Content
- 1 Is it necessary to prune tree hydrangea for the winter?
- 2 Why do you need to prune tree hydrangea for the winter?
- 3 When can you prune tree hydrangea for the winter?
- 4 How to prune tree hydrangea for the winter
- 5 Caring for tree hydrangea after autumn pruning
- 6 Advice from experienced gardeners
- 7 Conclusion
Tree hydrangeas are pruned more often in the fall than in the spring. A garden plant responds better to autumn pruning, but to successfully carry out the procedure you need to know its rules.
Is it necessary to prune tree hydrangea for the winter?
Garden hydrangea can be pruned in both spring and autumn. In this regard, gardeners have a question: does the plant need an autumn pruning, or does it only injure the crop before the onset of cold weather.
You really need to prune hydrangeas in the fall. The procedure allows you to protect the tree-like shrub from damage. If you neglect pruning in the fall, the branches may break under the snow.
Autumn haircut is less traumatic than spring haircut
In addition, when pruning in the spring, the risks for the shrub are much higher; if you miss the deadline and start cutting after the plant has begun to grow, the cut areas will bleed juice.This will weaken the plant and, at best, affect its flowering, and at worst, lead to the death of the crop.
Why do you need to prune tree hydrangea for the winter?
It is imperative to prune garden shrubs. Trimming helps preserve decorativeness, strengthens the health of tree-like shrubs, and improves flowering.
Carrying out the procedure in the fall has several important advantages.
- If excess shoots are pruned in the fall, more nutrients and moisture will go to the root system. This will allow the shrub to survive the cold more easily, and in the new season the hydrangea will quickly begin to grow.
- Eliminating diseased and weakened shoots in the fall does not allow pests and fungal spores to remain over the winter on the body of the tree-like shrub. Accordingly, the likelihood that the crop will be attacked by awakened fungi and insect larvae in the spring is reduced.
- Pruning in the fall stimulates the formation of new dormant buds and has a positive effect on budding. The inflorescences of the shrub appear only on annual shoots; old branches do not participate in flowering. If you do not prune the tree hydrangea in the fall, then the nutrients will be used, among other things, to maintain old shoots, and the formation of buds on young branches will decrease.
In autumn, hydrangea stops growing and no longer bleeds juice after pruning.
Garden crops pruned in autumn are easier to cover before the onset of winter. This applies to both old and young plants; the fewer branches a shrub has, the easier it is to wrap it with insulating material.
The most important advantage of autumn pruning is that after it, the cuts on the branches of the tree-like plant do not begin to bleed sap.But during the spring growing season this happens very often, and as a result, the bush after a useful procedure receives severe damage.
When can you prune tree hydrangea for the winter?
Shrubs are pruned quite late in the fall. In the Moscow region, it is recommended to start cutting hydrangeas before winter in the second half of October or even later, at the beginning of November.
Pruning is done late, after the first frost.
In general, regardless of the region, you should focus on the weather. Ideally, you need to wait until the first frost and even snow. After this, the plant will finally shed its leaves, and only dried inflorescences will remain on it. The movement of juices under the bark of the plant will definitely stop at this time, and in addition, it will be easier for the gardener to understand which branches are suitable for pruning.
Pruning earlier in the fall usually does not harm tree hydrangeas. However, the procedure has its drawback. If you trim a garden shrub while it still has foliage and live inflorescences, the process of re-growth of side shoots may begin. This will weaken the plant before the cold weather and prevent it from retiring unhindered.
How to prune tree hydrangea for the winter
For beginners, pruning tree hydrangea in the fall is not difficult; it is a simple procedure. There are several schemes for pruning shrubs. Which one to use depends mainly on the age of the crop.
The method of pruning depends on the age and needs of the crop.
Pruning young plants
For young hydrangea seedlings that have not yet reached 5 years of age, heavy pruning before wintering is not recommended. Since the plant is in the development phase, active removal of shoots can negatively affect its health and even lead to the death of the bush.
Usually, in the first 3-4 years, only faded inflorescences are removed from a tree-like plant. After the bush has shed its leaves, it is carefully inspected and all dried buds are cut off with a sharp knife or pruning shears.
Also during this period, you can carry out sanitary pruning and remove all broken and diseased branches. This procedure allows you to maintain the health of the crop, therefore it is recommended for hydrangeas of any age.
