Pruning fruit and berry bushes in the photo
Unlike a tree, which has only one perennial axis (trunk), shrubs form many axes (branches), although not so durable, but quickly begin to bear fruit and are constantly replaced. Therefore, regular sanitary and anti-aging pruning is especially important for shrubs. It is also necessary to thin out the bushes in a timely manner - remove thickening branches. Dense bushes are more susceptible to diseases and pests, and controlling them is difficult. Since less gets into the center of a thickened bush sunlight, then the fruits grow only on the peripheral branches, and the overall yield from the bush is much lower. The winter hardiness of buds located inside a thickened bush is often reduced.
The task of pruning a young berry bush is to form a well-developed bush. After planting, the shoots are cut at a height of 3-4 buds from the ground. Subsequently, strong shoots grow from these buds, and weak shoots are cut out or shortened. If there are many weak shoots, they are pruned more strongly to stimulate branching.
Shrub branches are cut strictly at ground level. Before pruning berry bushes, remember that leaving stumps is an open gate for pathogens, and besides, the bush looks untidy.
Subsequently, the main task of pruning fruit and berry bushes is to prevent thickening. To do this, weak and low-yielding branches are removed to the base, leaving no stumps.
How to prune fruit bushes for the purpose of rejuvenation? Rejuvenating pruning of aging shrubs - such as currants, gooseberries and honeysuckle (raspberries and blackberries stand apart due to their biological characteristics) restores fruiting for several years. All weak branches are cut out, and strong ones are shortened above a well-developed lateral branch.
In currants and gooseberries, the bush consists of shoots different years, the shoots of the current year are called replacement shoots, zero or basal shoots. They are formed from buds located below ground level. Without pruning, the shoot-forming ability of these shrubs decreases with age.
Generative buds of shrubs are located on lateral shoots, which can be of different lengths and not the same different varieties- from miniature ringlets to shoots several tens of centimeters long, on which vegetative and generative buds alternate. The first option is often found in black currants, the second – in red and white currants and gooseberries, but intermediate options are also possible.
In the fall, fruit-bearing shoots of raspberries and blackberries, old, diseased and weak branches of currants, gooseberries and honeysuckle are cut out, and drooping branches are shortened to make caring for the bushes easier. You can trim shrubs in the spring.
The video “Pruning fruit bushes” shows how this agrotechnical technique is performed:
Formation of white currants on a trunk in the photo 
White currant in the photo
IN last years when vegetable gardens and orchards are becoming not only productive, but also decorative; standard berry bushes have become fashionable. Due to the fragility of the branches, black currants are absolutely unsuitable for standard crops.
The easiest way to form a trunk is to form fruit bushes such as red (and white) currants. The best shoot is selected from a young bush, and the rest are cut out annually at ground level. From the very beginning, the shoot is tied to a support on which it will remain for life. Red currants are characterized by branching in the upper part of the shoot, so we can say that nature itself took care of the beauty of the trunk, and all branches appearing below the planned crown must be removed.
Formation of red currants on a trunk in the photo 
Red currant in the photo
Red currants can also be grafted onto a golden currant trunk.
In the same way, you can form chokeberry, although it is more effective and rational to graft it onto a standard rowan tree. The grafted plant will be longer lasting than the rooted one.
Formation of gooseberries on a trunk in the photo 
Gooseberry in the photo
You can also grow gooseberries in standard form, but you won’t be able to form a beautiful and durable standard from its own branches. Gooseberries are grafted onto a red or golden currant trunk; accordingly, the shoots of the rootstock must be removed in a timely manner. However, when the grafted gooseberry begins to age, it is reasonable to leave one shoot of the rootstock, let it grow and make a new graft to replace the old one.
Formation of red currants on a trellis (photo) 
Red currants on a trellis (photo)
Currants can be grown in trellis form using approximately the same algorithm as standard forms. Several bushes are planted in a row along the trellis, all shoots that stick out from the plane of the trellis are removed, or they are directed onto the trellis and tied up. The advantage of the trellis method of forming berry bushes is saving the area occupied by the bushes, good illumination and, consequently, a high yield. A trellis can be used to zone a site, for example, to surround a vegetable garden area with it.
