Key Techniques and Methods for Dwarfing Potted Flowers and Woody Plants
If potted flowers are not pruned and shaped during cultivation and are allowed to grow freely, their branches and leaves will become sparse and their ornamental effect will be reduced.
1. Pinching: For potted flowers with strong sprouting ability, when the main trunk grows to a certain height, pinch off its top to promote the sprouting of side branches. When the side branches grow to a certain length, pinch them again, and the trunk can be dwarfed. For example, pinching the main trunk and main branches of oleander (Nerium oleander) can cultivate a relatively dwarfed, full plant shape with a "three-fork, nine-top" form.
2. Trunk bending: For flowers and woody plants with soft, easily bent branches, when they grow to the required height, artificial trunk bending can make the plant shape shorter and cultivate spiral-shaped plants. For example, bending poinsettia (Euphorbia pulcherrima) so that it coils left and right in a spiral shape can make the branches dwarf while growing, with an elegant posture.
3. Pruning and shaping: For plants such as boxwood (Buxus) and pittosporum (Pittosporum), continuous pruning and shaping from the young plant stage can promote more branching and allow them to be pruned into a round shape; figs (Ficus carica) can also be formed into a relatively short, round-headed shape through pinching and pruning, which both dwarfs the branches and makes the tree posture elegant and full; modern roses can also be dwarfed and made to bloom more by timely pruning after each flowering.
4. Girdling: For flowers and woody plants that root easily, such as grapes and finger citron (Citrus medica var. sarcodactylis), after fruit set, remove a ring of bark, then wrap the girdled area with nutrient film containing substrate and tie it securely, keeping the substrate moist regularly. Roots can form in 2-3 months. At this time, cut it off from the mother plant promptly and cultivate it separately, and it will develop into a dwarfed new plant.
5. Chemical control: Spraying leaves with paclobutrazol, Zhuangfeng'an, chlormequat, mepiquat chloride, etc. at a certain concentration can make flowers and woody plants sturdy and can also achieve dwarfing and lush branches and leaves.
