How to Prune Osmanthus? A Detailed Guide to the Correct Method
Osmanthus is one of China's traditional top ten famous flowers, also known as rock osmanthus. It has a wide variety of horticultural cultivars, the most representative being golden osmanthus, silver osmanthus, red osmanthus, and sweet osmanthus. Today we introduce the method of pruning osmanthus.
1. No pruning of the whole plant
The method of not pruning the whole plant is suitable for the initial stage of shaping osmanthus during the young tree period. It mainly includes twig twisting and branch pulling: twig twisting is artificially changing the growth direction of young shoots in the early growth stage, which serves to adjust their position and improve their ornamental value. Branch pulling is for thick one-year-old branches, controlling the growth direction by using wire and driving wooden stakes into the ground.
2. Light pruning
First, pinching is needed: remove the tender shoot at the very tip of the branch that bears 3 or 4 small leaves. This can promote more branching and is suitable for growing vegetative branches. But note that the branch must be pinched off. Next is heading back, which is the work needed for one-year-old growing branches. After pruning, keep more than half of the branch, which can promote the growth of buds on the upper part of the branch. Finally, renewal pruning is done on long branches that are two years old or more; the part of the branches and leaves grown in the previous year should be cut off to replace the branch group.
3. Heavy pruning
This method is suitable for the renewal of old osmanthus trees. The first two pruning methods do not have much effect on the overall tree shape of the osmanthus. If it is heavy pruning, the original tree shape may be completely changed, and it can be used in combination with grafting for even better results.
Osmanthus tea made from osmanthus as a raw material is a specialty tea of China. It has a mild fragrance and a pleasant taste, and is loved by the public. Osmanthus is widely used in landscape construction. In ancient Chinese poetry praising flowers, the number of works praising osmanthus is also quite considerable. Since ancient times it has been deeply loved by Chinese people and regarded as a traditional famous flower.