The formation and pruning of pine is often carried out to give it a decorative look, since this plant is considered one of the most popular for creating landscape design. A properly designed crown will look very neat. In addition, pruning helps rejuvenate the tree. This is a rather laborious and painstaking work, but it must be done regularly.
Why is pine pruned?
Pine is a fairly unpretentious plant, but it requires proper care and timely pruning. With the help of pruning, you can give the plant a different decorative look and make it a real decoration of the garden. To rejuvenate the plant, only sanitary pruning of the lower branches of the pine, as well as dry and diseased shoots is carried out to keep the tree healthy.
It is undesirable for the height of the tree to exceed 180 centimeters. Pruning is best done when the height of the pine reaches one and a half meters. If the crown grows very much, then trimming it will be quite difficult. In addition, if you remove too many green branches, the plant may die.
How is pruning and pine shaping done?
Regardless of the reason for pine pruning, the methods of shortening the branches to inhibit growth are common, namely:
- thinning of the crown;
- shortening or pinching;
- stretching branches.
Thinning of the crown implies the removal of branches in whole or in part to remove excess shoots or give the desired shape. Shortening or pinching involves removing part of the shoot. Basically, this procedure is carried out in late May or early June. Stretching branches involves fixing the branches in a certain position.
Pine pruning should be carried out no earlier than the next year after planting a seedling. No need to trim more than 30% of the total green mass at a time. Pruning is necessary in clothes that can then be discarded, since the resin secreted by conifers is not excreted.
After the pruning is complete, the trees need to be properly maintained. It is necessary to make top dressing, mineral fertilizers, as well as provide high-quality watering.
Decorative trim
Decorative pruning of pine helps give the tree a more beautiful and well-groomed appearance. Plants with a decorative crown are ideal for arranging hedges, as well as the design of the alley.
Pruning is best done on cloudy days to prevent the appearance of dark spots on the needles that occur with strong evaporation of the liquid. Decorative pruning is carried out so that the crown retains an even pyramidal shape. Thanks to the correct pruning, the tree will look more spreading and fluffy, becoming the real decoration of a summer cottage.
Nivaki-style pine formation
When forming a pine crown in the Nivaki style, an odd number of branches should be left in each tier. It is also necessary to thin out the branches at the base of the trunk, and leave growing shoots around the perimeter, removing the central, largest candle, and only pinch the remaining shoots a little.
After this procedure, the branch should resemble a triangle located in one plane. As you grow, you need to continue the formation of the tree, leaving only healthy and large shoots, slightly bending and fixing them to obtain the desired result.
Trimming and shaping bonsai
Japanese-style pine pruning has been carried out since the second year of tree growth. The trunk of a mature pine tree cannot be formed, as the branches will only break. The tree tolerates pruning well, but it must be carried out very carefully and no more than 1 time per year.
The formation of the crown for bonsai is carried out using wire. This is best done in late autumn, when the tree is least active. To do this, the branches bend to the sides and are firmly fixed. To give the pine tree the desired look, you need to remove the extra buds every year. Given that the upper kidneys grow much faster, you need to remove most of the upper kidneys, leaving the lower ones.
It is necessary to pluck the needles, as this contributes to the penetration of air to the internal branches and shoots. In addition, it allows you to control the width and height of the pine. The plucking of needles is carried out from mid-summer to late autumn.
To ennoble the tree, you need to periodically trim the needles to reduce their length. Pruning is done at the end of summer on a fully formed tree.
Pine pruning for rejuvenation
One of the tasks of pruning a tree is its rejuvenation. Too old, dry and diseased branches must be removed to prompt dormant buds to more active growth. It is important to prune the branches in such a way that needles remain on them, otherwise they will simply dry out.
Pruning for rejuvenation of the pine is carried out every three years. Thanks to this procedure, the tree will look good and will take up much less space.
Best time to trim
So that pine pruning does not harm the plant, you need to carry out all the required procedures at a certain time. In spring, pruning is carried out in order to form a compact top. Work on the removal of dry and diseased branches is carried out at any time.
In the period of active vegetation, which runs from mid-summer to the end of winter, it is better not to disturb the tree. To stop the growth of the crown and shoots, the branches are shortened after the growth of candles. Shoots need to be cut in early spring.
To correct the length of young shoots, autumn pruning can be performed, but it is worth remembering that only small branches can be removed. During pruning, the temperature should be at least 5 degrees, because otherwise the cut will freeze, which will lead to the death of the plant.
Conifer planting
Many are interested in how to plant a pine tree, and also when to do it. The best time for planting seedlings is spring or autumn. With a later planting, the tree simply does not have time to adapt to new conditions and prepare for winter or dry summers, as a result of which the seedling can die.
It is important to choose the right seedlings of pine, they should be with a closed root system in containers. The main advantages of such seedlings is that they:
- have a well-developed root system;
- protected from damage;
- microorganisms stored on the roots are required for the absorption of minerals and moisture from the soil.
The bacteria needed by the tree live on the roots and die in the open air in just a few minutes. Do not choose too large pine seedlings, as the younger the plant, the faster it will be able to adapt to new conditions. The optimal age of the seedling is 5 years.
For planting, you need to choose well-lit, sunny areas or partial shade. A tree planted in the shade develops much worse, and also has a sparse crown. In preparing the recess for landing, you need to focus on the size of the container. The recess should be 15-20 cm larger in diameter and 20-30 cm deeper.
Pine does not tolerate stagnation of water, which is why if groundwater is located close to the soil surface, then in the landing recess you need to make a drainage layer of gravel or expanded clay (about 5-10 cm high). The drainage layer needs to be filled up with the soil enriched with mineral substances.
The tree must be carefully pulled out of the container and placed in a previously prepared recess, trying to maintain the integrity of the earthen coma. It is best to plant a plant slightly above the soil level, with the expectation that the soil will still sag. The space around the sprout needs to be a little tamped and covered with fertile soil. Then make a small recess for irrigation, so that water does not flow on the surface. Immediately after planting, the tree needs to be watered and sprayed on the sprout itself. Knowing how to plant a pine, you can beautifully equip a garden with the use of these evergreens, which are easy to shape and trim.