Lilac care includes proper and timely pruning. This procedure has been one of the most important for many years, since the lilac plant is not pretentious and can do without water, withstand high temperature and severe frost... The first two years, pruning of bushes is not worth doing, only when the bushes have strengthened branches. If you have planted the seedlings correctly, have taken into account all the plant's requirements for the place and soil, and take good care of it - this is the key to long-term and high-quality flowering. The bushes need pruning, which can be of three varieties:
Pruning should not be excessive; no more than twenty percent of the branches in the crown can be removed. It is not worth cutting off thick branches, that is, branches more than three centimeters.
When and how to prune lilacs before and after flowering
- Lilacs must be pruned regularly from the third year of life.
- Pruning lilacs after flowering should be done with disinfected garden shears or a special knife
- It is advisable to fertilize lilacs in the spring, it is good to use organic compounds, but not to do this at the same time as pruning branches. Phosphoric and potash fertilizer it is advisable to carry out the soil in the fall after two years on the third.
- In early spring, you need to choose about seven on the bush - eight long branches that are most distant from each other and create the shape of the plant. The small branches that grow inward should be cut off completely, and the rest should be reduced in size.
- Sanitary pruning is done every spring when buds appear.
- Then the faded inflorescences are cut off, without branches, this must be done as soon as the bush fades, otherwise next year the lilac will bloom worse or not at all.
- Places of cuts must be lubricated with special paint.
- It is necessary to cut off the fatty shoots.
- It is also necessary to form beautiful shape bushes.
- Remove diseased or dry branches.
So, sanitary pruning is carried out in spring and autumn, taking into account all pruning rules. If you are pruning for correct formation bush, you need not to hook the buds. If the bushes have grown strongly and lost their shape, then it is necessary to shorten its strongly elongated branches, until the buds swell.
Lilac bush formation
In the third year, it is worth starting to form the so-called skeleton of the bush, by carefully cutting it. In early spring, in the crown of the bush, seven to eleven beautifully arranged branches are found, which give a rounded shape to the plant - it is they that become the basis of the so-called skeleton. The remaining branches are cut to the desired length and shape. During trimming, are respected important rule - short shoots that grow inside the bush are removed completely, and directed to its outskirts - reduce. This stimulates the thickening of the skeletal branches. The so-called haircut is needed not only for beauty, but also for medicinal purposes. Shoots around the bushes are destroyed as needed.
Rejuvenating lilac bushes
Caring for lilacs also involves rejuvenating the bushes. Rejuvenation is a lot like sanitary pruning, but there are differences. It is important that this should be done in late autumn or even in winter. Another feature of rejuvenation is that the branches, regardless of the thickness, are cut rather shortly. Exactly this best opportunity in order to form the shape of lilac bushes. The place of the cut is also smeared oil paint or garden pitch. After rejuvenation, the bushes bloom profusely in the second year. Whether it is necessary to cut a bush for these purposes every year, the answer is categorical - no, it is impossible. Every two to three years.
The rejuvenating pruning scheme will be very useful for novice gardeners.
Pruning lilac bushes for bouquets
If you want to make a bouquet, it is recommended to cut off no more than a third of the flowering inflorescences from healthy bushes. Cut off early in the morning. Lilacs cut from a young bush are worth better than those taken from an old specimen. The flowers should be open, but not completely. Before placing the bouquet in a vase, you need to make oblique cuts. Effective way is - crushing the ends of the branches, for example with a hammer. You can often add citric or acetic acid to the water, so that the flowers will delight you with their appearance and aroma longer. But whether it is necessary to add sugar for these purposes is a moot point. Many florists believe that it is absolutely impossible.
Lilac pests
Garden var
Garden pitch, necessary after pruning the bushes, can be done on your own. The recipe is simple enough. It is necessary to melt the rosin and wax, and to this mass, add sunflower oil... Then everything must be thoroughly mixed and immediately removed from the oven. Var must be brought to a thick state, then poured into the water with a stream. Then removing excess water, let the varnish dry, then pour into a container for further storage.
