Surely you know the plant called lady of the night or gallant of the night. It is one of the most appreciated because the flowers come out at night and also give off a very pleasant smell and seducer to whom no one is indifferent. But among the many cares of it, could you tell us when the lady at night is pruned?
If you don't know how to answer don't worry, because we do. And if you want to have a Chester nighttime, then you need know in depth this care that will help a better flowering and development.
how is the lady of the night
Scientific name Cestrum nocturnum, the lady of the night, or galán de noche, is a shrub-type plant. May reach five meters in height and has leaves that are oval and long.
But the most striking of this are its flowers, which can be white (normal), yellow or green. It throws them out in the form of short clusters with lots of flowers on them. And a noticeable smell, especially at night, hence its name. It always blooms from late spring to late summer.
After the flowers comes the fruit, which is in the form of a white berry where it contains the seeds to reproduce it.
Why prune the gallant at night
If you have a night lover and you have never pruned it because you think you would lose part of the plant, the truth is that this is not the case. Actually there is two important reasons why you should consider pruning the lady of the night:
- For improve flowering. Believe it or not, by pruning it you encourage the bush to produce more branches and more flowers. In fact, if the pruning is done well, it is possible that it will bloom twice in the same year.
- For remove damaged parts. Dry, diseased, rotten branches... Although they are no longer useful, they are waste of energy and, as such, the bush suffers.
Therefore, it is important to carry it out.
When is the lady of the night pruned
If you want to know the exact moment in which a gallant at night should be pruned, here we tell you. In reality, and so that you do not suffer so much, they tend to be carried out in two phases.
La first phase begins at the end of winter, when the frost and cold are gone and it's time to wake up.
This pruning is going to be the strongest that is given and the objective of this is none other than to reduce the size and eliminate branches that can hinder or bother others.
In return, the lady of the night must respond with a increased flowering and development of new shoots.
La second phase is optional, but highly recommended. It takes place during the summer, and what we try to do with it is to make it bloom again, so that there are two cycles in the same year.
How to prune Cestrum nocturnum
Now that you know when to prune lady at night, it's worth talking about what you need to prune and how to do it. We leave you this small guide that can help you to do it with your plant and obtain good results.
Tools to prune the gallant at night
As we have said before, the lady of the night can reach five meters in height. If it's still small, and you can handle it, you could use some pruning shears But if it is very large, it may be more advisable, especially for the upper part, that you use a saw.
Before making any cuts it is important that make sure the scissors or saw cut well, to make a clean cut. We also recommend that you clean the tools with alcohol to prevent them from having something that spreads diseases in the bush.
Obviously you have to protect your hands, so don't forget to put on some gloves.
If the cuts you are going to make are large, it would not be a bad idea to have a healing paste or, in his case, a little cinnamon powder because you will help prevent diseases from entering those areas and at the same time, he will recover much sooner.
The first step, the observation
Before you jump into cutting branches, why not take a full look at it? This way you will see the shape that the gallant at night has and you will be able to better outline the cuts. For example, imagine that you are going to do winter pruning. And the shape it has is like nothing. Well, you can create a round or rectangular shape just by looking at the silhouette of the bush.
pruning time
Now yes, we must start pruning. And before fear takes over you and you think that you can "kill" your beautiful bush, you should know that it will not be so. The lady of the night is one of the most resistant shrubs and will withstand anything. In addition, it easily recovers from any "disaster" that you can do to it. So it's time to get to work.
And, for that:
- Mark which are the important main and secondary branches. You will have to cut those, yes, but always leave them some leaves so that they do not suffer too much.
- Do not cut at ground level. If you do it then, no matter how resistant it is, it is impossible for it to come out ahead.
- Start pruning on the branches that stick out from the bush, those that break the aesthetic the way you want it to have.
- Next, go for the dry, badly positioned, messy branches... To give you an idea, if there are branches that collide or get entangled with each other, then remove one. Regarding the dry, rotten or in poor condition, if possible, remove them from the base, because this way you will ensure that they will not steal more energy from your plant.
- Afterwards, it is important to oxygenate a little, that is, to remove interior branches that can interfere with interior oxygenation. You have to make sure that the sun reaches it from all sides, as well as the wind (oxygen) and for this you must verify that the interior is not too compacted.
As you see, you should not only know when the lady at night is pruned but also to know which are the most important cuts to make so that your bush rewards you with a pleasant-smelling nocturnal bloom. Do you have a night lover in your house?