The correct method for winter pruning of honeysuckle branches

Honeysuckle (Lonicera japonica) is a semi-evergreen twining shrub with a well-developed root system and tolerance to drought and poor soil, making it an ideal plant for soil and water conservation. The pruning of honeysuckle varies depending on the planting form, site conditions, and management level. Its winter pruning techniques are introduced as follows:

1. Pruning period

Winter pruning of honeysuckle is best carried out from December each year to early March of the following year.

2. Pruning methods

1. Pruning of young plants. Pruning of young plants focuses on shaping, with emphasis on developing primary, secondary, and tertiary scaffold branches to form a sturdy framework and lay the foundation for future high yields. The plant shape generally adopts the natural round-headed form and the umbrella form.

For pruning in the year of planting, the natural round-headed form keeps 1 branch, and the umbrella form keeps 3 branches; the branches are cut back leaving 3 to 5 nodes, and all remaining branches are removed. In the second year of pruning, the natural round-headed form keeps 2 to 3 and the umbrella form keeps 6 to 7 vigorous branches as primary scaffold branches, cut back leaving 3 to 5 nodes, and all other branches are removed. In the third year of pruning, the natural round-headed form selects and keeps 7 to 11 and the umbrella form selects and keeps 12 to 15 branches as secondary scaffold branches, thus developing the primary, secondary, and tertiary scaffold branches well.

2. Pruning of mature plants. The framework of mature plants has basically formed, and pruning mainly aims to develop vigorous flowering mother branches, using new shoots to adjust the angle of scaffold branches, removing the weak and keeping the strong. The base diameter of the selected flowering mother branches must be more than 0.5 cm. Each secondary scaffold branch keeps at most 2 to 3 flowering mother branches, each tertiary scaffold branch keeps at most 4 to 5, and the whole plant keeps 80 to 120 flowering mother branches. During pruning, remove crossing branches, drooping branches, dead and weak branches, diseased and pest-infested branches, and ineffective branches. The retained flowering mother branches should be cut back: vigorous ones lightly cut back leaving 4 to 5 nodes, and moderate ones heavily cut back leaving 2 to 3 nodes, and they should be distributed evenly with a reasonable layout.

3. Pruning of old plants. After 20 years, honeysuckle plants gradually age. At this time, in addition to leaving enough flowering mother branches, pruning mainly involves renewing and rejuvenating the scaffold branches, so that the plant is old in age but the branches are young, only then can the yield be maintained. The method is to combine thinning and cutting back, suppressing the front and promoting the rear.