Pines are quite resistant plants, and at the same time beautiful, and therefore willingly planted in gardens. Some of them, however, can become very large. Seehow to prune pineto limit pine growth and when is the bestdeadline for pruning pineHere's a simple way to keep pine growth in check without having to … trim it twigs! With this guide you will make the pines in your garden grow the way you want and easily give them the desired shape.
How and when to prune a pine?
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For small gardens and for growing in containers or pots, choosevery slow-growingpine varieties, reaching small sizes. Such miniature pine varieties are, for example, Bosnian pine 'Smidtii', numerous varieties of mountain pine 'Humpy', 'Lilliput' or 'Mops' and the white pine 'Sea Urchin'.
However, if we have planted strongly growing species or varieties of pines, it is worth knowing that their growth can be very easily regulated. However, we need to know thatpines are pruned differently than other conifers .
Pruning young pine growths
Well, the pine grows from young growths, the so-called candles, made in spring at the ends of the shoots.To limit the growth of the pine, the candles should be broken out or cut in half or e.g. 1/3 of their length (depending on how much we want to let the pine grow)
Pruning young pine growths, the so-called candles
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In this way, we can very easily regulate the growth of pines from their youth. We can even control such large pines, such as black pine, white pine or yellow pine.Pine candles are trimmed at the turn of May and JuneAnd because they are quite soft, you can shorten them using both secateurs and ordinary scissors.
Pruning young pine growths, the so-called candles
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Trimming the older pines
"But what if we have a pine tree in the gardentoo large, the size of which we want to limit ?
Its branches can also be trimmed, but remember thatcut them either close to the root (to completely remove the branch) or only slightly shorten the tops , because the buds capable of further development are only in the upper part of the shoots. If a pine branch is cut too short, it may form an unsightly bald stump that does not produce suckers."
Skillfully pruning a pine tree, we can create an attractive bonsai-style door
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This waywe can cut both the lower branches of pines and thin the higher ones, which overly thicken the tree's crownIt is better to trim very short sections of shoots by performing the treatment regularly every year than one-time radically shorten the branches, because in the latter case it is very easy to disfigure the tree.
Remember thatpruning and shaping pines should always be performed when young growths are growing, i.e. from May to the beginning of JuneOnly during this time the trimmed twig will be able to produce buds, and from them new growths, thanks to which the tree will retain its natural habit and will thicken nicely.
Good to know!
The places where pine shoots are cut do not need to be protected with garden ointment, because pine trees produce a lot of resin, which floods the wound. The resin of pine trees has strong fungicidal properties and thus the tree itself is used as a dressing for pruning wounds.
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!
