Cutting trees and shrubsis one of the most important care treatments. Unfortunately, for many gardenerspruning plants is problematic , and it is easy to damage the plant by cutting them incorrectly. Here are the5 biggest mistakes in pruning plantsthat can be fatal. Alicja Grabowska and Lucyna Grabowska, authors of the book Cutting School, suggest how to avoid them. "
What mistakes do we make when cutting plants?
Fig. depositphotos.com
1. Bad term cut
By cutting at the wrong time, you can deprive a flowering bush of its greatest ornament - flowers.In the early spring or in the spring, it is not allowed to cut the shoots of shrubs that will bloom in spring, because there are flower buds on them .
There are also trees and shrubs, whichmust not be cut during the period of highly circulating sap , because they can be exposed to the so-called crying, i.e. leakage of juices dangerous to their he alth and even life. These are, among others: grapevine, maple, birch.
Fig. 2 Forsythia and other spring-flowering shrubs, prune only after flowering
2. No cut at all
It is a mistake not to prune, especially in young, newly planted shrubs, the pruning of which helps to bloom and take on a pretty silhouette. Theseshrubs not trimmed when young are often bald from the bottom , and only from the point where the gardener started pruning them, have dense twigs.
Fig. 2 After planting, trim the shoots of the young bush by at least half in spring
3. Blind cutting
Cutting any kind of , any where, at the wrong angle is detrimental to plant development. It is a mistake to rush and lack reflection why we cut a given plant.Do not cut twigs over the inward-facing bud , because this way new shoots will grow inside the crown and thus make it excessively dense. Do not cut straight, but at an angle opposite to the bud. Do not leave stumps too long.
Fig. 1 Cut too far from the bud and too high above the pair of buds
Fig. The direction of the new twigs is marked with dashed lines, depending on the place of cutting
4. Old conifers are cut too hard
Old conifers must not be pruned too drastically . It is better to do it in installments, and even better to regularly trim the conifers from youth. Cutting hard not only makes such conifers look terrible, but also exposes them to disease and death.
Fig. 2 Do not prune the conifers so tightly
5. Hedge bald from below
If you let your hedge rush up quickly andyou don't trim it from an early ageyou will experience great disappointment - your green fence below will be bald as there will be few twigs and no will be strongly branched. To avoid this, cut the bushes strongly from youth, thanks to which you will stimulate the lower buds to sprout the twigs.
Fig. 3 This is what the hedge looks like, which has not been cut since youth
How to become confident in pruning plants?
If you are unsure how to cut or simply afraid to do it, the fantastic book "Cutting School" will help you. Thanks to it, you will gain confidence in pruning plants and learn to cut plants so that they grow according to your expectations. After reading this book, your approach to pruning plants will probably change completely!
