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Kuril tea or Potentilla shrub is very popular among both 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 shrub Potentilla in autumn, spring or even summer will not harm these plants at all, but, on the contrary, will help them look neater and bloom even more abundantly.
Do I need to cut the cinquefoil
Almost any shrub or woody plant needs pruning. And Kuril tea is not at all an exception to this rule. Moreover, it easily tolerates almost any type of pruning, it is easily restored even after cardinal pruning of the branches “to the stump”. The shrub is quite fast growing, so it is a very grateful material for the formation of an attractive type of hedge or at least a small flowering border.
The shoots of Potentilla shrub grow mostly vertically upwards and tend to branch very intensively. Without pruning, the bushes will first take on an untidy appearance, and then they may completely stop developing due to too many branches that the roots need to feed. Therefore, it is necessary to cut the cinquefoil, and if desired, more than once per season.
Types and tasks of cropping
It is customary to distinguish between several types of trimming, each of which is designed to solve its specific task.
Sanitary pruning is absolutely necessary for all plants, without exception, including shrub Potentilla. Moreover, it is a mandatory component of complex plant care. It is thanks to sanitary pruning that you can ensure a healthy look and longevity of Kuril tea. Since it serves as an excellent prevention of various diseases and helps prevent massive attacks of insect pests. Sanitary pruning consists of cutting out all dry, broken or vermin-damaged branches. In addition, remove all faded inflorescences. It is important to do this both during the vegetative season and in early spring, cutting off the inflorescences blackened during the winter at the ends of the cinquefoil, which went into the winter in a flowering state. The sanitary pruning of Potentilla shrub also includes the removal of branches frozen over the winter or their tips.
Rejuvenating pruning is also used to prolong the life of Kuril tea and improve its decorative properties if the bush has been completely neglected and neglected for several years.
Formative pruning also plays a significant role in the life of Potentilla. It helps not only to create almost any form of Kuril tea, but also stimulates its flowering. This allows you to enjoy flowering Potentilla throughout the growing season – from May to October. In addition, with the help of a shaping haircut, it is quite easy to create an unusually beautiful hedge of any shape from a cinquefoil shrub.
When to prune cinquefoil: in spring or autumn
The question of the timing of pruning 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 works at the right time. Most often, the most loaded is the spring period, to which a lot of gardening work is timed.
Potentilla 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 cut 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 prune cinquefoil in spring
Of course, the spring period is the most favorable for cutting Potentilla shrubs, especially when it comes to the northern regions. After all, it is precisely the many thick branches left to winter on the bush that can retain a large amount of snow and contribute to better overwintering of plants.
Deadlines
The best period for spring pruning of shrub Potentilla is the month from mid-March to mid-April, when the buds have not yet swelled on the shrub. Pruning Kuril tea during this period not only does not bring any harm to plants, but also stimulates the growth of shoots as much as possible.
The only difficulty in pruning cinquefoil in shrubby spring is that the branches still look lifeless and it is sometimes difficult to distinguish a live 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 kidneys on the cinquefoil and after that proceed with pruning.
Preparation of tools and materials
The most important tool that will be needed when trimming Potentilla shrubs is a sharp pruner. Before work, it must be well sharpened and, if necessary, lubricated if there are areas with rust on it. The secateurs should be quite powerful, since the 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 forms of a cinquefoil bush or a whole hedge from it, then it will be necessary to stock up on a tape measure.
A fan rake will be needed to clear the bushes themselves and the surface of the soil below them.
To protect the skin of the hands when pruning, it is advisable to use garden gloves.
How to prune Kuril tea in spring (pruning rules)
The first action that is performed when pruning cinquefoil in shrubby spring is the removal of 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, to the first green place on them.
Then it is advisable to look at very old shoots and cut at least a few of them at the very base of the bush. This operation will rejuvenate the plant somewhat.
Lastly, proceed to the forming pruning. If the procedure is carried out for the first time, then approximately measure the required shape and size of the bush. It can be a ball, an oval, or even a cube. After that, they begin to shorten all the branches that protrude 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, and all other shoots are only shortened by ¼-1/3 of their length. It may be necessary to correct the shape if the lighting conditions were uneven and one part of the bushes strongly outgrew the other. The video below describes in detail and shows the scheme for pruning Potentilla in the spring.
When trimming Kuril tea, it is important to observe the following rules:
- Before pruning, the ground under the cinquefoil is freed from plant debris using a fan rake.
- They also comb the bushes themselves to remove obviously dry and lifeless forms.
- Branches should not be cut 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, near the ground itself. Slices when they are removed are smeared with garden pitch.
- Weakened bushes are cut as close to the ground as possible, while with strong plants they act in exactly the opposite way.
- Cuts should be even, burrs and lacerations should not be left on the branches.
How to prune shrub cinquefoil in autumn
Autumn is also a good time for pruning cinquefoil shrubs, as the plants gradually begin to retire, but they are still clearly visible living and inanimate (sick) branches, which must be disposed of as soon as possible.
Why you need to cut the cinquefoil in the fall
In autumn, Potentilla 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 perfect condition, and you will not need to make time for it in the overly busy spring time filled with other gardening chores.
Deadlines
Autumn pruning is usually carried out after the last flowers wither or before the threat of frost and permanent snow cover. Calendar dates can vary greatly depending on the specific region. But most often it happens between the end of September and the beginning of November.
Tools and materials
For pruning Potentilla in the fall, you will need the same tools and materials as for the spring procedure.
Rules for pruning Kuril tea in the fall
As a rule, there is no special need for sanitary pruning in the fall, especially if it was carried out in the spring. But if by this time broken branches or shoots with signs of disease have appeared on the bushes of the Potentilla shrub, they must be cut out.
If in the spring it was not possible to carry out forming pruning for one reason or another, then in the fall they do all the same operations with Kuril tea as listed above. If, in the spring, the bushes were already formed, then the essence of the autumn pruning comes down to the fact that all branches that protrude beyond the previously defined boundaries are cut off.
Potentilla care after pruning
Pruning Potentilla shrub in the spring stimulates abundant flowering in the current season. But plants need support in the form of, above all, top dressing.
You can feed Kuril tea when the first green leaves appear on its branches. You can use complex fertilizer for flowering plants, or you can use a mixture of superphosphate (25 g per 10 l of water) and potassium sulfate (30 g per 10 l watering can).
Fertilizers can also be applied at a later date, but most importantly, no later than mid-July.
In addition, if the summer turned out to be hot and dry, then Kuril tea will greatly appreciate the periodic cool shower from the hose, at least several times a week.
Conclusion
Pruning shrub cinquefoil in autumn, as well as in spring, will help not only keep the plant in a neat condition, but also prolong its life and make flowering more abundant. When mastering the appropriate skills, the work will not take more than 15 minutes per bush, but the reward will be the spectacle of dense, neatly trimmed greenery strewn with flowers.