Content
Kuril tea or shrubby cinquefoil is very popular both among landscape designers and ordinary gardeners. Indeed, in terms of unpretentiousness, as well as the abundance and duration of flowering, these plants have practically no rivals. Pruning shrubby cinquefoil in the fall, spring, or even summer will not harm these plants at all, but, on the contrary, will help them look neater and bloom even more profusely.
Do I need to trim the cinquefoil?
Almost any shrub or woody plant needs pruning. And Kuril tea is not an exception to this rule. Moreover, it easily tolerates almost any type of pruning and is easily restored even after radical pruning of branches “to the stump”.The shrub is characterized by fairly rapid growth, so it is a very useful material for forming an attractive hedge or at least a flowering border of small height.
The shoots of the cinquefoil bush grow mostly vertically upward and tend to branch very intensively. Without pruning, the bushes will first take on an untidy appearance, and then may even stop developing due to too many branches that the roots need to feed. Therefore, it is imperative to trim the cinquefoil, and if desired, more than once per season.
Types and tasks of pruning
It is customary to distinguish between several types of pruning, each of which is designed to solve its own specific problem.
Sanitary pruning is absolutely necessary for all plants without exception, including shrubby cinquefoil. Moreover, it is an essential component of comprehensive plant care. It is thanks to sanitary pruning that the healthy appearance and longevity of Kuril tea can be ensured. Because it serves as an excellent prevention of various diseases and helps prevent mass attacks of insect pests. Sanitary pruning involves cutting out all branches that are dry, broken or damaged by parasites. In addition, all faded inflorescences are removed. It is important to do this both during the growing season and in early spring, cutting off the inflorescences that have turned black during the winter at the ends of the cinquefoil, which went into the winter in a blooming state. Sanitary pruning of shrubby cinquefoil also includes the removal of branches or their tips that have frozen over the winter.
Anti-aging pruning is also used to extend the life of Kuril tea and improve its decorative properties if the bush has been completely neglected and severely neglected for several years.
Formative pruning also plays a significant role in the life of cinquefoil. It helps not only to create almost any form from Kuril tea, but also stimulates its flowering. This allows you to enjoy flowering cinquefoil throughout the growing season - from May to October. In addition, with the help of a shaping haircut, you can quite easily create an unusually beautiful hedge of any shape from cinquefoil bushes.
When to trim cinquefoil: in spring or autumn
The question of pruning timing is often very relevant for any gardener. After all, on the one hand, each plant has its own biological characteristics, and on the other hand, it is not always possible to have time to carry out certain work at the appropriate time. Most often, the busiest period is the spring, which is associated with a lot of gardening work.
Cinquefoil shrub, from a biological point of view, is the most convenient plant for a gardener, since it can adapt to almost any pruning time. Kuril tea can be pruned at almost any time, from early spring to late autumn, depending on the goals that you want to achieve as a result of this operation.
How to trim cinquefoil in spring
Of course, the spring period is the most favorable for cutting cinquefoil, especially when it comes to the northern regions.After all, it is precisely the many dense branches left on the bush to overwinter that can retain a large amount of snow and contribute to better overwintering of the plants.
Deadlines
The best period for spring pruning of shrubby cinquefoil is the month from mid-March to mid-April, when the buds on the bush have not yet had time to swell. Pruning Kuril tea during this period not only does not cause any harm to the plants, but also maximizes the growth of shoots.
The only difficulty in pruning cinquefoil in shrub spring is that the branches still look lifeless and sometimes it is difficult to distinguish a living shoot from a dried one, especially for beginners. In this case, it is recommended to wait for the first sap flow and swelling of the buds on the cinquefoil and then start pruning.
Preparation of tools and materials
The most important tool that will be needed when pruning cinquefoil shrubs is a sharp pruner. Before work, it must be sharpened well and, if necessary, lubricated if there are areas of rust on it. The pruning shears must be quite powerful, since old branches of Kuril tea can reach a thickness of 0.8-1.2 cm.
If the main purpose of pruning is to form the exact shape of a cinquefoil bush or an entire hedge made from it, then you will need to stock up on a tape measure.
A fan rake will be needed to clear the bushes themselves and the soil surface underneath them.
To protect the skin of your hands when pruning, it is advisable to use gardening gloves.
How to prune Kuril tea in spring (pruning rules)
The first action that is taken when pruning cinquefoil in shrub spring is to remove blackened inflorescences from the ends of the shoots, as well as obviously dry and broken branches. In the spring, the ends of frozen branches are also removed, down to the first green spot on them.
Then it is advisable to take a closer look at the very old shoots and cut out at least a few of them at the very base of the bush. This operation will somewhat rejuvenate the plant.
