How to cut lilacs. The formation of lilac in the form of a standard tree. When to Rejuvenate

How to prune lilacs correctly, whether to prune lilacs in spring, and whether it is possible to prune lilacs at all - such questions are often asked by gardeners. Meanwhile, it is necessary to cut the lilac, otherwise the flowering of this beautiful plant will be sparse and predominantly at the very top of the bush, while the lower part and middle will consist of bare lignified branches. Read our article on when and how to properly prune lilacs. The most common type of lilac in our gardens is numerous varieties of shrubs. common lilac (Syringa vulgaris), which this article is about and which we will refer to simply as lilac .

The largest lilac inflorescences appear on young branches, not older than 5-6 years. The older the branches, the smaller the inflorescences and the higher they are located, and at the level of human growth and gaze, the lilac branches become stiff and bare. From these features of the lilac vegetation, it becomes clear that this plant, like no other, needs regular annual pruning, and old, overgrown and neglected lilac bushes require strong rejuvenating pruning.

Lilac pruning in spring...

…perhaps not the most best idea if you expect to see blooms this year. if you have extra time, in the spring you can cut branches broken during the winter or shorten branches that do not have buds. main shaping pruning lilac should be done immediately after the end of flowering, about once every two years. This rule applies to all flowering trees and shrubs. Formative pruning immediately after flowering (May-June) will allow the plant to grow new shoots and form new buds by the time of the next flowering.

Concerning rejuvenating pruning of old lilac, then it is done just in the very early spring, as soon as low positive temperatures are established in the garden (in mild climates, such pruning can also be done in winter).

How to prune lilac: shaping pruning

After the end of lilac flowering (see photo-diagram *, increases):

• cut off faded florets short branches
• shorten long branches by about 1/3

After the end of the formative pruning, the lilac bush will have a compact, rounded appearance.

How to prune old lilacs: anti-aging pruning

Rejuvenating pruning of old lilac bushes should be carried out as early as possible in spring (if you are not interested in flowering) or immediately after flowering (see photo diagram *, enlarged):

• shorten all branches to about 30-40 cm from the ground
• thin out the branches near the ground, cutting off excess or old branches at the root
• cut off (or carefully remove with roots) the excess basal shoots if the lilac has grown too wide

After the end of the rejuvenating pruning of the lilac, the bush will look like a lot of stump branches, but very soon new buds and greenery will form on short branches, and in a year or two the lilac will bloom magnificently (with good care, naturally). Lush and fragrant inflorescences are enough for cutting and for a gift to friends. Photo below: lilac in a vase.

Pruning grafted lilac

Features of pruning grafted lilacs are that pruning should be done OVER the grafting site. All side shoots should be removed, because. flowering on it will correspond to the type and variety of the rootstock, and not the highly decorative scion that you are counting on.

* Photo schemes adapted from the magazine fine gardening

Do you know that in the UK and some other countries it was considered bad omen bring lilac into the house and put it in a vase? Until now, some people, especially the older generation, do not cut lilacs and do not put them in a vase at home, because it was believed that lilacs in the house bring misfortune and ... death. While searching the web for the origins of this sign, I came across an interesting explanation. It turns out that before the widespread use of modern embalming agents, lilacs during the flowering period were widely used in houses where the body of the deceased was awaiting burial, to mask the smell of decomposition. So, on the basis of unpleasant associations, arose ‘ Feedback’ lilac and unhappiness, which, fortunately, has no logic behind it. However, if you are visiting someone in the hospital, choosing flowers, it is still better to stay away from the lilac, so as not to unintentionally upset the patient or his grandmother :-).

Every gardener dreams that his garden is decorated with some unusual plant. Lilac can also be attributed to such a plant. At proper care and following all the rules, you can achieve a beautiful and healthy appearance of the plant. This article will describe the basic requirements for caring for shrubs.

