Forsythia is a bush plant that begins to bloom in bright yellow in early spring. So that it has the correct shape and gives the active vegetative part, you need to properly care for it. Forsythia is trimmed 2 times a year. There are several rules for the procedure.
When to crop
Regular removal of non-viable and excess segments is required due to the fact that the bush belongs to fast-growing. Its dimensions reach 2 m in width and 3 in height, but for growth in the garden it is too large. Therefore, the diameter is reduced to 1.5 m.
The appearance of the Forsythia bush
You need to know the timing when to cut forsythia so as not to harm the plant. The first 3-4 years, active pruning of bushes is not required. The plant needs to be given the opportunity to grow and get stronger. Then the solution to the problem of when to cut the forcing is carried out in 2-3 stages. The pruning scheme involves carrying out 3 types of haircuts: first, regular and anti-aging. They differ in the regularity and amount of material removed.
The first time pruning is carried out in March-April, even before the appearance of foliage, in the second year after planting. Visually easy to identify dry and damaged parts, has not yet begun active sap flow. The first Forsythia haircut involves the almost complete removal of the shoots, leaving some of the strongest.
The main correction is carried out in the spring, after flowering. In the summer, the bush will have time to regain strength. Additionally, the procedure can be carried out in autumn, but this pruning does not determine the intensity of growth and flowering of the bush for the next year.
Attention! Correction of the bush is possible during flowering only if the plant is sick, it is running or has many damaged shoots. In the active period, the bush is the most vulnerable, so you should compare the damage from pruning with the damage from damage. If you can wait until the end of the period, then you should refrain.
Forsythia bush formation stages
According to the standard, the next stage is trimming of Forsythia after flowering. Do not cut off a lot of shoots at once, this will adversely affect the condition of the bush. Therefore, care is required throughout the year.
Pruning rules
Having decided when the forsythia is cut, you should consider how to properly form the bush, when to trim the branches and how. For work you need to use a sharp tool, pruning shears and a garden saw. They should leave an even cut. The metal is pre-disinfected with an antiseptic.
It's important to know! To protect the plant from ultraviolet rays and pathogenic flora, the procedures are carried out on a cloudy day, and even better in the rain.
The instruction implies a step-by-step sequence of actions:
- Getting rid of shoots that make the bush thick.
- Shortening of new sprouts that went to growth.
- Pruning shoots that have already faded.
- Complete removal of dry and diseased processes.
When upgrading a bush, branches that are located low above the ground or those that touch it are removed. Similarly, shoots that grow inward or in contact with other processes are destroyed.
In the process, you need to know how long the arrow should be shortened. Young branches that have already faded are shortened by 50% in the summer. If damaged shoots are found, they are removed to a level of 6-7 cm from the ground.
There is such a thing as anti-aging pruning. This is a bush care in 2 stages in 2 years. The first year eliminates all the old shoots, leaving no more than 5 core. The next year, when the bush gives a lot of young shoots, you need to remove the remaining old ones. The remaining young are shortened so that they begin to branch.
Stages of bush formation
How to form a bush
Forsythia formation is required not only for timely removal of old and diseased shoots. Another task of the procedure is to preserve the decorative appearance of the bush. Formation begins with 2 years of shoot growth. Extra shoots are monitored strictly, immediately cutting off the excess so that the stem does not bend. Avoid simultaneous pruning of many units at once, so as not to make the bush visually naked and not to make it weak before winter.
It is given a different shape: cone, ball, parallelepiped. These are easily reproducible options that do not require much imagination and effort. Which is better to choose depends on the type of crown: weeping, hanging, normal, with a vertical orientation.
The plant is often used to create hedges. If this type of molding is planned, then the plant is not touched for 2-3 years. During this time, the shoots gain strength, the stem thickens, the sprouts intertwine. Forsythia is trimmed in the shape of a rectangle or trapezoid. A number of requirements are made to the hedge: it must be thick inside and strong, but let light in.
The task of how to form forcing depends on the chosen option for the appearance of the bush. If the crown will be natural, then it is necessary to produce the main main part 1 time in 3 years and preventive annually.
To give the shape of a pyramid or trapezoid, you need already in the second year to cut the shoots according to the desired pattern. After the first trimming, the shape is adjusted 2 times a year: in the spring, the main part, in the fall, slightly.
Shortening Forsythia Shoots
The formation of forcing into a ball is carried out in several ways. The first is to shorten all shoots to the same length each year. The second is cutting the shoots according to the chosen form. The method requires compliance with the geometry of the design so that the bush does not look careless. It is not necessary to trim the stems to give shape, you can simply bend the shoot.
Attention!Before starting the formation, it is worthwhile to study information on how to trim the Forsythia. Otherwise, you can get a bare bush with poor lighting and dry shoots.
Care after trimming
After the spring has managed to form a crown, forsythia is fed and ennobled roots. Immediately after winter, the bush is mulched with humus, and then watered.
When the shoots are covered with buds, they make mineral fertilizers, and after flowering - nitroammophoskos and selenium. At the end of summer, the bush needs potassium and phosphorus. In the warm period, there is a need for careful monitoring of soil moisture. If precipitation occurs frequently, then additional watering is not needed. In dry weather, the soil is moistened.
After autumn pruning, moisten the substrate, where Forsythia grows, warm the roots with needles and fine foliage in a volume of 10 cm.
Attention!If you properly fertilize and warm the plant, this will give him the strength to survive the winter and bloom the next year.
If the bush in the spring after the autumn growth correction did not bloom, this is not necessarily due to incorrect technology. Perhaps the best place for planting has not been selected for forcing, or fertilizers have not been applied in a timely manner. The bush loves places with good lighting, but without excess moisture.