Next to form fruit bushes you need to form a beautiful crown on the trellis, and pruning shears can help here. The compact crown is stronger; in addition, do not forget about the angles at which the branches depart from the “trunk”. Some branches may require tying to a support. When the standard currant ages (depending on agricultural technology and variety, this will happen in 8-15 years), you need to choose a new young shoot and start all over again.
Look at the photo of the formation of berry bushes on a trellis:
Forming raspberries on a trellis (photo) 
Raspberries in the photo
Dogwoods, except white dogwoods, bloom and develop beautifully without any human intervention.
But in order for the bush to be a real decoration of the garden, pruning should not be neglected, be it anti-aging or regular correct pruning of bushes.
Compliance with the deadlines and time for pruning shrubs is the most important condition for their beauty and health. What you need to consider in order to flowering shrubs brought you joy?
A gardener will help us understand this most important “health program.” great experience horticulture and floriculture. He has been growing shrubs professionally for a long time and his collection is truly enviable.
Pavel Semenovich, it’s spring outside, what not to miss in pruning now?
Before the buds open, inspect all your bushes to see how much they have suffered after winter. Damaged branches and their dry parts must be cut back to healthy wood.
Anti-aging pruning of shrubs will help restore youth to old shrubs, lighten them, facilitate air access to skeletal branches and reduce the risk of fungal and other diseases. Young, strong plants should not be pruned unless absolutely necessary.
I prefer to prune a little each year to avoid weakening the plant. The size of the bush should be limited in a timely manner so that later you do not have to resort to heavy pruning. I trim the hedges from the first years so that the bottom of the bushes is not exposed.
It may make sense to cut very old plants that have lost their decorative properties completely down to the ground. Then young shoots will emerge from the root or base of the bush.
I saw out thick branches or cut them with special pruning shears with long handles (lopper pruners), thin branches - with regular pruning shears. All my pruners have been prepared since the fall - sharpened and disinfected.
Pruning shrubs, as a rule, stimulates flowering and maintains shape. It is important not to miss the timing of pruning - they depend on the timing of flowering.
Shrub pruning is carried out over a healthy bud located with outside branches. In some plants flower buds are located on the growth of the current year, for others - on the growth of last year, and for many, on perennial branches. The flowering time depends on where the flower buds are located.
If flower buds are formed on annual or perennial branches, flowering will occur in the spring. And if they develop on young shoots of the current year, then in the summer or closer to autumn.
Hawthorn, almond, bladderwort, and cinquefoil hold their crown shape well. It just needs a little tweaking from time to time.
Thinning and regular rejuvenation are especially necessary for barberry, deutzia, viburnum, cotoneaster, lilac, mock orange, and rose hips. I remove faded inflorescences from lilacs, summer spireas, and tamarix.
On lilacs, I cut off the fading panicles to the base, reaching into the underlying wood, trying not to touch the young side shoots. In faded weigela, deutia, shrub willows, almonds, broom, and forsythia, I shorten the branches by a third or even half to the point where strong young shoots form.
In these multi-flowering shrubs, flower buds for flowering next year are formed only on newly grown branches and branches.
First of all in early spring I prune those plants that bloom on the shoots of the current year. These are mainly summer-flowering shrubs - spirea, paniculata hydrangea, hibiscus, karyopteris, heather, David's budleya, three-lobed almond, broom. If you are late with pruning, flowering will begin at least a couple of weeks later. Pruning should be thorough, two to three buds.
For example, I greatly shorten David’s buddleia, removing all of last year’s long flower branches (leaving only two buds on each), as well as weakened ones.
In order for Budleya to bloom as early as possible, I prune it without delay - sometimes even in February. I first get rid of drooping side shoots and keep more of them in the center of the bush. This prevents the bush from spreading wider.