If done correct pruning plant, you can:

• update hive;
• improve flowering;
• form a crown;
• ensure a good increase in green mass;
• prevent fungal diseases from infecting the plant.

Young lilac in the first two years does not need to remove branches and shoots. If you remove young growths, then flowering will be rare or completely absent. Important to choose optimal time for shaping and cutting. In the spring, gardeners do not recommend cutting lilacs, as this can disrupt flowering or stop it altogether.

It is better to transfer all manipulations to autumn or until the inflorescences on lilacs disappear. But this does not mean that plant care is not required in the spring. Until the buds appear on the lilac, damaged and dried branches, as well as diseased sprouts, should be cut off.

Types of pruning lilac

There are two types of lilac pruning:

• crown pruning;
• pruning inflorescences that have faded.

Crown pruning is performed after flowering, so that the bush gives new buds and does not weaken. Long branches are removed by 1/3, shoots are thinned out and excess root growths are removed. The scheme for pruning a shrub after flowering is shown below.

Fading inflorescences are pruned in late spring or early summer, when the flowers disappear. This well stimulates the growth of new kidneys. After the bush has been rejuvenated, only stumps remain on it and it does not look beautiful. But after 2 years, the lilac will have new shoots and lush flowering.

List of tools

For this procedure, garden tools are needed, namely:

• Secateurs. To remove thin branches and new shoots.
• Hacksaw. Necessary when removing thick branches.
• Special paint. For treating fresh cuts or damage.

All inventory must be clean and well-ground so that no infection enters the cut when trimmed. The ingress of various bacteria can adversely affect the plant.

autumn pruning lilac

The main purpose of autumn pruning is to prepare the plant for winter, rejuvenate, strengthen the growth and development of the bush. At this time of the year, the plant tolerates pruning better than in the spring. In autumn, they not only rejuvenate, but also remove dry shoots, give the desired shape to the bush.

Thinning is done to shape the shrub, but do not forget that this procedure is done after 3 years of plant life, otherwise the lilac will disappear. Below is a diagram of the formation of a bush.

You can form a lilac bush:

• in the form of an improved bush;
• in the form of a free bush;
• standard;
• half standard;
• high standard.

Autumn rejuvenation of lilac

The shrub can remain lush as it grows, but the intensity and duration of flowering decreases. To eliminate this, rejuvenation is done to the bush. A plant older than 10 years needs rejuvenation. After the procedure, the lilac looks ugly, but for 2 years it will bloom evenly and magnificently.

During rejuvenation, most of the branches are pruned. The length of the branches should be no more than 40 cm from the soil level. Sections are covered with oil-based paint or brilliant green for quick healing.

annual pruning

For timely sanitary cleaning, lilacs are inspected every year in the fall. Branches that are covered with lichen and the bark must be removed in order to next year lilac delighted with its flowers.

You also need to remove crooked and broken shoots that thicken the crown. This event is not done in the spring, so as not to disrupt the growth and development of flower buds. autumn pruning will bring great benefits to the bush and improve its wintering.

Spring pruning

Gardeners do not recommend rejuvenating and shaping the shrub in the spring, but some procedures with the plant must be carried out. Before the appearance of the kidneys, all excess shoots are removed. Old lilacs need such pruning, which eventually stops flowering.

After the procedure, in the first year, the bush will have no inflorescences, but in the future it will please large quantity lush and beautiful buds.

How to thin out a lilac bush

Young seedlings grow very quickly and without constant thinning, the plant becomes shapeless and unnecessarily lush. To begin with, all dry and frostbitten branches are removed. Young shoots are cut off, on which there will be no buds. The branches that grow inside the lilac are also cut off.

Buds on such branches do not bloom due to lack of sun rays. You must remember to partially remove the root growth to prevent the appearance of wild branches. And we must remember that during the thinning procedure, only 1/3 of the total number of branches will need to be removed.

