Tutorial on High-Yield Pruning Techniques for Schisandra: Detailed Explanation of the Latest Methods
Schisandra is a traditional Chinese medicinal herb with a relatively long history in China, and it is grown on a large area in the country. Schisandra is now consumed in fairly large quantities every year, so more and more people are growing it, and the demand for yield is naturally getting higher and higher. When growing Schisandra, if you want to increase the yield, then pruning is indispensable. So how should Schisandra be pruned? Let's take a look together with the editor below!
1. Trunk establishment
Schisandra seedlings grow relatively vigorously in the summer of the same year after planting, so for each plant we should take care to keep about 3 lateral vines for training the vines up the poles. Each seedling has two bamboo poles, and about two main vines are kept on each bamboo pole. When all the main vines have grown to about 50cm, carry out tip pinching and trunk establishment. This promotes the growth of short fruit branches. When the young branches have grown to about 30cm, choose another one with good growth as an extension branch. Pinch the tips of the other secondary shoots at about 20cm to increase the number of flowers and fruits.
2. Renewal pruning
Schisandra is a monoecious crop, so the annual flowering rate of female flowers directly affects the yield. Therefore, when growing it, we should prune appropriately to improve the airiness of the trellis surface, enhance the photosynthesis of the leaves, and increase the number of female flowers. In early spring, when the sap begins to flow, keep the extension main vine from the previous year at about 30cm, cut off the excess, and prune the secondary shoots to about 20cm. When the newly sprouted secondary shoots at the cut have grown to about 20cm, choose one secondary shoot and do not pinch its tip, treating it as a delayed branch to promote robust growth of the main vine and improve the quality and quantity of flower buds on the secondary shoots.
3. Cyclic renewal
When Schisandra has a large fruit load, also in early spring when the sap is flowing, take care to prune all short fruit branches back to about 12 cm. Then during the flowering and fruiting period, at the place where the base joins the main vine, encourage new short fruit branches to sprout. Then choose a good, robust position as the fruiting branch for the next year. Remove excess branches. When pruning the next year, take care to promptly cut off old fruiting branches. Use new fruiting branches, and carry out cyclic renewal of fruiting branches every year, as only this can effectively increase the yield.
⟦NL>4. Pruning methods
Schisandra should be pruned appropriately in every season. When pruning in spring, mainly cut off short fruit branches and old dead branches. Keep about 10 buds on long fruit branches, then thin them appropriately to avoid interfering with each other's growth. Then carry out summer pruning in June-July, cutting off inner-canopy branches, overly dense branches, and so on; even for new shoots, when they grow too densely, take care to thin them promptly. Then in autumn keep about 3 robust branches and cut off excess basal shoots, generally after leaf fall. Finally, carry out winter pruning before winter arrives to help Schisandra overwinter successfully.
The above is a brief introduction to Schisandra pruning techniques. The pruning work for Schisandra is directly related to the yield, so everyone must pay close attention when growing it. That is all for today's introduction. This article is for reference only. Thank you all for reading and supporting.