In the first year of spirea Boumald, I cut off damaged or very weak growths, completely - all incorrectly located branches. In subsequent years, the skeleton is being formed; I cut off all last year's growth by half to a strong outer bud.
Garden hibiscus blooms more luxuriantly if you prune the bush thoroughly in the spring. In March, I completely remove last year’s inflorescences from the heathers and cut out the bare branches. For shrubby cinquefoil, every 2-3 years I carry out medium thinning, lightly prune
Pruning trees and shrubs is integral part proper care of growing plants. Without this agrotechnical measure, the bushes will not have an attractive appearance, will lose their shape and will no longer be pleasing to the eye. Also, the lack of timely pruning leads to thickening of the crown. Therefore, pruning should be carried out regularly, taking into account the time of year, as well as the type of crop.
Pruning shrubs involves 2 methods:
Carrying out these pruning methods has a positive effect on the bush, because all the nutrients that the plant has begin to be redistributed along each branch. Spring pruning shrubs have a beneficial effect on the plant, and its shoots begin to develop more intensively, the branches grow stronger and gain healthy strength. After pruning, the number of buds decreases, and, consequently, the path of movement nutrients from root to leaf becomes smaller, and crown growth is greatly increased.
Shrub pruning
Depending on what result is expected to be obtained after removing the shoots, gardeners choose a certain type of pruning. There are 3 types of trimmings:
Important! To ensure that the bushes are healthy, attract passers-by with their flowering, lush foliage and correct form, it is recommended to carry out all of the above types of pruning. It is necessary to use any specific type based on the time of year.
In order for mature shrubs to bloom lushly, they undergo rejuvenating pruning. Old branches are shortened, which activates the buds. The period of anti-aging pruning is practically unlimited. It can be produced from January to April, from August to September inclusive.
The branches are pruned 30% from the top after they bloom. For abundant flowering, old branches are removed. It is recommended to rejuvenate shrub plants once every couple of years.
Anti-aging pruning of branches
This type of pruning occurs in the fall and is required for all shrubs. The main purpose of this type of pruning is to protect shrub plants from various infectious diseases and prevent rotting of diseased or damaged areas of the bush. The process of this type of pruning involves removing all damaged or broken branches of the bush.
Important! For good ventilation, the crown is thinned out by cutting off immature branches growing inside the bush.
This type is used exclusively in autumn period. If for some reason pruning was not carried out in the fall, then when cutting the branches in the spring, their decorative appeal will be spoiled, because flowers grow on the shoots of the previous year. Formative pruning is to create ornamental plants from ordinary ones by adding shoots with accelerated growth force to the main branches. Weak branches growing from the root are removed.
Certain types of shrubs have fairly rapid growing root shoots, which makes the shrubs significantly increase in width. For this reason, it is recommended to get rid of shoots and most of the root growth around the entire perimeter.
Attention! You should be careful and careful when removing shoots, because... their excessive destruction leads to a deterioration in the condition of the crown of shrubs.
When a shrub plant is no longer able to form strong and weak shoots, gardeners use radical rejuvenation. In this case, all branches are cut off at ground level. This will help activate the buds and shoot growth will appear again. After 1-2 years, you should start pruning weak and poorly growing branches.
Decorative pruning
IN landscape design often used ornamental shrubs(cinquefoil, hibiscus, euonymus, derain). Beautiful view and lush flowering they decorate gardens, city streets, and parks. This type of plant requires constant and careful care. Pruning is carried out so that the bush maintains its shape, in accordance with the intended design.
Decorative shrubs are pruned in the spring. The branches of young seedlings are shortened by 10-15 cm. Several buds are left, new shoots will grow from them.
The next year after pruning, the bush grows powerful branches. In the fall it is advisable to carry out sanitary pruning branches. It is necessary to cut off weak, unhealthy branches at the base of the plant. If in early spring it turns out that the bush needs pruning again, then it can be repeated. However, the pruning procedure must take place before the buds of the bush swell and the sap begins to flow.
