Plants, especially woody ones, need a series of "fixes" every year so that they can continue to be as healthy and beautiful as ever. In nature these, if I may say so, hairdressing sessions are carried out by the wind and the rest of the plants (for example, when the air blows strongly, it lets the withered flowers fall).
But What is clean pruning exactly? If you also want to know how to do it, don't take your eyes off the monitor. 🙂
What is cleaning pruning?
It is a job that every gardener and gardener must do to their plants, especially trees and shrubs, once or twice a year so that the sunlight can reach all parts of the glass well of said plants. Thus, the risk of disease is decreased.
How to proceed?
You have to remove the following:
- Dry, broken, diseased, or weak branches
- Branches that intersect, giving it a matted appearance
- Dead flowers
- Suckers (shoots that emerge from the root)
- Branches that come out of the trunk and do not interest us
- Dry stumps
- In variegated plants: remove the leaves that are totally green
- Trim overgrown branches
Image - HGTV.com
When should it be pruned?
It is important to carry out cleaning pruning at least once a year, and it may be necessary to do two if the plant has a rapid growth. But when exactly? The first is advisable to do late winter, when the risk of frost has passed, and the second towards the beginning or the middle of autumn.
What happens if this pruning is not done?
If we do not carry out the cleaning pruning we will end up having a tree or a bush with a "wild" look., that is, with branches growing everywhere. Although there are species that should not be pruned, such as Delonix direction or even the jacaranda mimosifolia, there are others that do need it like him Acer palmatum or the most popular rosebush.
I hope it has been useful to you 🙂.