If the var has crystallized over time, melt it and add sunflower oil before using it. You can store such a composition for up to four years.
Conclusion
So, caring for lilacs involves regular pruning bush. Correct pruning after flowering, it determines how profusely the bushes will bloom next year. Fertilizer for lilacs is needed, as well as pruning, but one must not overdo it with nitrogen fertilizers, because the lilac will not bloom enough, and it is worse to tolerate frosts or even frosts on the soil. Flowering branches must not be broken off; they must be carefully trimmed with garden shears. If you know how to properly care for lilacs and take into account the basic rules, you can achieve excellent result and flowering bush will delight you for a long time.
Irina Okuneva, Ph.D. biol. Sci., Senior Researcher, GBS named after N.V. Tsitsin RAS
Old lilac bushes in the gardens are not uncommon. After all, this plant was willingly planted by our great-grandfathers. We admired the flowering, enjoyed the aroma, sometimes even fertilized ... But they almost never cut it off. So the lilac has grown old, the shoots and inflorescences were crushed, the gnarled trunks were bare ...
But lilacs are a bush, which means that they do not have a single trunk for life, but several. Over time, some trunks grow old and dry, others, young, appear to replace them. They are formed either from coppice shoots at the base of the bush (in rooted plants), or from dormant buds on the trunks.
If you manage this shift, pruning lilacs at least once every 2-3 years ( best time for this - spring, immediately after the snow melts), the question of rejuvenation will not arise at all.
But what should be done in the "neglected case" to return the lilac to its former luxury? It depends on what your bush looks like.
Option 1
"Thickets"
If in front of us is a bush overgrown with offspring, then first you need to get close to it. However, all growth should not be removed indiscriminately. You can usually find at least one, or even several, strong stems that can become worthy replacement old. It is better to mark them with bright ribbons so as not to pull out in the heat of the moment. Methodically pull the rest of the shoots out of the ground along with the root and cut as close as possible to the place where they left the trunk. If desired, these offspring can be used for breeding. The main condition is that the bush must be self-rooted, not grafted.
An array of shoots of different ages, in the center of which there are old, including dry stems. Photo: From personal archive / Irina Okuneva
Having freed up the old stems, we proceed to the next steps (options 2, 3).
Option 2
Young verticals
If old stems have vertical branches formed from dormant buds, that's great. They will give us the opportunity to rejuvenate the bushes without losing flowering. But before you grab the saw, assess the condition of each branch. As with the undergrowth, it is useful to mark the parts that should remain with ribbons.
We remove trunks, branches in whole or in part, if they:
- dry, damaged or broken;
- have very small annual increments;
- intersect and touch others;
- uncomfortable or ugly stick out.
We leave the branches that:
- give good growth in the upper part where flowering is expected;
- well located.
Several sloping trunks with young vertical growths. Photo: From personal archive / Irina Okuneva
Option 3
Like a tree
If the lilac bushes were cut off incorrectly all their life, that is, instead of replacing the aging stems, young shoots and shoots were removed, the plant gradually loses its ability to recover. Such lilacs with a single trunk may not withstand heavy pruning. You can try to remove several branches in their crown to stimulate the awakening of dormant buds in the lower part of the trunk, if they are still there. If there are two or more stems, remove the weakest one and wait for new growths to appear.
Depleted shrubs can take several years to rejuvenate. During this time, you need to provide them with good care.
One or several deformed trunks without young branches at all, weakly growing. Photo: From personal archive / Irina Okuneva
You can grow common lilac in
- high-standard
- standard
- half-stem
- in the form of an improved bush
- in the form of a free bush:
So, the varieties India, Krasnaya Moscow, Dream, Zoya Kosmodemyanskaya look better in the form of an improved bush with a small (10-15 cm) stem. Other varieties show the best decorative qualities in the form of a free multi-stem bush with 6-7 skeletal branches. These include Marshal Foch, Pioneer and others. Lilacs Olympiada Kolesnikova, Katerina Havemeyer, Sky of Moscow, Galina Ulanova, Condorcet do not lose their qualities with any type of formation. And only a few varieties "show themselves" in a high-standard form: Miss Helen Wilmot, Condorcet.