From young bushes, only faded buds are removed
Pruning for flowering
This cutting method is used for adult tree-like hydrangea bushes that have already entered the time of maximum flowering. Since the inflorescences of the ornamental bush bloom only on annual branches, they can be completely removed in the fall after leaf fall.
The video of tree hydrangea pruning in autumn shows that on each of the main branches, when pruning for flowering, all shoots are cut off, with the exception of 2-4 well-developed paired buds. The branch itself is also shortened in length. As a result of this procedure, in the spring the ornamental bush begins to actively develop new shoots, without wasting energy on feeding extra branches.
Flowering shoots of adult bushes are shortened
Anti-aging pruning
This type of pruning is practiced for tree-like shrubs older than 5 years. Based on the degree of intensity, light and radical anti-aging pruning can be distinguished.
When carrying out light rejuvenation from a hydrangea bush in the fall, all branches older than 4 years are cut off flush with the trunk.Although annual shoots may still develop on older branches, they are usually too thin and weak to produce lush blooms.
The scheme for pruning tree hydrangea in the fall for radical rejuvenation suggests cutting off all shoots, leaving only 10 cm of their length. If the roots have grown greatly, this process can be extended over several seasons so as not to injure the plant. As a result, in 3-4 years the hydrangea will be able to completely rejuvenate, and its bloom will return to its fullness.
To rejuvenate the bush, you can completely trim its branches to 10 cm
Sanitary pruning
On an annual basis, it is recommended to thin out the tree hydrangea and carry out a sanitary pruning. The procedure is as follows:
- the gardener removes all broken branches and diseased shoots;
- removes remaining foliage and dried inflorescences from the bush;
- removes shoots directed towards the center of the bush; such shoots thicken the plant and prevent it from developing.
Different types of pruning in the fall can be combined with each other if necessary. In autumn, tree hydrangea responds well even to very intensive pruning.
When thinning, defective shoots must be removed, regardless of their age.
Caring for tree hydrangea after autumn pruning
Immediately after trimming the tree hydrangea, it is necessary to process fresh cuts of the plant. For this purpose, you can use crushed charcoal or activated carbon, Bordeaux mixture and even oil paint. Despite the fact that hydrangea tolerates pruning in the fall better than in the spring, if there is no treatment at the cut sites, bacterial processes can still begin.
Also, after pruning, it is necessary to eliminate all remaining plant debris from the area.Foliage, dried inflorescences and cut shoots are carefully collected from the ground, and then taken to a distant part of the garden and burned. You should not leave garbage near the hydrangea; insect larvae and fungal spores overwinter in plant debris.
After the procedure, all cut shoots are taken away and burned.
Since autumn pruning is carried out late, after it the tree-like hydrangea can only be covered for the winter. The roots need to be mulched with compost or peat with a layer of at least 10 cm, this will protect the root system from freezing. The above-ground part of the hydrangea is usually wrapped in non-woven material and additionally covered with spruce branches.
Advice from experienced gardeners
Summer residents who have been growing tree hydrangea for several years are ready to share some useful tips regarding pruning.
It is recommended to fertilize garden shrubs not after, but before autumn pruning, 1.5 or 2 months in advance. If mineral fertilizers are applied late, the plant simply will not have time to absorb the nutrients before the onset of cold weather. Accordingly, the winter hardiness of the shrub will decrease. Hydrangea needs to be fed with phosphorus and potassium in the fall, but nitrogenous fertilizers should not be applied; they stimulate the growth of green mass.
The last feeding is carried out a couple of months before pruning.
When growing the plant in warm regions, it is permissible to prune the branches of the tree hydrangea a little more than the diagrams recommend. Since winters in the south are warm, more severe pruning will not harm or weaken the plant.But in the northern regions it is better to cut a little less than recommended; such a precaution will not hurt before a long and cold winter.
If the weather forecast still promises the onset of a thaw, then it is better to hold off on covering the plant for the winter. The bush should be wrapped with the onset of final cold weather. At positive temperatures, the hydrangea will begin to overheat and rot under cover, and this will increase the likelihood of rotting at the cut sites.
It is better to cover the entire hydrangea bush for the winter.
Conclusion
Pruning tree hydrangea in the fall is a useful procedure that is recommended annually. Autumn pruning causes less damage to garden shrubs and only strengthens its endurance before the onset of winter.
