Privet Tree Shaping and Pruning Methods and Key Technical Points

1. Transplant pruning: When transplanting in the nursery, the trunk should be cut back by 1/3. Below the cut, only one strong bud should be selected and kept to develop into the trunk extension shoot; the other bud opposite it must be removed. To prevent the formation of competing shoots at the top, the 1st to 2nd pairs of buds below the cut should also be destroyed.

2. Planting pruning: Before planting, cut back the 1-year-old extension shoot of the central trunk of large saplings by 1/3, keep a strong bud at the cut bud, and at the same time remove 1 bud from the first pair of buds below the cut to ensure the apical dominance of the selected bud. To prevent the formation of competing shoots at the top, the second and third pairs of axillary buds below the cut should be destroyed. For the other branches located on the lower and middle parts of the central trunk, 3 to 4 main branches should be selected and kept (based on the trunk height), with a certain spacing and distributed in a staggered manner. Each main branch should be cut back, leaving the lower bud and removing the upper bud, so as to expand the crown and maintain ventilation and light penetration within the crown. The remaining thin and weak branches can be left unpruned to support the growth of the main trunk.

Summer pruning mainly involves cutting back the competing shoots of the main branches on the central trunk and continuously weakening their growth vigor. At the same time, the sprouting and tillering shoots on the trunk and roots should be pruned off.

In the winter pruning of the second year, the extension shoot of the central trunk should still be cut back, but the direction of the retained bud should be opposite to that of the first year. If competing shoots appear on the upper part of the central trunk, they should be promptly headed back or cut back to weaken their growth vigor. As long as the pruning in the first year is appropriate, in addition to one extension shoot growing at the top, several branches can also develop on the lower part. From these, 1 to 2 branches with a certain spacing and staggered growth relative to the several main branches retained in the first year should be selected as the second tier of main branches and moderately cut back. The winter pruning in the third year should also be similar to that of the previous years, but because the tree has grown taller, 1 to 2 of the several main branches on the lower part of the trunk should be gradually removed year by year, so as to gradually raise the clear trunk height.

3. Pruning of neglected trees: For large privet saplings that have been neglected in pruning management for many years and whose central trunk has no obvious extension shoot, one branch whose growth position is relatively straight and aligned with the trunk should be selected and cut back as the trunk extension shoot. At the same time, 1 of the opposite buds below the cut and the 2 pairs of buds beneath it should be removed or destroyed. The remaining strong main branches should, according to their position and vigor, either be thinned out if too dense or be cut back with corresponding severity to suppress their growth and promote vigorous growth of the central main branch, forming a strong trunk. At the same time, branches with suitable positions should be selected as main branches (paying attention to appropriate spacing and staggered distribution) and cut back. The cutback should proceed from bottom to top, shortening them one by one, so that the crown is large at the bottom and small at the top. After 3 to 5 years of pruning, when the trunk height is sufficient, pruning can be stopped and the tree allowed to grow naturally.