High stem form depending on the growth ability of the variety. Usually this is done in the 2nd year, and for poorly developed seedlings - in the fourth. In the spring, remove all unnecessary and underdeveloped branches in the crown, and below the crown level, all branches are cut into a ring. The main shoot of the continuation is shortened to the size (the height of the trunk can be from 100 to 170 cm), which is necessary for the normal development of the lateral branches. Side shoots (leave 4-6 pairs of buds) pinch to obtain a compact crown and better branching.
Formation half-trunk and improved bush begin already in annual seedlings. To form a half-stem shape on the seedling, remove all the lower buds by cutting to a height of 60-80cm.Then, 4-5 pairs of buds are counted up and above the last left pair, the top is cut off with a sharp instrument, leaving a spike 2-2.5 cm long.To create a continuation shoot, only one most developed bud is left in the upper pair, the other, weaker one, is plucked out ... The developing shoot of the continuation is tied to the left thorn. After lignification of the growing shoot, the tires are completely cut out.
Improved bush shape
lay in the same way as half-stamp. The height of the bole to the first pair of buds from the ground should be 12-25 cm. In subsequent years, they make sure that all branches develop harmoniously, pinch fatty shoots. Lilac bushes with 5-6 skeletal branches are most successfully formed. When creating a natural bush
all the lower kidneys are left, but cut off upper part shoots with 3-4 pairs of buds. Much attention is paid to a young plant in the first 2-3 years of flowering. At that time great importance has the correct cut of inflorescences. It is often possible to observe that growers cut off, and even worse, break off the inflorescence along with one-year, and sometimes two-year growth. Excessive pruning of inflorescences on elongated shoots oppresses the young plant. In addition, normal flowering in this case will be in a year. The inflorescence must be cut off along with part of last year's branch, and the remaining one must have at least two developing shoots. The apical lateral buds of these shoots in the second half of summer lay flower buds (some varieties lay 2-3 pairs of them), and the bush blooms profusely the next year. In the formed plants, thickening shoots are pinched 3-4 times during the summer. Developing unevenly, fattening shoots dive into young agewhen a minimum of plastic substances are spent on their construction. Do not overly abundant flowering young plants, this negatively affects their subsequent growth and development. As a rule, too strong flowering of young lilacs leads to premature aging and death of plants. During this period, flowering rationing is especially carefully monitored. In the spring, when the inflorescences reach a length of 2-2.5 cm, flower buds are partially broken out. IN in some years, the number of brushes is normalized in adult lilac bushes of such varieties as Leonid Leonov, Congo and others. Most nurseries producing grafted and self-rooted lilac seedlings are limited to only short pruning one-year escape 3-4 pairs of well-developed buds and plants practically come out with a naturally formed crown. This form is far from the most successful. Such a lilac gives a lot of growth, the branches develop unevenly, the crown thickens and the flowering becomes scarce. Abundant overgrowth can be prevented by shallow planting and timely removal of dormant buds at the base of the root collar of the stock. Root shoots and suckers are removed systematically. Rooted lilacs - in early spring, in the vaccinated - during the entire growing season as it appears. Offspring shoots are cut "on a ring", possibly going deeper into the soil. If you remove the shoots from time to time, and even leaving the hemp, the root zone only thickens even more, since the shoots grow from the stumps with a vengeance. In the grafted lilac, all shoots are cut out on the trunk below the grafting site. The systematic and correct removal of underground shoots formed from dormant buds leads to the fact that the root collar is deprived of dormant buds or their number is reduced to a minimum. In the future, overgrowth is almost not formed. For most varieties, you need to take care of the formation in the first year. Then trim adults e plants are lighter.
