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Pruning spirea is an important care item for flowering shrubs. Since there are many spireas, there are different types and varieties, it is important for the gardener to determine which bush grows on the site. According to the group, spring or summer flowering, pruning is carried out.
Do I need to prune spirea after flowering
For the decorativeness of the shrub, regardless of the flowering period, wilted panicles are removed. This is especially important for spireas, in which the foliage is sometimes even more picturesque than the flowers. Decorative pruning of spirea, which blooms in late July or early August, emphasizes the expressive autumn colors of the leaves and the shape of the trimmed bush.
The method of early spring pruning is different for shrubs that bloom in spring or summer. But after flowering, in June, it is imperative to remove branches with wilted inflorescences from spireas that bloomed in May or early June. Their flower buds are laid in autumn along the entire length of the branch. Over the summer, a full-fledged shoot is formed, which will dissolve the buds next spring. They achieve a magnificent form of bushes of the spring-flowering group by special pruning of spirea after flowering. High flexible shoots are shortened by a third or half. From the remaining buds, several young branches grow, on which buds form.
Those meadowsweet shrubs, as the spirea is also called, which bloom in summer, are ordered at will also after the panicles wither. But if pruning does not take place, it is carried out in early spring. Summer-flowering species form buds with buds on the shoots of the current year. After removing old branches in April, the plant will still create new ones by the beginning of flowering in July. Pruning panicled spirea after flowering is not as important as for those plants that bloom in the spring.
When to prune spirea
Varieties of such types of culture as:
- Wangutta;
- Gray;
- Tunberga;
- Arguta;
- Dubravkolistnaya;
- Nipponskaya;
- Average.
and some others, less common, are pruned at the beginning of summer, when flowering has ended. All these shrubs lay flower buds by autumn. Therefore, March or April forming pruning is contraindicated for them. At this time, only anti-aging pruning is carried out, when the entire bush is cut at ground level.
Sanitary pruning is also acceptable, in which the frozen ends of the shoots are cut off, as well as small shoots inside the bush.
Other spireas:
- Douglas;
- in Bumal;
- Billarda;
- loose leaf;
- birch-leaved;
- Japanese;
- White;
- felt
and a few more rarer species are pruned either after flowering, from late July to early August, or in early spring. Plants form buds for buds on shoots growing from spring. When working with spirea, you need to know that the formation of a shrub contributes to the creation of more shoots with flower buds.
Types of trimming
When a summer-flowering spirea is pruned, several different shearing methods can be applied to it, depending on the age and purpose of planting the shrub. On single bushes, pruning is carried out, starting from the age of 3-4, so that more new shoots are formed for flowering. For proper pruning of spirea, the following types of processing are practiced in the spring:
- sanitary, or cosmetic;
- formative;
- stimulating;
- rejuvenating.
Separately, you can put pruning spirea, which creates hedges.
Almost the same types of pruning are used for spring-flowering meadowsweet, but they are carried out after flowering. Spirea cuttings are easily tolerated by the plant in summer. Radical treatments to rejuvenate the bushes are also performed in the spring.
A beautiful shrub is formed by pruning and rejuvenation.
How to properly cut a spirea
They work with shrubs as soon as the snow melts. Conducting sanitary pruning of any meadowsweet bushes, they get rid of damaged shoots and weak shoots inside the bush. The plant gives strength to healthy branches, increasing the number of buds. Remove all last year’s dry inflorescences from summer flowering bushes. And for early-flowering spirea, care includes pruning weak branches and old, 7-10-year-old shoots in March-April. Also cut off the frozen tops. When shortening the shoot, make sure that the cut is above the kidney, which grows outward.
Stimulating treatment means shortening the branches so that shoots come from them. The shrub becomes lusher and looks more decorative with many inflorescences.
Young shoots of meadowsweet, which blooms in summer, are shortened over well-developed buds, from which branches with buds grow in spring. The same procedure for spring flowering species is performed in June. Bushes with old shoots are transformed, leaving only 25-30 cm of the trunk above the ground. The plant will resume more lush.
