Honeysuckle is a fairly common shrub in Russia, which is successfully grown not only for decorative purposes, but also for the sake of healthy and tasty fruits rich in valuable vitamins. Honeysuckle requires maintenance and pruning, like any crop. If care is limited to timely watering, fertilizing and removing weeds, then not only the attractive appearance, but also the yield of the crop often depends on the correct and timely pruning. The growing area of honeysuckle covers almost all regions of the country, since this bush is quite unpretentious in care, and a number of varieties have increased frost resistance.
Indications for pruning
Before you start pruning honeysuckle, it is important to know that there are two types of this shrub - decorative and edible.
Edible honeysuckle is pruned to thin out the crown of the plant, since when it thickens, its fertility is greatly impaired. For example, flowers in the thick of foliage are not pollinated by bees, and those berries that are still ripe will be sour and small, since they do not have enough sun.
During the first two or three years after planting, radical pruning is not required, only sanitary cleaning of the plant is done, removing damaged, dried or diseased stems. Also, branches that grow low from the ground and those that tend deeper into the bush are cut off.
Pruning of honeysuckle is done in order to thin out the crown of the plant.
Ornamental honeysuckle also needs pruning, but in this case, this is done to give the plant an aesthetic shape. However, before you perform such pruning, you should decide on the desired method of growing the shrub.
Timing and features of pruning
Edible honeysuckle, like other plants, is pruned during dormancy. In this case, the optimal time for the procedure is spring before the buds awaken and autumn after the period of leaf fall. For decorative honeysuckle, the requirements are not so strict - it can be trimmed throughout the year as needed.
It is very important to choose the right time for the procedure, as pruning too early can lead to premature flowering and reduce the yield, and too late pruning can completely ruin the bush. Since the slices can freeze in winter.
In cold climates, formative pruning is done in early spring. In the first year after pruning, the yield may decrease, but in the future the plant will move away from stress, get stronger and in future years it will give good yields.
Spring pruning
The spring pruning procedure for honeysuckle is carried out in two stages. The first session is performed in March-April, before the start of the growing season. At this time, sanitary pruning is performed, removing weak, diseased and damaged branches. But the next time the plant is cut off after the buds open, when all the weak branches are visible.
Regular spring pruning significantly prolongs the period of high productivity of the shrub, helps to maintain its decorative appearance and improves the quality of the fruit. The main thing is not to get carried away too much, otherwise the culture will die.
Pruning in the fall
Autumn pruning is done from August to October. The exact time depends on the climate in which the shrub is grown.You can determine the optimal time by the following signs: complete fall of foliage, at night the temperature drops below zero, and about a month remained freezing.
Among the advantages of autumn pruning are the following:
- Increase in yields;
- Enhancing further growth;
- Cutting dry and damaged shoots so that a healthy plant does not hurt because of them;
- Thinning shrubs to improve fruit quality and reduce the chance of pests.
Pruning honeysuckle increases yields
In fact, proper pruning, done in both spring and fall, has a beneficial effect on plant growth and health. But it is very important to comply with all the necessary deadlines and follow the instructions, otherwise inaccurate actions can lead to the death of the plant.
When and where to start preparing honeysuckle for winter
Honeysuckle is an unpretentious plant, many of its species withstand Siberian winters even without shelter. But in order to grow a rich harvest of berries, so that the plant has a well-groomed appearance, it must be monitored.
The harvest and dormancy period for the shrub occurs earlier than for most fruit trees. By the end of summer, the plant must be prepared for winter.... This is pruning branches, cleaning weeds and dry branches, plant feeding. Gardeners have different opinions about fallen leaves. Some people think that this is additional protection from cold weather and it is not necessary to remove dry leaves. Others call for the cleaning of fallen leaves, in which garden pests hide for the winter.
Rules and methods of pruning
There are several types of pruning that serve different purposes. Formative pruning is done to give the plant an aesthetic appearance and to improve yields. Sanitary is needed to remove damaged, weak, diseased and non-viable branches, and rejuvenation is carried out on old plants to improve fruit-bearing qualities and appearance.
It is worth knowing about the correct pruning even before planting. Before planting honeysuckle in the ground, you should carefully examine the root system and carefully remove all damaged roots. After planting in the ground, for the first two to three years, only sanitary pruning is performed with the removal of damaged, dry and diseased branches. Three-year-old shrubs already require formative pruning.
Compliance with all pruning rules and careful plant care can extend the life and fruiting period of the plant for up to 50 years.
Formative pruning
This type of pruning is performed for the first time after 2 - 3 years. And in 5-6 years it will become a charming annual event.
The sequence of the procedure is as follows:
- First of all, the lowest branches that touch the ground are cut off;
- The next step is to cut off young growth, since it does not bring any benefit;
- Branches growing vertically upward, inside the bush, on old shoots, must also be removed;
- Thin and weak shoots should also be pruned;
- The next step is to pinch the tops of the shoots, giving a weak growth;
- Thick old branches in the center of the bush, on which no growth is observed anymore, are also cut off. If there is an increase on them, then only the tops are removed, making up a branch with buds.