Lilac bushes care.
For some reason, it is generally accepted that the more you break blooming lilac, the better it then grows and blooms.
Breaking the lilac, in fact, is impossible, because its wood and bark are strong, and therefore large "torn" wounds are formed, because of which the bush may die altogether. And cutting it off is useful and necessary.
Lilac is everyone's favorite fragrant spring bush. It is great if it is beautifully formed, looks neat, and, most importantly, blooms profusely. In order for it to truly delight with beauty every year, an annual formative pruning is needed. If this is not done, the inflorescences will gradually become smaller, the lower part of the bush will become bare, and the inflorescences themselves will bloom somewhere at an unattainable height. .
The first two years after planting, the lilac grows weakly, at this time the root system is growing. It is not worth cutting anything on a growing and, in principle, weak plant. Only in the third or fourth year, when the plant is strong enough, you can begin to form. To do this, leave from three to five of the strongest branches, cutting out all the weak growth. These branches will form the basis of the future lilac bush.
Spring pruning
Spring pruning is a sanitary pruning. It is carried out as soon as the frosts end and a low above zero temperature is established on the thermometer.
At this time, shoots that have not wintered well (they are usually blackened, dead, broken under the weight of snow) and young shoots that have grown over the summer months of last year are removed. You can leave only a couple of strong shoots that will be used as a replacement old wood... Shoots should be located outside the bush, all those that thicken the middle are cut out in order to provide the entire bush with light.
In the grafted lilac, all the shoots are cut out, which grew last summer below the point of the rootstock, since it has nothing to do with the variety.
No branches are shortened in the spring, so you can lose flowering in the current year.
Pruning after flowering
This is the main pruning that forms the next year's bush. It is carried out immediately after the end of flowering, only in this case the plant will have time over the summer and the beginning of autumn to lay new buds for flowering and grow many new shoots, the strongest of which you can leave. The earlier it begins to lay flower buds, the more beautiful the flowering will be on next year... I remember, even in childhood, they said that the more lilacs are cut, the better it will bloom, we were happy to give it to mom all spring and all the vases in the house smelled of lilacs. By pruning the lilacs in late summer and autumn, you will cut whatever the bush has worked on during the summer, and the flowering is likely to be weak.
After flowering, all faded inflorescences are cut off from lilacs. It is the inflorescences that need to be cut off, without touching a couple of young shoots, which are located immediately under the flower, it is on them that flower buds will form.
Some branches are cut below, forming the height of the bush. They will not bloom next year, but only in this way, observing a balance between branches with cut inflorescences and forming branches, you can keep the lilac bush at the height that you need.
After such pruning, the bush looks neater, more decorative even in a non-flowering state, and, most importantly, it does not expend energy on ripening seeds, but spends them on planting new flower buds.
At the same time, cut off all branches that go sharply to the sides. Weak thin twigs that have managed to grow are cut out, shoots that thicken the crown, go inside it, cross, interfere with each other.
In the spring, after the lilac blooms, cut off all root shoots, leaving only strong shoots to obtain new skeletal branches in the future, their number depends on the size of the bush. It is better to cut root shoots not superficially, but after digging up the ground a little, cut them from the root, below the soil level. In order for the lilac not to give a lot of growth, you need to dig as little as possible under the bush, loosen the soil. Root system it is superficial, and by disturbing it, we awaken the plant to renewal. It is better to use mulch, which will retain moisture and protect from weeds.
The grafted lilac is especially in need of pruning, all the shoots that go below the rootstock must be cut off from it. If you do not cut them off, then in a couple of years your beautiful variety will become a common lilac bush.
What can be cut in the fall
Broken and crooked branches can be cut in lilacs in the fall.