Important! Branches can grow quickly only in the first year of their life, then the growth rate decreases, and after 6 years it stops. Therefore, it takes 3-4 years to create a decorative crown of a bush.
The branches of shrubs are given 5-6 years to grow; after this period it is advisable to prune them. Therefore, it is important to know what ratio of shoots the shrub has by age. In order to determine the age of the branches, you can use the method of counting the internal rings that are observed in a cross section. The number of rings indicates how old the plant is. Typically, all shrubs have 4-5 one-year branches, two-year-old branches - 3-4, three-year-old, four-year-old and five-year-old branches - 2-3.
It is worth noting! It is necessary to remove shoots not only according to their age, but also according to their physiological state, appearance and direction of growth. Accordingly, the above ratio may change. However, changes in the number of branches and their age do not mean that the bush has an irregular shape.
Hedge trimming
It is impossible to leave pruning until later, because... the branches of the bush grow upward, which means that over time the lower part of the plant will be exposed, which is not aesthetically attractive. Therefore, the shoots are pruned in the first year, at a level of 15 cm above the ground. After this, strong root layers will begin to appear.
The following year the procedure is repeated, which will create a good crown. If it does not have a uniform density, it will need to be trimmed well again. After this, the growth of the crown will increase and it will come into the desired shape. After three years, the root growth will be fully formed. Shrub hedges will only require cosmetic pruning.
To give the garden a special attractiveness, gardeners often began to use curly pruning. It gives the garden an exclusive and beautiful view. Before you begin this type of pruning, it is important to choose the right plant variety. Most preferable evergreen shrubs, such as boxwood, laurel, cypress, privet, conifers.
It is important to note! Pruning of curly bushes should be done annually. When landscaping the walls of a house, fence, or other buildings with ivy, pruning must be done several times a year. Each body type has certain cutting features.
To create such a figure, small trees are selected. To give the shrub a spherical shape, you need to cut side shoots. You can use a template made of wire. It is placed against a bush, and the excess crown is cut off.
Cone is one of the most simple figures for trimming. The haircut starts from the crown, from the very top to the bottom. To ensure that the figure is clearly proportional, special poles are used. A pyramid is built from them and the branches that extend beyond the figure are cut off. Barberry and juniper are best suited for a cone shape.
Conical shrubs are best suited for creating a spiral shape. You need to stick a pole near the bush and tie the bush to it. At the top of the pole, tie a ribbon and direct it to the ground, wrapping the plant in a spiral. Next, the shoots are cut to the trunk, according to the shape specified by the tape. When the bush acquires the required spiral shape, the tape is removed.
Spiral shapes
Important! For gentle and easy pruning, special tools must be used. The main tool for removing branches is a pruner.
This tool is divided into 2 types:
The secateurs are very effective in their work, however negative point in this tool is what to trim hard to reach places bush is impossible.
A garden saw is useful when it is necessary to rejuvenate bushes and remove branches more than 5 cm thick. The saw teeth are sharp and large enough (6-7 ml long), which makes it easy to cut down thick branches.
To carry out the work of pruning hard-to-reach shoots, gardeners use a lopper. This tool can easily cope with thick branches and is easy to work with in a lush crown.
To choose good tools who will be effective helpers in the garden, pay attention to the following characteristics of the tool:
Important! Also, for trimming hedges, it is advisable to purchase garden shears, which cope with this task most effectively. When stripping and removing various problematic shoots, a garden knife will provide significant assistance.
Fruit bushes are pruned in the spring, before sap flow begins.
Not every berry grower needs annual pruning, because... some of them independently activate the formation of their crown; the berries on them grow on the shoots of the previous year; therefore, if they are cut off, there will be no harvest. Gardeners only need to periodically remove old branches.
Currant pruning
Young fruit trees(apple, pear) form every spring. Since the landing fruit trees gardeners begin to create a crown for uniform insolation. Pruning occurs by removing unnecessary branches and when fruiting begins, the fruits are ripe and the trees are already in the desired shape.