Spring rejuvenation of lilac

Rejuvenate the shrub in the spring as well as in the fall. To do this, cut all the branches and process the slices. New shoots grow on prunings. The restoration of lilac will come after two years and it will bloom again and delight with its aroma.

annual pruning

Young seedlings after 2 years need annual pruning of shoots. To achieve good flowering the next year, about 20% of the branches are removed from the lilac. For spring pruning necessary:

• cut flowers that have blossomed;
• form a plant
• remove excess thickness.

The whole procedure is carried out by garden tool. It is impossible to break or tear off shoots and inflorescences.

Shrub pruning before flowering

It is not necessary to thin out more than 10-20% of the bush in the spring until the lilac has bloomed. This may affect flowering in the current season. Before flowering, they make a sanitary cleaning and slightly remove dry and frozen branches, cracked bark, weakened branches and shoots that spoil appearance bush.

Pruning in bloom

When the bush blooms, you want to pick up a bunch of lilacs and decorate an apartment or house. You can do this safely to strengthen the bush. In the process, it is forbidden to break off the branches, you need to use garden tools. Breaking branches can destroy the plant, and in rainy weather debris quickly rot.

Pruning at the end of flowering

After the flowering of the shrub, dried inflorescences are removed. Fulfillment of some requirements will help preserve the bush and ensure its lush flowering in the future:

• after the flowering of the lilac, pruning is done to preserve the strength of the plant for further growth;
• a bush that does not bloom is thinned out every year;
• autumn pruning is useful for the shrub and helps it endure even the coldest winter.

Video: how to cut lilac

How to properly and accurately prune a bush so as not to destroy it, to ensure further growth and flowering can be viewed on the video:

What you need to grow lilac

Growing lilac does not require serious material costs. For good growth and abundant flowering bush must be observed simple rules, namely:

• carry out annual pruning of branches;
• do sanitary cleaning of shrubs;
• rejuvenate the plant in spring and autumn;
• periodically thin out the bush;
• use gardening equipment as intended.

Lilac - 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 really please with beauty every year, annual shaping 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, in this time runs extension of the root system. It is not worth cutting anything on a growing and still, 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 shoots. These branches will form the basis of the future lilac bush.

spring pruning

Pruning in the spring is sanitary pruning. It is carried out as soon as the frosts end and a low positive temperature is established on the thermometer.

At this time, shoots are removed that have not wintered well (they are usually blackened, dead, broken under the weight of snow) and grown over summer months last year young shoots. You can leave only a couple of strong shoots that will go to replace the old wood. Shoots should be located outside the bush, all those that thicken the middle are cut out in order to provide light to the entire bush.

In the grafted lilac, all the shoots are cut out, which grew last summer below the rootstock point, since it has nothing to do with the variety.

No branches are shortened in the spring, so you can lose flowering this 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 to lay new buds for flowering during the summer and the beginning of autumn and grow many new shoots, the strongest of which you can leave. The sooner she begins to lay flower buds, the more beautiful the flowering will be on next year. I remember, as a child, they said that the more you cut the lilac, the better it will bloom, we gave it to my mother with pleasure all spring and all the vases in the house were fragrant with lilacs. prune lilac late summer and in autumn you will cut off all the useful things that the bush worked on during the summer, and flowering will most likely be weak.

After flowering, lilacs cut off all faded inflorescences. 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 lower, forming the height of the bush. They will not bloom next year, but only in this way, keeping a balance between branches with cut inflorescences and forming branches, you can keep the lilac bush at the height 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 the ripening of seeds, but spends them on laying new flower buds.

At the same time, cut off all branches that go sharply to the sides. They cut out weak thin branches that have grown, shoots that thicken the crown, go inside it, cross, interfere with each other.

In the spring, after the lilac blooms, cut off all the root shoots, leaving only strong shoots to get new ones in the future. skeletal branches, their number depends on the size of the bush. It is better to cut the root shoots not superficially, but after digging up the ground a little, cut them off from the root, below the soil level. In order for the lilac not to give a lot of overgrowth, you need to dig as little as possible under the bush, loosen the soil. root system she has a superficial one, and by disturbing her, we awaken the plant to renewal. It is better to use mulch, which will retain moisture and protect against weeds.