When pruning, it is important not to affect young annual shoots, it is on them that the harvest will appear in the future.
On edible honeysuckle, no more than 5 thick "skeletal" branches are left, which will serve as a kind of frame for the plant. It is advisable to treat the cut site with ash or charcoal so that the plant does not get sick after the procedure.
In the process, it is important to observe harmony - the lower part of the bush should not be too bare, and the central part, on the contrary, should not be too thick.
Sanitary pruning
This type of pruning is necessary to remove excess parts of the bush.It is with sanitary pruning that branches that are useless in terms of growth and future fruiting are removed. Old branches, weak young gods, sick, frozen, dry and simply damaged parts of the plant are cut off. If necessary, thin out the middle of the bush and remove some of the shoots from the bottom.
Sanitary pruning of honeysuckle is done to remove excess parts of the bush
Anti-aging pruning
This type of pruning is recommended for shrubs aged 7 and older. This procedure is carried out as follows: first, the stems located at the base are removed, and hemp several centimeters long are left on them. This will promote healthy young growth. If you perform anti-aging pruning with a frequency of 3 to 5 years, then honeysuckle will delight with abundant harvests for decades.
Bushes at the age of 15 years, especially if they are in a neglected state, carry out a more radical pruning of honeysuckle according to a special scheme. In this case, the entire bush is cut off, leaving 30-50 cm in length for each stem. After that, the plant will take two years to form a new bush. This procedure can be done both in spring and autumn, but in areas with a cold climate, spring is more preferable.
How to prune honeysuckle in the fall
To preserve the yield and decorativeness of the habit, the agrotechnical measure is carried out at the end of the growing season. Several rules for pruning honeysuckle in the fall:
- The formation or rejuvenation of the bush begins only after leaf fall, then the plant is in the biological dormant phase, it will more easily tolerate mechanical stress.
- They use special tools in their work, for example, garden shears with long handles, they are less traumatic for young stems.
- You can trim dry twigs on annual shoots, but the top must not be touched.
- The tops of perennial branches are removed before branching; in these areas, the main accumulation of dormant fruit buds is observed.
Young shoots during the formation of berries can bend under the weight of the harvest, especially if their length exceeds 50 cm. To avoid deformation of the shoots, it is recommended to fix them to a support. Near the bush, a stake is driven in along the height of the plant, the branches are carefully collected in a loose bunch, wrapped with a rope and tied to a trellis.
Care after the procedure
Pruning is stressful for plants. To make this phenomenon easier to overcome, the bush is given top dressing. In the spring, nitrogen fertilizers are used for her at the rate of two buckets per bush. In autumn, potassium and phosphorus are used for the same purpose. Before feeding, it is important not to forget to water the shrub. In general, honeysuckle is not whimsical, so no other care is required.
The main thing is to ensure timely watering. But if it is noticeable that the plant is going through pruning hard, especially in the spring, during the period of active growth, then fertilization can be repeated.
What to do in the summer
Basically, during this period, the elimination of branches is not carried out, since a large number of pests create a risk of infection of the shrub. In exceptional cases, you can correct the spring pruning at the beginning of summer if errors are visible.
After harvesting, thinning can be carried out, since at this time there is a lot of sun and it is better to see which parts of the tree it hits the least. And you should also remove old and diseased branches.
The nuances of pruning ornamental plant species
When processing ornamental honeysuckle, the pruning procedure is slightly different, since it has different goals. First of all, before proceeding with decorative pruning, you should decide on the desired growing method and adjust the shrub according to the chosen one.
Ornamental honeysuckle is pruned in the spring or fall after the leaves fall.But at the same time, protruding and dried branches on decorative honeysuckle are recommended to be pruned throughout the entire growth period. The sanitary procedure should be performed annually, and, if necessary, resort to other types. For example, anti-aging is performed every 2-3 years. In the process of rejuvenation, the old stems are removed, leaving 6 young and healthy central stems necessary for the further growth of the plant. Older bushes sometimes need complete rejuvenation. This is done in almost the same way as for fruiting species - all the stems are cut off, leaving about 50 cm in length on each. However, with any kind of pruning, you should not touch strong young annual shoots, since flowers will form on them.
Is honeysuckle pruned in the fall
Honeysuckle produces edible berries and has an ornamental habit. The plant is multifunctional: in addition to useful fruits, it has a bright appearance from the beginning of flowering until the leaves fall, this feature has found application in ornamental gardening and landscape design. To prevent thickening of the shrub, pruning is carried out every year.
Without a timely measure in the fall, at the beginning of the growing season, a compact green mass is formed, which blocks the access of ultraviolet radiation to the branches and buds, nutrition worsens, and the yield falls.
Perennial branches begin to die off over time, and young ones appear in small numbers, the vegetation of honeysuckle without pruning is not aimed at replacing. Every year, the yield falls, and the shrub runs wild. Flowering stops if decorative honeysuckle is not pruned in autumn, it loses its shape and aesthetic appearance.
Important! The culture forms fruits on last year's shoots, each bud gives buds, their main accumulation is observed in the upper part of the stems.