Important! After the pruning procedure is completed, the plants begin to urgently need nutrients. To do this, the bushes are fed with a solution that contains nitrogen and potassium.
When getting rid of branches in August and September, plants need phosphorus. This is due to the fact that at this time the formation of root system. Among experienced gardeners It is generally accepted that the most effective and useful top dressing is an infusion of compost.
Pruning berry and ornamental shrubs and fruit trees is a mandatory procedure in growing plants. This process must be approached carefully and carefully so as not to damage healthy and young shoots and to create a beautiful and lush crown. Therefore, among gardeners, a book written by Doctor of Agricultural Sciences, R.P. Kudryavets, became very popular and useful in pruning fruit trees and shrubs. It clearly presents all the information regarding the maintenance and care of plants.
For a novice gardener, this problem is one of the most painful. How to cut? When to cut? How much to cut? There are so many plants, they are all so different... At some point it may seem that you will never master this wisdom.
In fact, everything is not as difficult as it seems. After gardening for several years, you will intuitively begin to understand how pruning a particular plant depends on the time of its flowering, growth characteristics and branching.
Of course, experimenting for years is not at all necessary. You can open a book and find out everything at once. But here’s the problem: we have a problem with good literature on this topic. One book will intelligently explain to you how to prune summer-blooming and spring-blooming spireas. From the other you will understand how to cut wood. But building a coherent and logical system based on this fragmentary information is very difficult.
At one time I bought all the books in Russian and English languages, on the covers of which it was written: “Cutting...” And finally, I found what I was looking for. It was English edition: `Successful Pruning`. I flipped through it, and somehow everything immediately fit into my head.
Today we offer you an adapted translation of this publication. Not the whole book, of course. But what seems to us the most important. We offer you a harmonious and understandable, as it seems to us, system for pruning ornamental shrubs.
Actually, the whole system comes down to nine pruning techniques, which will be outlined below.
This technique is used for shrubs that are grown in molded hedges and require constant pruning.
So: if you form a hedge in the spring, you remove only the growth of the previous year. If you prefer a haircut in the second half of summer, you will remove the current year’s growth accordingly. You may need to do both spring and summer pruning if you are dealing with fast-growing plants. (Draw your attention to: we're talking about about pruning shrubs that have already formed for a hedge and have reached required height and dimensions).
Formative pruning will help you keep the plant neat and compact - in the desired size and shape. And remember: once you have used this type of pruning, it is advisable to do the same thing annually.
Note: small plants can be cut with scissors or electric trimmer. For large ones, you need to use pruning shears, since damaged leaves and stumps remaining from the shoots will turn brown and die.
(For more information on trimming hedges, see the articles on our website.)
Using technique 1, the following are pruned: hedges of barberries, privet, hawthorn, honeysuckle, cotoneaster, snowberry.
It is always recommended to prune Salix lantana using technique 1 to maintain its shape.
Do not allow broom and other gorse bushes to spread widely and expose the base. Trim new growth by half each year. Start doing this when the plant is still young. If several years are missed for pruning, in the future young shoots will grow, falling down from the old, coarsened branches, which will sharply reduce the decorative value of the shrub. Trim back any new green shoots to encourage new branches and bush growth. Do not prune onto old, rough wood. Remove dead branches completely.
After pruning, the bush will look more elegant and compact.
Prune shrubs such as gorse after the flowers have faded but before the seeds have ripened.
Using technique 2, the following are pruned: Russian broom, creeping broom, English gorse.
Prune heathers and similar plants by removing dead shoot tips with scissors. This will help the plant to be slender and compact and encourage it to bloom.
Once the flowers begin to die, remove them with scissors. Wait until spring to prune fall-blooming heathers.
Remove shoots close to the base of the current year's growth. Do not prune onto old, dark wood.
Technique 3 is used to cut heathers and almost all erics.
