How to Prune a Rubber Plant: The Latest Rubber Plant Pruning Methods
Rubber plants grow especially fast. If you do not pay attention to shaping the rubber plant during routine care, its ornamental value will be greatly reduced. So the rubber plant needs to be pruned properly. Some plant lovers do not know where to start, and for beginners especially, pruning a rubber plant is truly not an easy task. How do you prune a rubber plant? Here we will explain the rubber plant pruning methods.
I. Methods for Pruning a Rubber Plant to Encourage Branching
1. Pinching
The first rubber plant pruning method is pinching. This means removing the terminal bud of a rubber plant branch or cutting off the tip of the branch to encourage side branches to sprout. The pruning method is: when the rubber plant has grown to 30-50 cm, cut off the leaves and young buds at the top. Usually the 2 to 3 side buds near the top sprout very easily, and after the side branches grow out, the tree shape becomes cup-shaped or Y-shaped, so the pinching method is quite easy.
2. Heading Back
The heading-back pruning method is cutting off one third or one half of the upper part of the entire main branch to encourage side branches to sprout from the trunk. Heading back is a large cut, and within one year of pruning the plant has very few branches and leaves and poor ornamental value, but as time goes on the side buds sprout, and after later pruning the shape will be very beautiful.
3. Notching
Notching refers to cutting wounds into the bare parts of the main branch to prompt the buds below the cuts to sprout and form side branches; this method is called notching. It is generally best done in mid-April, and it can form side branches with 3 to 4 leaves. At 0.5-1 cm above the bud you want to encourage, use a knife to make 1 to 2 horizontal cuts parallel to the internode; the cut should be deep enough to cut through the epidermis to the xylem, the cut length should be 1/2 of the stem circumference, and the distance between the two cuts should be about 0.2 cm. After one month, the buds below the cuts begin to sprout. By autumn, they can grow into side branches with 3 to 4 leaves.
II. Methods for Pruning the Main Trunk of a Rubber Plant
1. Bud Removal
Remove buds as soon as they begin to sprout, to inhibit the growth of side branches. The main principle is to eliminate sprouting side buds so that nutrients are supplied in a concentrated way to the growth of the main branch.
2. Thinning
Thin out branches that are too dense. Use scissors to cut the branches off from the base of the branch. If bud removal is not done in time, use the thinning method.
III. Pruning Season for Rubber Plants
The main thing to note when pruning a rubber plant is to control the side branches in summer and prune the branches in winter. That is, in summer carry out heavy control of strong vigorous branches, controlling the strong and keeping the weak, adjusting the tree's vigor evenly, and grasping the principles of cutting back the leaders of strong side branches, heavy pruning of strong branches, light pruning of weak branches, and keeping more small branches, so as to achieve the pruning goal of highlighting the main trunk and promoting faster growth of the tree. In winter carry out heavy pruning of strong branches and light pruning of weak branches, with the focus on removing upright, strong competing branches from the base.
Conclusion: The above are the rubber plant pruning methods. Everyone should have some understanding now! Actually, the key points of pruning are not that difficult. I believe that in the future, when you wonder how to prune a rubber plant, you will no longer be troubled and can solve it fairly easily, making your rubber plant grow more beautifully.