How to properly prune sea buckthorn and crown formation diagram for beginners

Sea buckthorn is a healthy berry. In nature it is difficult to collect because of the thorns. Cultivated varieties almost do not have them; the best approach to the fruits is. All this thanks to pruning garden sea buckthorn. Plant care begins from the first year of life. Gardeners create amazing transformations. They transform sea buckthorn into shrubs, low-growing trees with horizontal branches. They use formative, rejuvenating, restorative, sanitary pruning.

Goals and objectives of sea buckthorn pruning

There are several types of pruning, and each of them has a specific purpose.

Trimming:

1. Shaping – the crown of a tree or shrub is given shape. This method is responsible for decorativeness.
2. Sanitary - prevents diseases, frees the crown from unnecessary elements.
3. Rejuvenating – increases productivity by replacing old branches with new ones.
4. Restorative – a neglected, damaged crown is brought to perfection.
5. Regulating - provides an influx of air and sun.

The choice of a specific task affects how the escape will be removed. There are only two options: “on a ring” or shortening the branches in order to transfer it to a shoot or bud.

Task:

1. Limit the height of the trunk, direct the shoot in the other direction - shorten the crown, cut off a branch above the shoot or a bud at an angle.
2. To make a branch grow faster or slower - use the ringing method. A strip of bark is cut out above the bud for rapid growth, and under it for inhibition.
3. To force a young tree to bear fruit is the ringing method. Cut out the bark 1 centimeter wide near the base of the trunk.
4. Remove old branches - remove the shoots “on the ring” in the place where they branch.
5. To increase the growth of side branches - pinch the crown a month before the end of the growing season.

When to trim a tree

Experienced gardeners prune a tree at any time, but there are some restrictions. In the northern regions, it is undesirable to manipulate the tree in the fall, except for sanitary treatment. The cuts and cuts do not have time to heal. The procedure is carried out after leaf fall.

It is better to carry out a formative, rejuvenating procedure in the spring. The plant must be in a dormant stage. Regulatory pruning is carried out in the summer. At this time, fruit-bearing, dry, unnecessary branches are clearly visible.

What tools will you need?

Prepare two types of secateurs. Choose one of them small in size, with sharp ends, to handle thin branches. The second pruner needs a powerful one, with long handles - for thick branches.

1. To cut large trunks you will need a hacksaw.
2. For tall shoots you will need a lopper.
3. Garden knife.

Treat all tools with copper sulfate.

Circuits and technology

The correct technology depends on which pruning scheme is chosen.

Formative

Throughout its life, sea buckthorn forms its crown. Depending on what you want to end up with - a bush or a tree. This does not have any effect on fruiting. The main choice here is decorativeness. Up to three years, sea buckthorn grows as an unbranched shoot. Then whorls appear. The tops of their heads should be pinched.

Female specimens stretch up to 1.3 meters, males - up to 5. The branches of female trees growing upward are tied up and pulled down. Horizontally growing shoots, on the contrary, are lifted up onto supports. This strengthens the plant. Males are given a pyramidal crown. Branches that grow inward and rub against each other are removed after leaf fall or in the spring. To limit growth, the crown is trimmed.

Formative pruning is carried out in the spring. Within 4-5 years the crown is formed.

1. 1 year. The seedling grows randomly upward.
2. 2nd year The stem bends parallel to the ground in spring. In autumn, five vertical shoots appear.
3. 3rd year. In spring, turn the outermost shoot parallel to the ground. In autumn there will be berries on 4 branches. Vertical shoots form on the opposite shoot. The fruiting branch is cut off along with the berries.
4. In the 4th year, one branch is disconnected again in the opposite direction. The procedure is repeated.

Custom

In the first year of life, a bush is formed from an ungrafted plant. 5 shoots are left, the rest are cut off. To do this, dig up the root system and cut the shoot “into a ring,” otherwise two shoots will appear from one cut shoot. The tops are cut 25 centimeters from the surface of the ground. So that there are 4-5 buds on each branch. The next year, three powerful shoots are chosen, the remaining shoots are cut down. In the third year, side shoots will appear on the branches. Leave those branches that are directed to the outside. Do not get carried away with heavy pruning in the upper part, as the fruits are set there. In the fall they will bear berries.

If you have rooted sea buckthorn, then they form a bush from a skeletal branch and shoots coming from the root. The height of all shoots is up to 20 centimeters from the ground. After a season, strong shoots are selected for skeletal branches.

On the standard

In the first year of life, the seedling is left with one strong shoot. Closely growing “neighbors” are removed. After a year, the trunk is pinched to 15 centimeters. Up to 5 buds are left in the upper part. The rest are subject to removal or blinding.

Formation continues at the 3rd year of life. 5 shoots will appear from the buds. Each of them is shortened into equal sections. The bottom of the trunk is cleared of shoots. Tall varieties should be limited in growth by pinching the crown. In the future, it will be convenient to harvest without resorting to stairs.

Rejuvenating

Rejuvenating pruning of adult shrubs that have reached 7 years old helps to increase productivity. Old branches that do not bear fruit must be replaced with side shoots. Choose a powerful shoot, the main thing is that the direction is towards the outside of the bush. During the rejuvenation process, 1-3 old branches are replaced.

If tops are used, tie them with twine to the pegs. Every two weeks, increase the slope in the horizontal direction. Rejuvenation is carried out by shoots, when a young tree is planted in the old place. Sea buckthorn is cut off at the root when shoots appear; the strongest leave.

Wellness

Broken, dry branches are removed. The tree is inspected for disease. If there are infected areas, they are removed from the tree. Do not leave garbage near trees, be sure to burn it.

Is it possible to trim sea buckthorn branches when picking berries?

The branches are pruned along with the fruits if they are to be pruned in the fall. Young branches should not be touched. The tree will stop bearing fruit.

Caring for the tree after the procedure

Sea buckthorn, after spring or autumn pruning, does not require special attention. It is necessary to carefully process the cuts, feed and mulch the plant. If there is no rain, then water.

Processing slices

Sections up to 1 centimeter in diameter are not processed. Large saw cuts are treated with garden varnish in the spring. In autumn, oil paint is used.

Fertilizer

The seedling needs organic fertilizer during planting. After the seedling is planted, the ground is mulched. Organic loose materials are used as mulch. The procedure retains moisture and protects against weeds.

After the soil has received enough nutrition at the time of planting, fertilizer will be needed in the third year of life.

In early spring, ammonium nitrate is scattered into the tree trunk circle and covered with earth. Adult shrubs need phosphorus and potassium during the formation of ovaries. Before flowering, foliar fertilizing is applied - Potassium humate. Dosage: per 10 liters of water, one tablespoon of the drug.After leaf fall, plants are fed with mineral fertilizers.

Basic mistakes when pruning

It is not uncommon for novice gardeners to make a number of mistakes when pruning sea buckthorn:

1. They leave branches going inward on the tree. The green crown does not receive enough light, the humidity regime is disrupted, and the fruits become smaller. These disadvantages provoke the occurrence of infectious diseases.
2. Side shoots are severely pruned. But in the upper part, generative buds are formed, which are responsible for the harvest.
3. Large sections and saw cuts are not processed. The plant may die. In autumn, diameters greater than 1 centimeter are coated with oil paint. In spring, garden pitch is used.
4. They leave stumps. Subsequently, they become overgrown with tops that do not bear fruit. Remove the branch under the ring.
5. When harvesting, young shoots are cut off. This threatens the destruction of subsequent harvests.
6. Use a blunt instrument. As a result, the saw tears, the pruning shears crush the bark.
7. Ignore trimming. The plant gets sick from lack of light and produces small fruits.