The grafted lilac is especially in need of pruning; all the shoots that go below the stock must be cut off from it. If they are not cut off, then in a couple of years your beautiful variety will become an ordinary lilac bush.

What can be cut in the fall

In autumn, lilacs can be cut broken and crooked branches.

If there are old branches with cracked bark, they can also be removed in the fall, but several should not be removed at once. Old branches should be disposed of gradually, one or two per year, depending on the size of the bush. First of all, those that grow inside the crown are cut off, thickening it. You always need to maintain a balance 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 wear out underground part, which does not have time to grow as fast as the top. A thickened bush ages faster, inflorescences become smaller every year, their number decreases.

If there are branches grafted with another variety on the bush, all shoots are cut off in the fall, which thickens and weakens them.

Lilac rejuvenation

It is better to do rejuvenating pruning of lilacs gradually from year to year, cutting off old branches, replacing them with new ones grown from young strong shoots.

The rejuvenation of the 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 happened, and the bush has practically stopped flowering, pruning is best done in early spring. Select a few of the youngest and best branches in your opinion and cut them to a height of 30-40 centimeters from the ground. The remaining ones are very old, with exfoliated cracked bark, cut off at the root. For a year, young shoots should grow from short stumps. Treat all sections with a diameter greater than 2 centimeters oil paint, lilacs do not really like garden pitch, but it will do for lack of anything. If the cuts are not processed, the loose lilac wood will quickly rot.

After such a cardinal spring pruning, the bush must be fed with fertilizers containing nitrogen and phosphorus, mulched and provided with regular watering throughout the year.

Lilac gives a lot of wild growth, so it is suitable for creating a green hedge. To form it, you need to cut it short, preventing the lower part of the branches from being exposed. It is not a secateurs that will come in handy, but brush cutters or special trimmers. You most likely will not wait for a low lilac hedge to bloom, but if you form it higher, with a neat haircut with pruning shears, you can achieve flowering.

Pruning lilacs is one of the mandatory activities for caring for her. If this is not done, then with each subsequent year the intensity of flowering will noticeably decrease, the bush will become overgrown with shoots, and after a few years the plantings will “run wild” and completely lose their decorative effect. But about how to properly trim the lilac, we'll talk now.

REQUIRED TOOLS

1 Annual pruning

For an attractive appearance and crowning certain form you need to cut off new shoots every spring that grow too long. You can evaluate which branch you need to shorten yourself, you just have to carefully examine the tree. This process of slightly shortening actively growing shoots is called pinching and is brought to the nearest pair of lateral branches. Given the softness and fragility of young greens, such pruning can be done with ordinary hand scissors or small secateurs.

What is the use of pinching growing shoots in spring?

• stimulates the growth of lateral shoots;
• the part on which future flower buds are formed is preserved;
• helps support harmonious form crowns.

In addition to pruning greenery, the lilac bush needs annual removal of faded brushes. The fact is that if you leave fading inflorescences, seeds will soon begin to form on them, and this takes a significant part of the plant's energy. In turn, this will negatively affect the further growth and laying of flower buds next year. Therefore, when most of the lilac inflorescences bloom and the general flowering gradually declines, do not regret, cut off all the most luxurious branches, decorate the house with fragrant bouquets, give them to friends and neighbors.

Remember! The more flowers you cut from a lilac bush, the more intense it will bloom next year.

Video about proper pruning

At the same time, remove all wilted brushes, dry remnants of last year's inflorescences and accidentally broken branches. In this case, it is correct to make a cut at the base of the inflorescence, where the green part turns into a stiff branch.

Advice! If you notice that on one of the branches the flowers withered before the rest, cut off such a branch immediately, otherwise the energy of the neighboring shoots will go not to their flowering, but to the formation of seeds.