If there are old branches with cracked bark, they can also be removed in the fall, but you should not remove several at once. You need to get rid of old branches gradually, one or two per year, depending on the size of the bush. First of all, those that grow inside the crown, thickening it, are cut off. A balance must always be struck between the root system and the crown.
For the same reason, it is impossible not to clean the lilac bushes at all, the crown, with a very large thickening, begins to greatly exhaust the underground part, which does not have time to grow as quickly as the top. The thickened bush ages faster, the inflorescences become smaller every year, their number decreases.
If there are branches grafted on a bush with another variety, all the shoots are cut off in the fall, which thickens and weakens them.
Lilac rejuvenation
Rejuvenating pruning of lilacs is best done gradually from year to year, cutting off old branches, replacing them with new ones grown from young strong growth.
To rejuvenation old lilac must be approached very carefully. With age, the bushes lose their ability to recover, it is difficult for them to give young shoots. But if this happens, and the bush has practically stopped flowering, it is better to prune it in early spring. Pick a few of the youngest and best branches in your opinion and cut them to a height of 30-40 centimeters from the ground. Remaining very old, with peeled cracked bark, cut at the root. Within a year, young shoots should grow from short stumps. Treat all sections with a diameter of more than 2 centimeters with oil paint, lilacs do not really like garden var, but it will do for lack of anything. If you do not process the cuts, the loose lilac wood will quickly rot.
After such a radical spring pruning, the bush must be fed with fertilizers containing nitrogen and phosphorus, mulched and ensured regular watering throughout the year.
Lilac produces a lot of wild growth, so it is suitable for creating a green hedge. To form it, you need to cut it shortly, not allowing the lower part of the branches to be exposed. It is not pruners that come in handy here, but brush cutters or special trimmers. You probably won't wait for a low lilac hedge to bloom, but if you form it higher, with a neat pruning shears, you can achieve flowering.
Hello dear readers of my blog! What are we going to talk about today? I will delight lovers of beautiful shrubs that adorn our yard in spring with their abundant unique flowering. Only my story will be quite unusual, since I will introduce you not to the cultivation of a plant, but to one of the necessary and main processes of care. Are you already starting to guess what will be discussed? That's right, I will tell you how lilac pruning is done in the spring and why it is necessary to do this work at such a time.
I think you know perfectly well how rapidly the lilac grows and develops. This quality of the shrub in some cases can lead the owners to a small stupor, because the thickened crown is the reason that the plant refuses to bloom, and if inflorescences appear, then they will definitely not please with their size and brightness of shades.
There is only one way to help lilacs - by carrying out an annual spring pruning. Why spring? In the absence of experience for beginners, it will not be difficult to notice dry and frozen shoots in order to remove them first. Sick branches are also easy to distinguish - usually the buds on them do not bloom for a long time, and if leaves appear, then they are tiny.
Remove diseased and dry shoots to the first healthy and large bud, and adult damaged branches to the very base (you can leave a small stump). I don't think it's worth reminding you that the instrument should be clean and sharp? Let me remind you the consequences of working with a blunt file and pruning shears - the places of the cuts will turn into a fibrous washcloth, from which rotting of healthy tissue can begin.
You can thin out the crown due to shoots that grow not to the sides, but inside the lilac bush. Such branches will do more harm than good - they block access to the sun's rays and fresh air to the center of the plant. The absence of factors important for the development threatens the appearance of fungal diseases. Flowering from improperly growing branches cannot be expected, so remove them mercilessly.
This pruning scheme will be a little incomplete if I don't warn you about cutting out the growth. It must be removed completely, without giving a chance to any shoot, especially when varietal grafted lilacs flaunt in the yard. The growth will pull everything from the soil nutrients and precious moisture, thereby slowing down the development of a beautiful bush.
Spring crown formation
It is only necessary to form a lilac crown in spring. How does this cropping happen? Carefully examine the lilac bush from all sides, most often you yourself will see what is superfluous here and what should be shortened. Usually, young shoots that have grown too long are cut off. Since the fabric of these branches is soft, you should be able to cope with the work with ordinary, but very sharp scissors.