We are talking about shrubs that bloom on the shoots of the previous year. As a rule, these are summer-flowering shrubs. Pruning such shrubs stimulates regrowth. large quantity lateral branches and more abundant flowering. The shoots should be trimmed by one third from the top to well-developed buds immediately after flowering. (Hydrangea paniculata can be pruned in early spring if you want to admire its powerful inflorescences in winter).
After pruning, the plant will not appear to have grown significantly compared to last year. But it will become more compact, and flowering next year will be more abundant.
Using technique 4, the following are pruned: hawthorns, paniculata hydrangea, rugosa rose (if you grow it not for fruits, but for flowering), Erica arborescens. The latter should be cut not by a third, but by two thirds of the shoot.
A large number of shrubs that produce many new shoots each year will look healthy and beautiful if you cut back one shoot out of three each year. This very common technique allows the bushes to avoid excessive thickening and also stimulates flowering on strong shoots.
The technique is applied to three groups of bushes:
This type of pruning should begin when the bush reaches three years of age. And if every year after that you cut out one branch out of three, the bush will look strong and compact at the same time.
Remove one stem out of three, cutting it as close to the ground as possible. Select the weakest and oldest branches first.
After all old and weakened branches have been removed, remove those that extend far from the center of the bush and disrupt the shape of the plant. If you don't see a bud near the ground from which a new shoot can emerge, leave a short stem with a bud. You can later delete this branch as well when there is enough new growth to replace it.
After pruning, the bush may look somewhat sparse. But soon new shoots will appear to fill the space.
Using technique 5, a significant part of the bushes are pruned, if they need to be formed as tapeworms, and not for hedges. Among them are barberries, cotoneasters, hazel, deutzia, white derain "Elegantissima", colkvitia, honeysuckle, sea buckthorn, mahonia, weigela, snowberry, stephanandra tanaki, mock orange, oleaster, ornamental currants, forsythia, cinquefoil, lilac (with a small caveat: remove you need not one of three, but one of four shoots), elderberry (if you need to stimulate not foliage growth, but flowering and fruiting); spirea - arguta, vanguta, thunberga, nipponica, Japanese - "Bumalda" and "Shirobana", viburnum (if you want to keep the bush more compact).
Please note: shrubs that bloom in early spring should be cut only after they have finished flowering. Summer-flowering shrubs can be pruned in early spring.
Use this technique to cultivate and improve the development of plants that throw up a large number of vigorously growing rods (such as sweet raspberries).
Some shrubs, such as ornamental raspberries, send out many new shoots every year. Old branches are best pruned to ground level in early spring.
This pruning is also used in cases where young shoots of plants growing like raspberries have a decorative color. Let's say Rubus cockburnianus has young shoots white. With age, their color changes and becomes less interesting. It is advisable to prune such a plant annually to ground level.
When pruning such plants, you do not need to worry about cutting to the bud that is visible to you. Young shoots will come directly from underground.
Using technique 6, the following are pruned: decorative raspberries, stephanandra inquisa, bicolor lespedeza.
Plants that are grown for their beautifully colored shoots, such as white dogwood, will look more attractive if they are regularly trimmed back to 5cm from the base of the bush to encourage the growth of new shoots.
The same technique is necessary to stimulate the growth of large decorative leaves, such as elderberries with yellow leaves.
Allow the plant to grow for a season after planting and then prune it back to 5-7cm above the ground the following spring.
We do not recommend cutting plants in this way every year: if the bush is not well fed or poorly mulched, it will be able to throw out only weakened thin stems. But pruning to the base every second year is just what is needed. It will promote the growth of strong, thick stems, and the plant will not need intensive feeding.
Using technique 7, the following are pruned: tree trees with decorative bark and decorative leaves, willows with decorative bark, elderberry - if it is grown for its beautiful leaves.
The technique is exactly the same as the previous one. But pruning should be done in the first spring after planting and is required every year without fail. Buddleia and other shrubs that bloom on the current season's growth (such as tree hydrangea) will produce larger flowers on more compact plants if you prune the plant back to 5 to 7 cm from the base of the bush each spring. If this is not done, the plants will produce smaller flowers on spindly, elongated branches.
