How to prune the Celastrus orbiculatus
The article discusses the pruning methods and related knowledge of Celastrus orbiculatus, offering some great tips that are worth collecting!
Celastrus orbiculatus, also known as the crape myrtle, has been familiar since childhood after watching TV dramas. It is known as a flower, and it is also a very long-lived tree species with a very long history in China. It has gone international thanks to its beautiful flowers. Its trunk is smooth and clean, and its flowers are even more beautiful, usually blooming in early summer with a flowering period of half a year, hence the name "Celastrus orbiculatus."
In winter, it becomes a "little stick" with all the leaves on its branches falling off until spring when it starts growing new leaves again. A month is enough for the leaves to grow. For flowering trees, the focus of daily management should be on sunlight, as spring sunlight and air humidity allow new leaves to mature and grow. While the summer sun is indeed strong, the crape myrtle can withstand it. If conditions allow, it is advisable to shade the sun a bit to protect the formation of flower buds.
Pruning in spring is also the most critical, preferably in early spring when the plant has not fully awakened, to deal with some old branches. Since most of the flowers bloom on new branches grown in the same year, it is necessary to direct the nutrients from the old branches to the new ones by removing them. For instance, dense, crossed, and overly long branches should not be retained to ensure that nutrients are not wasted.
If the plant grows normally in spring, it can produce many new branches in half a month. There will also be adventitious buds on the roots, which should be removed. At the same time, observe the intensity of branch growth, and some fast-growing ones can be shortened to maintain a length of about ten centimeters. This is to prevent excessive growth and balance the absorption of nutrients by each branch.
How to prune the Celastrus orbiculatus
Generally speaking, pruning is divided into two levels: one is pruning on the main branches, and the other is the treatment of layers. The former is mainly for large branches, where three to five branches are retained on the plant, and the rest can be pruned heavily. The selected ones also need to be treated, and proper shortening can greatly promote future growth and shaping. It can also be pruned into an umbrella-shaped canopy, which will look more impressive when flowering.
The second is to prune the already formed canopy, observing the lateral branches of different heights on the plant and pruning them according to their growth trends. Strong-growing ones should be slightly shortened, and those that are not doing well can be completely removed, leaving three to five leaf buds on each selected branch. This is not over yet, as there are also secondary lateral branches, but the same method is applied, and the retention of leaf buds follows the same principle. Such pruning will make the plant grow more multidimensional.
Pruning the plant mainly maintains its appearance and can also promote growth. For different growth stages of crape myrtle, different methods are used, but the goal is the same, and the specific operation is not difficult. It mainly tests your observation and control of the plant shape.
Before flowering in early summer, it is important to seize the growing period of spring, provide sufficient sunlight, and cut off unnecessary branches. If you can do both, I believe that by the end of May, the crape myrtle will look different.
The above content about pruning Celastrus orbiculatus and the pruning method illustrations provided by the Green Plant Enthusiast website are hoped to be helpful to you!