Honeysuckle Pruning Methods
The editor brings you the experience of raising flowers, honeysuckle knowledge, honeysuckle pruning methods. Next, the editor of this site will introduce to everyone.
For honeysuckle pruning, many flower friends dare not start, afraid of pruning wrong. Honeysuckle pruning friends should clarify what kind of tree shape they want to prune, and then according to their honeysuckle, they can start. The key to honeysuckle pruning lies in the flower friends' own goal.
1. If you want to train honeysuckle into a tree shape with only one main stem, the new shoots that grow from the base of the plant should be cut off, and the new shoots that germinate from the upper part of the main stem should be left alone for the time being.
2. If the new branches at the base of the main branch are robust and have utility value, they can be retained as needed (how much to retain depends on personal preference) for future propagation. For example, the robust branches that germinate from the very bottom of the main stem can be used for propagation by layering when they grow bigger.
Here is a flower friend's experience in pruning their honeysuckle:
Honeysuckle always germinates flower buds on new branches throughout the four seasons. The longer the branches, the more nutrients they consume. The new buds that grow on old branches are often thin and short, and they bloom very few flowers. Only by pruning can limited nutrients be used effectively, making the new branches that germinate in the current year robust, so that the flowers on the branches will be more and larger.
Through several years of growing honeysuckle, my experience is: be bold in pruning honeysuckle; prune after each flowering; and especially prune before winter. I summarize my pruning method for honeysuckle into one central principle and two rules.
The one central principle is to focus on the main branch, which should not be moved. Depending on the type of ornamental plant you have, the requirements for the main branch may vary. For potted plants, after setting the desired height in the first year, the secondary branches should be increased every three years. After three years, the shape is set, and the main and secondary branches will no longer be moved. For climbing honeysuckle, like the one I planted on the security fence, I let each plant keep one main branch. When it grows to the top of the fence, about two meters long, I implement the "decapitation operation," cutting off as much as possible from the top to encourage more side branches to grow earlier and faster.
The two rules are "love the new and hate the old" and "disregard the poor and favor the rich." "Love the new and hate the old" means that when pruning, all secondary old branches on the main branch should be removed because the tertiary new branches that sprout from these old branches tend to be weaker and produce fewer flowers. On the other hand, the newly sprouted secondary branches are usually robust and long, producing more and larger flowers. We can clearly see the difference between the branches from last year and this year. The tertiary branches on the branches from last year are small and short and produce few flowers, while the secondary branches that sprout directly from the main branch this year are robust and long, producing many flowers.
"Disregard the poor and favor the rich" means that weak, diseased, and flowerless branches should be cut off without hesitation. Don't expect them to improve. The robust, long branches that produce many flowers should be carefully selected, choosing the best among them, as the number of branches to be kept is limited.
Under the guidance of one central principle and two rules, the pruning work is like getting a haircut, first precisely cutting to thin it out. I usually keep only one-fifth of the original branches, and these one-fifth will be the first to be removed in the next pruning. The fewer branches left on the main branch, the more and faster new branches will sprout. After cutting, the remaining branches should be trimmed shorter, making them spherical for potted plants, and evenly distributed with varying lengths for climbing plants.
After such pruning, honeysuckle may look like it has shrunk, but it also looks more spirited. More importantly, after pruning, the old branches are just a carrier, and more robust new branches will sprout in a short time, with many flower buds on these new branches. Truly, the more you cut, the more it grows, and the more flowers it produces, larger and more fragrant. Of course, after pruning, you must fertilize once. When the flower buds appear, if not for tea drinking, you can spray potassium dihydrogen phosphate on the leaves again. Soon, the room will be filled with the fragrance of flowers.
The above () introduces the complete content of honeysuckle pruning methods for your reference, green plant enthusiasts.