Trim off all last year's growth, leaving 2 buds at the base. This is usually 5-7 cm on last year's shoots.
If the bush has grown to very large sizes and is overflowing with shoots, cut one or two old stems to ground level. This will allow the plant to conserve energy for better flowering and get rid of poorly placed branches.
After pruning, many bushes can throw out shoots up to one and a half meters or more per season.
The same technique is applicable in the case of dwarf Japanese spirea. By cutting them to the base of the bush, you kill several birds with one stone: you create growing conditions for new strong stems, form a compact, beautifully shaped shrub, and in the case of yellow-leaved spirea, promote the growth of brighter and more expressive foliage.
Using technique 8, the following are pruned: buddleia, tree hydrangea, spirea “Little Princess”, “Golden Princess”, “Gold Mound”, “Nana” and similar ones.
Regular pruning of plants such as lavender helps to create the correct compact shape. Start cutting the plant while it is young. If you resort to severe pruning of an adult plant for the first time and cut into old wood, the bush can become very weak and even die. Prune regularly every spring.
If the current year's growth comes directly from the base of the bush, cut the plant 5-10 cm from the ground.
Be careful with a mature plant with a woody base that does not have young shoots coming from the ground. Do not cut into old dark wood. Make do with trimming soft shoots from the previous year 5-10 cm from old dark wood.
Using technique 9, the following are pruned: lavender, perovski.
That, in fact, is all the wisdom.
Of course, this scheme needs to be approached creatively. If, say, a shrub, which is usually pruned using technique 5 (one shoot out of three is removed), has grown greatly, lost its attractive shape and begins to bloom worse, it can be radically planted on a stump using technique 8 and thereby be rejuvenated. If the tips of a bush that is pruned using the same technique 5 are frozen, you will still have to not only remove one shoot out of three, but also run pruning shears along the tips of the frozen branches. For example, I don’t really like it when my cinquefoils “Goldfinger” and “Tangerine” fall apart in somewhat shapeless bushes, and therefore every spring I cut them like gorse - by half of last year’s growth. In exactly the same way and for the same purposes, I cut the summer-blooming spirea “Bumlda” and “Shirobana”. Or, for example, paniculata hydrangea. Sometimes you cut it not into a third of the shoot, but much more, in search of a good pair of buds and a beautiful shrub habit as a whole.
In short, it is quite acceptable to deviate from the rules if you know these rules well and have a perfect idea of why you are making this or that movement with the pruning shears.
And finally: any pruning technique must be combined with sanitary pruning - remove all diseased, broken, crooked, weakened branches. But this is already quite simple...
Happy pruning!
Irina SAVVATEEVA, CEO"Savvateev Nursery"
» Shrubs
Autumn pruning Inspection of fruit trees and shrubs must be carried out annually. If this is not done, it will lead to thickening of the crown. Pests and diseases accumulate in the thickened crown, which causes a decrease or even loss of the entire yield.
If a tree has not been pruned for several years, it may be necessary to remove many branches. But it is not advisable to do this at once. It is better to prune such trees over several years.
When pruning fruit trees, it is very easy to harm the plant, especially when pruning young trees. That's why When starting pruning, you need to clearly understand which branch and why it needs to be removed.
The consequences of improper pruning of young trees are very difficult to correct, sometimes it even becomes impossible.
When pruning fruit trees, you must adhere to the following basic rules:
There are two main ways to trim shrubs and fruit trees:
Both pruning methods are carried out with the aim of redistributing nutrients along the branches of the tree.
There are two methods of pruning - shortening and thinning Pruning stimulates and intensively grows shoots and has a beneficial effect on correct formation plants. Pruning leads to a reduction in the number of buds that consume food, the path from the root system to the leaves of the plant is shortened, which stimulates increased growth.
Shortening - This is the partial removal of the upper part of the shoot. Shortening stimulates the growth of young shoots and the development of buds located below the cut, and also helps to increase the thickness of the branches.
