How to prune houseplants and flowers? Detailed explanation of pruning and shaping methods and techniques

Shaping and pruning are important technical measures in the daily cultivation and management of flowers and plants. In a broad sense, "shaping" refers to adjusting the form of the plant, and "pruning" refers to cutting back branches. Through shaping and pruning, not only can the plant form be kept neat, with clear layers, pleasing arrangement, moderate height and graceful shape, improving ornamental value; but also timely removal of unnecessary branches can save nutrients, adjust plant vigor, improve light penetration conditions, and thereby regulate and control the growth and development of flowering plants, promoting robust growth with more flowers and abundant fruit. This article explains the content of pruning flowering plants, including branch pruning, pinching, leaf removal, bud removal, fruit thinning, bud rubbing, shoot tipping, root pruning and many other aspects.

After pruning, foliage plants are more likely to sprout new branches and produce more new leaves, enhancing the ornamental effect. If shaping and pruning are not carried out for years, first, branches sprouting from the base of the plant grow in clusters, causing nutrients to be dispersed, the ratio of branches to trunk to become unbalanced, and often resulting in lush top growth with a bare lower section, which looks very unattractive; second, allowing it to grow naturally not only makes the branches grow chaotically, but also makes them grow taller and taller, so some indoor-grown flowering plants become tall, affecting indoor lighting, and causing the flowering position to shift upward, with the number of flowers greatly reduced, thus greatly affecting the ornamental effect. Therefore, shaping and pruning are indispensable daily management measures for cultivating flowers and plants. The gardening proverb "seven parts care, three parts pruning" is scientifically sound and is also an important experience in growing flowers.

The best time to prune flowers and plants

There are many kinds of flowers and plants, and different types of flowering plants should be pruned at different times. When pruning flowering plants grown mainly for their flowers, it is necessary to understand the flowering habits of the different plants.

For those that bloom in spring, such as plum blossom, ornamental peach, winter jasmine and so on, their flower buds form on the previous year's branches, so pruning should not be done in winter, as pruning before early spring sprouting would cut off the flowering branches. Pruning should be carried out within 1-2 weeks after flowering, which can both promote new shoot growth and form flowering branches for the coming year. If pruning is delayed until autumn or winter, the branches that already formed flower buds in summer will be damaged, affecting flowering the following year.

For flowering plants that bloom on the current year's branches, such as Chinese rose, hibiscus, poinsettia, cotton rose, kumquat, finger citron and so on, pruning should be carried out during the winter dormant period to encourage more new shoots, more flowers and more fruit. Climbing flowers and plants generally do not need pruning; simply remove overly old and densely growing branches.

Flowering plants grown mainly for foliage can also be pruned during the dormant period.

How to prune flowers and plants during the growing season

1. Cracking: To prevent branches from growing too vigorously, or to form a certain artistic shape, cracking is often carried out in early spring when the buds are just beginning to swell. The rough method is to crack the branch by hand; the refined method is to first cut with a knife, then carefully bend the branch, and apply mud to the cut to prevent excessive water evaporation from the wound.

2. Bud removal (that is, bud rubbing): Usually the lateral buds or surplus buds sprouting on the branches are removed.

3. Pinching: Remove 2-5 cm from the tip of a new shoot to inhibit new shoot growth and direct nutrients to reproductive growth. When the buds on the upper part of the new shoot sprout a second growth flush, pinch again after it has grown several leaves.

4. Shoot twisting: That is, twisting a new shoot without breaking it off from the parent branch, mostly used when new shoots grow too long. The purpose of shoot twisting is to block the transport of nutrients and water to the growing point, weakening the growth vigor of the branch and favoring the formation of flowering branches. At the same time, because the stimulus produced is relatively small, it will not produce secondary shoots.

3. Branch bending (branch curving, branch tying, coiling and binding): That is, bending, tying or propping up branches or new shoots to control the sprouting of that branch or the buds on it, and it can also be used to shape trees into various artistic forms.

4. Leaf removal: Improve ventilation and light penetration by appropriately removing excess leaves.

5. Bud thinning: In order to obtain large and brightly colored flowers, lateral buds can be removed to promote the growth of the main bud.

6. Fruit removal: Sometimes young fruit is removed to make the branches grow more solidly and avoid excessive nutrient consumption; sometimes appropriate fruit thinning is carried out to obtain large, high-quality fruit; sometimes fruit is removed so that the flowers can continue to bloom.

4 methods for pruning flowers and plants during the dormant period

1. Trunk cutting: That is, cutting off the main stem or thick main branches, scaffold branches and so on. When cutting off a thick lateral branch, first use a saw to cut into the underside of the thick branch base from bottom to top by 1/3-2/5, then saw through from top to bottom, which can avoid splitting. Finally, use a sharp blade to smooth the wound, and apply a protective agent to prevent pests and diseases or water evaporation.

2. Thinning: This is cutting off an entire branch from its base, without retaining buds at the base. Thinning can make branch distribution reasonable and even, improve ventilation and light penetration inside the canopy, and reduce the occurrence of pests and diseases. The main targets of thinning are diseased and pest-infested branches, damaged branches, densely growing inner-canopy branches, dead branches, twin branches, overly dense crossing branches, weak drooping branches and interfering branches. In general, thinning should reduce the number of branches and buds to prevent excessive new shoots from consuming nutrients, and therefore it favors flower bud differentiation and flowering and fruiting.

3. Cutting back: This is cutting off part of a one-year-old branch, retaining several buds at the base, with the purpose of stimulating the lateral buds below the cut to sprout, produce new shoots, increase the number of branches, and promote more leaves and more flowers. At the same time, it can shorten the distance between branches and leaves and the roots, facilitating nutrient transport. Cutting back can also change the position of apical dominance and control the size of the canopy and the length of shoots.

4. Renewal pruning: This is cutting back perennial branches, mostly used for the renewal of branch groups or scaffold branches, or for tightening the canopy and so on. When cutting back, strong branches and upright branches should be retained below the cut, and the wound should be small, so that the branches below the cut grow vigorously or the latent buds are stimulated to sprout water sprouts. The main purpose is to renew the branches toward the center, making them more robust.