Lastly, start with formative pruning. If the procedure is carried out for the first time, then approximately measure the required shape and size of the bush. It could be a ball, an oval, or even a cube. After which they begin to shorten all the branches protruding beyond the intended limits. If the shape of a bush or hedge has already been formed in previous years, then only strongly protruding branches are cut off, and all other shoots are only shortened by ¼-1/3 of their length. The shape may need to be adjusted if the lighting conditions were uneven and one part of the bushes has greatly outgrown the other. The video below describes in detail and shows the diagram for pruning cinquefoil in the spring.
When pruning Kuril tea, it is important to follow the following rules:
- Before pruning begins, the ground under the cinquefoil shrub is cleared of plant debris using a fan rake.
- They also comb the bushes themselves to remove obviously dry and lifeless forms.
- Branches should not be cut by more than half; the ideal proportion is to remove no more than 1/3 of their length.
- It is advisable to remove broken and old branches entirely, close to the ground. When removing the sections, they are smeared with garden varnish.
- Weakened bushes are cut as close to the ground as possible, while with strong plants they act in exactly the opposite way.
- The cuts should be smooth; no burrs or lacerations should be left on the branches.
How to prune shrubby cinquefoil in the fall
Autumn is also a good time for pruning shrubby cinquefoil, since the plants gradually begin to retire, but living and non-living (sick) branches are still clearly visible, which should definitely be gotten rid of as soon as possible.
Why do you need to trim cinquefoil in the fall?
In autumn, cinquefoil shrub can be pruned to rejuvenate the bush or to give it a certain shape. After all, if you complete the pruning before permanent snow falls, then in the spring the cinquefoil shrub will appear in absolutely ideal condition, and you will not need to make time for it during the overly busy spring season filled with other gardening chores.
Deadlines
Autumn pruning is usually carried out after the last flowers have faded or before the threat of frost and permanent snow cover. Calendar dates may vary greatly depending on the specific region. But most often this happens between the end of September and the beginning of November.
Tools and materials
To trim cinquefoil in the fall, you will need the same tools and materials as for the spring procedure.
Rules for pruning Kuril tea in autumn
As a rule, there is no particular need for sanitary pruning in the fall, especially if it was carried out in the spring. But if by this moment broken branches or shoots with signs of disease have appeared on the cinquefoil bushes, they must be cut out.
If in the spring it was not possible to carry out formative pruning for one reason or another, then in the fall they perform all the same operations with Kuril tea as listed above. If in the spring the bushes were already formed, then the essence of autumn pruning comes down to the fact that all branches that by this time protrude beyond the previously defined boundaries are cut off.
Caring for cinquefoil after pruning
Pruning the cinquefoil bush in the spring stimulates abundant flowering already in the current season. But plants need support in the form, first of all, of fertilizing.
You can feed Kuril tea when the first green leaves appear on its branches. You can use a complex fertilizer for flowering plants, or you can use a mixture of superphosphate (25 g per 10 liters of water) and potassium sulfate (30 g per 10 liters of water).
Fertilizers can be applied at a later date, but most importantly, no later than mid-July.
In addition, if the summer has been hot and dry, then Kuril tea will greatly appreciate periodic cool showers from a hose, at least several times a week.
Conclusion
Pruning shrubby cinquefoil in the fall, as well as in the spring, will help not only keep the plant in neat condition, but also prolong its life and make flowering more abundant. Once you have mastered the appropriate skills, the work will not take more than 15 minutes per bush, but the reward will be the sight of thick, neatly trimmed greenery strewn with flowers.
Good afternoon
There are a total of more than 300 species of cinquefoil. Some are plants, some species are shrubs. Specifically, Cinquefoil Kuril tea belongs to the erect, highly branched shrubs of the family. Pink ones. Kuril tea grows in the wild, but it can also be grown on private plots.
At the moment, many varieties of shrubby cinquefoil have been developed that have high decorative properties. The screenshot shows a photo of shrubby Potentilla Kuril tea https://yadi.sk/i/4or4lwBvs-oVqQ. Other types and varieties are decorative.
Draw your attention to! Many varieties of cinquefoil belong to the shrub subspecies. For example: Red Ice cinquefoil, Marion Red Robin cinquefoil, etc. However, whether they have healing properties, like Potentilla Kuril tea, is unknown. Therefore, if you plan to plant and use this plant in the future not only for decorative, but also for medicinal purposes, we advise you to choose a non-varietal variety of shrub
Potentilla - Kuril tea, isn't it a shrub? A herbal plant. Is it so?
And how to distinguish Kuril tea from ordinary cinquefoil (decorative)7