Why is spring pruning useful? She has a lot of advantages, I will say only a few of the most basic ones:
- when to prevent mistakes in pruning in the spring, the crown will continue to form independently during the year;
- the branches on which flower buds begin to form will receive more strength;
- lateral shoots will begin to develop much more vigorously.
TO spring pruning the removal of fading buds belongs. Not sure why to do this? When you do not cut the inflorescence in a timely manner, even before the flowers completely wither, the seeds will begin to form and ripen in it. Lilac will direct a lot of its energy to this process, completely losing sight of the fact that it needs to accumulate strength for laying new flower buds. The result is obvious - get a lot of unnecessary planting material and the wretched lilac bloom next year.
I will open little secret - the more luxurious bouquets of lilacs this year give to loved ones and relatives, the more abundantly the bush covered with flowers will show off in the next. The trick is simple - cut out a lot of flowers, thereby stimulating the formation of new numerous buds.
During flowering, be sure to pay a little attention to the bush - you need to not only cut out the fading buds, but also remove damaged and drying out shoots. You notice that some of the inflorescences for some unknown reason begin to fade, be sure to immediately cut them off - the unfinished flowering will quickly develop into the formation of seed bolls.
Anti-aging pruning
Suppose you are a real guru in gardening or floriculture, then you know very well that sooner or later the plants grow old and begin to bloom much poorer, or even completely stop this delightful process. It is not worth rushing to throw out lilacs when she, because of her age, categorically refuses to bloom - you can fix everything here with rejuvenating pruning.
What month should I start work? I advise you not to hesitate, and immediately after the snow melts, go to your favorite. Do not have time, and the bush will start to grow, it is better not to risk it and postpone the process for the next year.
I'll tell you a secret - before rejuvenating pruning, you definitely need to remember what kind of lilac was planted. There are only two options - grafted or wild. In the first case, it is strongly discouraged to cut the lilac below the point at which the vaccination was carried out. How does this threaten your beauty? It's okay, of course, just the usual wild will start growing.
How to get started correctly? The most powerful and thickest branches (almost half) are cut first. After them comes the turn of thinner shoots, do not spare them and cut them to the third from the base of the bud. Keep in mind - the more you remove excess branches, the more luxuriant the rejuvenated plant will grow for the next year. Wait a few seasons, and with surprise and delight, you will notice how the bush will completely disappear under the bunches of fragrant flowers. By the way, excellent photos will certainly help to understand all the intricacies of cropping, I advise you to carefully read them.
As I have already warned, the instruments must be very sharp. I advise you to gloss over neat sections thin layer garden var... Of course, you can do without this, but such a precaution will help protect the lilac bush from the penetration of microorganisms. They will bring particular danger in the rainy damp summer - the bush can get sick with a fungus.
I have useful advice for beginners who have started to rejuvenate lilacs, it will be quite difficult to figure out whether a grafted bush or not. I will be happy to help. Carefully inspect the places of possible vaccinations, do not find thickenings and distinctive branches - the usual wild-growing lilac. This can be recognized by the structure of the bark - in the grafted place, it will differ in pattern.
I want to warn you a little - do not go with the sector to the lilacs in the summer! At this time, an intensive bookmarking of buds occurs, but you interfere with the process and mistakenly delete exactly those branches that are tuned to lush bloom... Next year, there will only be a small number of flowers left to observe, while without your "help" there would be many more!
I think I told everything in such detail, there will be no difficulties. If I missed something in my story, then I advise you to watch the video in which the lilac bushes are trimmed step by step. Do not forget that your friends may also have difficulties with such a difficult process, so share in social networks today's release. The last tip for today is subscribe to the blog news. This will allow you to always know what new and interesting I have prepared. Allow me to say goodbye, dear readers, and wish you all the best!