Formative pruning of spirea bushes is also carried out in spring or summer. Cutting off parts of the shoots for the growth of new branches, they try to make the haircut lines at the same level, gradually rounding the silhouette of the shrub. The formation of a hedge from meadowsweet bushes, which blooms in July, is postponed to the end of August, in the spring it remains only to trim the lines. At the same time, the bush is also thinned out inside, removing old and twisted branches. Thickening can provoke the development of fungal diseases or create a cozy environment for pests. The thickening of the meadowsweet bush is controlled every 2-3 years. For the formation and pruning of early flowering spirea, frozen branches are removed, dense thickets are thinned out. To improve tillering, the longest shoots are shortened by 20-25 cm.
Achieve rejuvenation of the bush, having carried out a complete pruning of the trunks, to the level of the root collar. Sometimes only 5-7 last year’s branches are left. Such measures are taken for old plants, after 10-12 years of development. Thanks to such pruning, spirea, whose trunks live 15-19 years, will develop for a long time in the place chosen by the gardener.
Features of pruning spirea of different varieties
To put in order the meadowsweet bush that grows in the garden, it is only necessary to study its characteristic data and determine the type.
Pruning white spirea after flowering
The species is widespread in cities and towns of Our Country. Branches with brown bark form a bush up to 1,5-1,7 m high. The leaves have sharp tops. Snow-white inflorescences, fluffy due to numerous long stamens, bloom in July. Withered shields are pruned from August so that the plant does not waste energy to form seeds, and the branches become stronger. In the spring, meadowsweet is cleared of frozen and broken branches, and a silhouette is formed. Starting from the age of 4, the shrub is periodically pruned up to 30 cm above the ground after a few years.
Pruning spirea Bride
A favorite spring-flowering plant in many gardens in April is only cleared of frozen tops and thinned out. Spiraea Vangutta, this is the species name of the people’s favorite, can grow up to 3 m, with the same crown diameter. Flowers bloom on drooping branches in a picturesque white waterfall. For this spirea, summer pruning begins after flowering. Each long shoot is shortened by half. Branched branches – one third. In the spring, the shrub is rejuvenated by getting rid of trunks older than 7 years.
Pruning Spirea Thunberg
This species is similar to the Vangutta spirea, but its flowers are not as fluffy because the stamens are smaller and shorter. Shoots seem longer and more graceful. And it blooms earlier, when there are no leaves on the branches yet. Apply formative pruning of spring spirea after flowering, from June.
Pruning spirea Macrophila
Early spring pruning is applicable to a powerful, up to 1,3-1,5 m, and fast-growing species with large, bright leaves. The variety is magnificent, not only pink flowers that bloom in July are decorative, but also leaves 15-20 cm long, 8-10 cm wide.
Foliage takes on a reddish tinge in spring, golden crimson in autumn. There is one subtlety when pruning a plant. When an adult bush is cut off at the ground, leaving only 7-12 cm of trunks, the upper foliage of the growing shoots will be painted in burgundy-red tones. After 3-4 years, periodically all shoots are shortened in April or May to 30 cm above the soil.
How to cut spirea willow
Low, up to 1-1,2 m, the bush of this species of meadowsweet with narrow leaves captivates with white and pink paniculate inflorescences, up to 20 cm long, which bloom in summer. The pruning of the willow spirea is standard, as for all summer-flowering species, in April.
Care after pruning
After removing branches or parts of shoots, meadowsweet is abundantly watered and fed during mulching using peat or compost. After summer pruning, the shrub is supported with a mixture of organic matter and minerals. Mullein is prepared in a ratio of 1:5. Mix mullein infusion with 10 g of superphosphate, already diluted in a liter of hot water and infused for a day, to a bucket. Under 1 bush pour 10 liters of liquid top dressing. A day before fertilizing, the bush is watered so that the nutrients get into the damp earth and are quickly absorbed by the roots. Some time after top dressing, the trunk circle is shed with another bucket of water if the soil is not sufficiently moistened. Sawdust or compost leaves are suitable as mulch.
Conclusion
Trimming spirea will turn any shrub into a beautiful flowering accent in the garden. The culture blooms for a long time, but it is important to first determine the type and properly cut the plant. A little care and simple care help a beautiful shrub to develop new areas.