2 Thinning bush

Lilac plantings grow quickly, especially young plants. Therefore, it is extremely important to regularly thin the crown and do it in a timely manner.

The best time for pruning is early spring, when it is easier to notice weak and diseased branches. As a rule, the leaf buds on them are much smaller, the branches themselves are thin and brittle, and the leaves bloom later than the others. Flowering on such shoots can hardly be expected, but the plant will only waste energy on maintaining them. Weak, damaged or frost-bitten branches are pruned to the first healthy branch.

In the spring, unsuccessfully located shoots growing inside the crown are also removed. Such branches, after blooming foliage, receive very little sunlight and therefore flower buds in them will not be able to form. In addition, the excessive thickening of a bush or tree prevents the free circulation of air, and this creates the danger of the development of fungal diseases. In a dense crown, it is also more difficult to deal with pests - and it is more difficult to notice them and carry out high-quality processing.

During pruning, be sure to remove all basal shoots, cutting it off at the very base. It is especially important to cite this in grafted specimens, since a "wild" grows from their roots - shoots that are completely unpromising in terms of flowering.

Important! No need to delete too many branches, no more than a third of the total. At the same time, it is worth observing the balance of young and stiff shoots, because flower buds will be laid on old branches, and new ones will replace them in the future.

Video about the correct cutting of inflorescences

All excess branches are cut closer to the base of their growth, leaving only small stumps. If you did not have time to do this before the moment of dissolving the foliage, then you can prune later. Lilac thinning is also performed at the end of May, simultaneously with the removal of flowering inflorescences. The main thing is not to prune in the summer, because it is at this time that the flower buds of the next year are laid, and if you cut off the shoots on which they formed, it is completely clear that next spring lush flowering will not. Therefore, if you did not prune on time, then in summer, autumn, and even more so in winter, you should not take the pruner, it is better to postpone the procedure for a year.

3 Lilac rejuvenation

Over time, old bushes lose their decorative effect, they bloom less often and are no longer so magnificent, and there is little greenery on them. Therefore, a strong, rejuvenating pruning will help restore a healthy appearance to lilac plantings. This procedure stimulates the growth of young shoots, which in the future will become the main trunks of the bush or the stem of the tree.

Rejuvenation is carried out in early spring, when the plant has not yet begun to grow. Before starting work, it is important to find out the following fact: was the seedling grafted or is it own root? The intensity and quality of cutting depends on this.

Remember! In no case should the grafted plant be cut below the grafting point, otherwise the cultivated varietal lilac bush will turn into an ordinary wild one.

The site of a possible grafting is distinguished by some branching or thickening on the trunk, as well as a different structure and pattern of the bark of the rootstock and scion. If you have not noticed such signs, then your lilac has not been grafted and young replacement shoots can be grown from basal shoots.

The plot of how to fix the lilac

Strong pruning of bushes in the spring for the purpose of rejuvenation involves the removal of old branches, including those on which inflorescences were expected. But by sacrificing one year's flowering, you will be rewarded with good, healthy growth and fragrant flowers in the future.

First of all, too old branches with cracked bark and a bare trunk are removed. Sometimes they are cut to the very base, sometimes they are shortened by ⅓ or ½ of its length. Do not worry that the plant will lose its attractiveness at first. After a couple of seasons, the formation of a healthy, full of life plant with a young green crown and fragrant spring flowering ends.

Lilac can be grown in almost any region, however, in order for the shrub to be healthy and bloom profusely every year, it must be well looked after. One of the most important points of lilac care is pruning, and we will share with you information on whether it is possible to prune lilacs in spring or is it better to do it at another time, how to prune lilacs correctly, whether to prune lilacs after flowering, how to prune old lilacs and how anti-aging pruning of lilacs is carried out.