Thinning - This is a complete removal of branches. This pruning prevents the crown from thickening, prevents the development of diseases and pests, and therefore increases productivity.
The very first pruning of shrubs is carried out during planting. In young 2-3 year old seedlings, shoots are shortened to 10 - 15 cm, no more than 3-5 buds are left on one shoot.
At proper care, in the first year young shoots will grow from these buds.
Pruning shrubs in the fall, all diseased, broken or dry ones, as well as shoots that are close to the ground must be removed. If in the first year of development berry bush developed poorly and gave weak growth, then all shoots must be cut almost to ground level, leaving only 3-5 cm above the surface.
In the second year of life, the shrub should form several more new powerful shoots. In the second year of life, the shrub should grow several more young powerful branches. In the fall, the shrub is also sanitized with the removal of diseased, broken or dry branches.
When removing shoots, pruning is done as close to the base as possible.
In the spring, you need to once again pay attention to the condition of the bush and, if necessary, carry out another sanitary cutting.
Please note that spring pruning of shrubs is done before sap flows and buds begin to swell.
In the fall, carry out sanitary pruning of the bush again, and also cut off excess branches. On average, an adult and well-developed bush should have from 10 to 15 branches of different ages.
When pruning shrubs in the future, it is necessary to remember that branches grow most intensively in the first year of life, and then the growth rate decreases greatly. And by the age of five or six, the growth of branches practically stops.
In shrubs with abundant branching shoots are trimmed a little. In bushes with medium branching branches are cut at 25% of the length, and with weaker branches, about half of the shoot is cut off.
The formation of the shrub must be completed 4–5 years after planting.
A healthy bush, as a rule, should have the following ratio of shoots:
Shoots of shrubs are removed depending on their physiological state, direction and strength of growth. And this ratio may change.
Never forget about updating and rejuvenating the bush - your future harvest will depend on this work.
What it will look like hedge further, depends on correct formation in the first year, after her disembarkation. Therefore, the correct formation of a hedge should begin soon after planting.
Many amateur gardeners do not cut out young shrubs for the first few years, but this is wrong. To prevent the plant from growing upward, in the first year of life it is necessary to carry out correct pruning . This will stimulate a good education new root growths. If this is not done, the lower part of the fence may be exposed, and the top will be thickened.
Many plants that are used for hedges, such as hawthorn, snowberry, privet, comb and mirabelle, are erect. Therefore, they especially require good pruning soon after planting.
Soon after planting, prune all plants., leaving shoots no more than 15 cm above the ground. This will stimulate the growth of powerful young root shoots.
Next year, it is necessary to carry out another severe pruning of the plant. This will ensure the correct formation of a dense crown. If the density of the bushes seems insufficient to you, you can do heavy pruning again next year.
Third and further years When the formation of strong root growth is completed, only cosmetic decorative pruning of plants is necessary. The interval between pruning depends on the type of plant and slightly on weather conditions.
Self-pruning of trees must begin with the removal of dry, diseased, and old branches. It is these branches that reduce the yield of garden trees.
In order not to accidentally cause unnecessary injury to the fruit tree, you must immediately inspect the branches and decide on the number of branches that need to be removed. It is better to cut off one large branch than to cut off several small ones.. When pruning branches, it is not recommended to leave stumps on the trunk, but to remove the entire branch down to the base near the trunk.
When planning to prune a fruit tree in the fall, you should first prepare the tool. Make sure your hacksaw, secateurs or scissors are sharp. The level of injury caused to the plant depends on their severity. The better the garden tool is sharpened, the less damage will be caused to the tree trunk.. A sharp tool will do its job much better.
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Even old trees, with proper care, can produce tasty and high-quality fruits. To do this you should remove unnecessary branches and form the tree crown into a bush. In this case, it is necessary to leave only the strongest and youngest branches.
Proper pruning of fruit trees and shrubs is the key good harvest . You just have to master all the intricacies of gardening once and then apply and improve your skills in practice.
