pairs of leaves are retained for each lateral branch. By continuing 2-3 rounds of pruning, the number of branches can increase geometrically, laying a structural foundation for bursting. Advanced techniques for sunflower pruning light-transmitting leaf pruning adopts the principle of "three cuts and three stays": cut overlapping leaves to keep functional leaves; cut yellowed leaves to keep healthy leaves; cut inward-facing leaves to keep outward-facing leaves. Keep the spacing between leaves at 2-3 cm to improve plant ventilation and light transmission. After the first round of post-flowering regenerative pruning, cut the branches back to 1 cm above the second pair of strong buds. Combined with phosphorus and potassium fertilizers, more intensive secondary flowering can be ushered in 15-20 days later. Maintenance points after pruning Keep the environment dry during the wound healing period and avoid spraying for 72 hours. Apply water-soluble fertilizer containing humic acid to promote the germination of new buds, and the best light intensity is controlled at 30,000 - 50,000 lux.
Scientific pruning can not only regulate the plant type of sunflower, but also activate its biological characteristic of "getting more and more prosperous". Mastering the three-season pruning rules for spring promotion, summer control, and autumn cultivation, and combining with reasonable water and fertilizer management, you can achieve an ornamental effect of more than 200 days of flowering a year.