When to prune lilac

Lilacs need to be pruned every year, but depending on the purpose of pruning, it is carried out in different time. In early spring, before the juice goes through the branches and the garden wakes up from winter dormancy, thinning is carried out and sanitary cleaning . At the same time, they carry out anti-aging pruning lilacs.

Lilac flowering with proper pruning

form a crown shrub is best immediately after flowering is complete. Then you can carry out a sanitary cleaning, thin out the crown and rejuvenate the plant.

Lilac pruning in spring

In early spring, you need to remove numerous shoots, cut out all frostbitten, dry, broken, crooked and blackened branches and shoots. Old clumsy branches and weak last year's shoots are also removed from the central part of the crown. It is not necessary to shorten good branches and shoots: along with the tops of the shoots, you risk getting rid of flower buds.

If you have a grafted lilac, remove all the shoots that the rootstock has formed, otherwise the grown growth will drown out the varietal shoots.

Is it possible to prune lilacs during flowering

When the lilac blossoms, it is customary to cut branches from it for bouquets. Do not break, but cut: after breaking, the disfigured ends of the branches with peeled bark remain, which disfigure the entire bush and can be affected by pests. During flowering, partial sanitary pruning is also carried out: branches that obscure other plants or interfere with walking are removed.

Pruning scheme for lilacs after flowering

Sanitary pruning

When the lilac bloom is over, you need to cut off all the drying inflorescences until the seeds begin to set in them: the formation and ripening of seeds takes a lot of strength and nutrition from the bush, and you are unlikely to need seed for lilac propagation: it is better to propagate lilacs vegetatively, because with generative propagation does not preserve the varietal characteristics of the plant. Cut off faded inflorescences as close as possible to the first pair of leaves.

After that, you can shorten some of the shoots to improve the shape of the crown.

Formative pruning

Lilac is formed from the age of three. When growing lilacs in the form of a bush you need to leave three or four of the most developed shoots aimed at different sides from the center. All intersecting and shading shoots must be cut out, as well as constantly appearing shoots. When the formation of the bush is completed, it is necessary to thin out the lilacs every season, remove the shoots that interfere with flowering, and shorten those that violate the outlines of the crown.

Lilac on the stem , that is, in the form of a tree, looks impressive and unusual. The process of growing such lilacs is long, laborious and difficult, however, several varieties of lilacs can be grafted onto one bole at once, and if you do everything right, the result will be phenomenal.

In early spring, as soon as the snow melts, select a lilac shoot more than a meter high, cut the roots around it within a radius of 20 cm, and cut the rest of the shoots and shoots with pruners. At the very beginning of the sap flow to the upper part of the shoot, you need to graft the cuttings of the lilac varieties you like, and pluck out all the buds that appeared on the stock. But if you plan to graft other varietal cuttings in the future, just in case, leave 3-4 buds in the upper part of the trunk: cuttings of different varieties can be grafted to the shoots grown from them.

At the end of summer, a stem tree is dug up with a pitchfork along with a large clod of earth, and white roots growing underground in a horizontal direction and giving rise are cut into a ring. The seedling is lowered into the prepared hole, covered with earthen clod a layer of weathered peat or old humus 5-10 cm thick, after which it is filled landing pit soil, compact the surface and water abundantly. When the water is absorbed trunk circle mulch with a layer of sawdust, and cover the top of the mulch with a black film for the time of rooting.

lilac blossom

The first two years you need to carefully loosen the soil under the mulch, and then you will have to regularly deal with the emerging root shoots. In addition, you need to engage in the formation of the crown: pinch the tops to stimulate branching, and cut the shoots growing inside the crown into a ring.

Rejuvenating lilac pruning

An old, overgrown bush can be rejuvenated. This procedure differs from other types of pruning in that it involves a radical thinning of the bush: only stumps about 40 cm high remain from the plant, and it is desirable to remove shoots with heavily cracked bark under the root. Do not be afraid to act radically: in place of the old branches, the plant will grow new ones in 2-3 years, which will give new inflorescences.

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