How to Prune Honeysuckle

Pruning according to species

Currently, the main varieties of honeysuckle cultivated artificially are large hairy flower and chicken claw flower.

The large hairy flower is commonly known as the hairy flower. It has a short, loose mound shape, no flower buds at the top of the branches, the flower buds are hypertrophic, the branches are long and tend to entwine, it blooms late, has a well-developed root system, is drought-resistant and can tolerate poor soil, and is suitable for cultivation in mountain fields.

The buds of cocksfoot flower grow at the top, concentrated in clusters, shaped like chicken claws. The branches are short, thick and upright, and the shape is compact. The flowering period is earlier than that of the large hairy flower, but the flowers are smaller and suitable for dense planting on plains.

Large hairy flower pruning:

The large hairy flower grows in a grape shape with a crown width of more than 1 meter. Old flower stumps with long branches need to be heavily pruned, with long branches cut back and short branches thinned out, using a combination of pruning and thinning. Strong and robust flower stumps are mainly pruned to promote branching and accelerate the expansion of the stump crown. This variety should be pruned into a natural shape or other shapes according to the conditions of the growing area, and the overgrown branches and overly dense branches should be heavily pruned to make them evenly and reasonably distributed.

Chicken claw flower pruning:

Chicken Claw Flower mainly grows in three dimensions, with an obvious main trunk, most branches not touching the ground, and a crown width of about 80cm. When pruning, you should remove the tops, clear the bases, prune the inner parts, and trim the overly long branches, sick and weak branches, dead branches, and branches that extend downward, so that the branches are clustered and upright, with a thick trunk and even branches. Generally, this variety should be cut into an umbrella shape, which has good ventilation and light transmission, many new branches and flower buds.

Prune according to flower age

Infancy:

Generally, honeysuckle is in its young stage from planting to the fourth year, during this period it can be heavily pruned and trimmed to shape it. The specific method is to cut off the upper part of the honeysuckle branch at a height of 50 cm to promote the rapid sprouting and growth of side buds, cut off the downward growing branches every year, and trim the long branches into a reasonable plant shape according to different varieties.

Blooming period:

The peak flowering period of honeysuckle is 4 to 20 years. During this period, weak and dense branches should be heavily pruned, and two-year-old and strong branches should be lightly pruned. At the same time, four buds to keep and four buds to cut are implemented. The four buds to keep are strong buds, full buds, upper branch buds, and upward branches. The four buds to cut are lower branches, lower buds, weak branches and thin buds, and the buds sprouting at the base are wiped off to reduce nutrient consumption.

Aging stage:

The characteristics of honeysuckle aging are: sparse leaves, pale color, many old and dead branches, thin flowers, and thin and shrunken branch crowns. At this time, all dead branches should be cut off, diseased branches should be heavily cut off, weak branches should be lightly cut off, and strong branches should not be cut off.

Pruning time

Generally, pruning is done 4 times a year, namely:

Spring pruning is carried out in early June after the first batch of flowers are harvested, focusing on topping the main trunk within 40 cm.

Summer pruning is carried out after the second batch of flowers are harvested in late July. It is to cut off the tips of the lateral branches that give rise to nutrients, and light pruning is mainly used.

Autumn pruning is done after the three batches of flowers are harvested in early August, with light pruning being the main method.

Winter pruning, harvest the last batch of flowers, and wait until the nutrients of the branches and vines return to the main branches and roots. Pruning can be done from December to February of the following year.