Almost all types of barberry are used in landscape gardening. Many of the species have edible berries. The shrub is characterized by unpretentious care, but it requires compliance with certain recommendations, since not everyone knows when and how to prune barberries, and whether this procedure is necessary in principle.
Do I need to trim
Caring for barberries in the garden includes pruning as well. Many beginner gardeners do not understand whether this procedure is mandatory or not. This largely depends on the type of trim itself:
- sanitary should be carried out every year so that the plant does not waste strength and nutrients on dried or painful branches;
- formative is made exclusively at the request of the gardener and his plans for the bush;
- anti-aging is recommended to improve the decorative qualities of the bush.
Barberry in the open ground
Depending on the gardener's plans, it is worth deciding in which case pruning is required, and in which it can be avoided. Ordinary barberry without proper care will quickly spread throughout the area due to the possibility of reproduction through root offspring.
Important! During pruning, protect your hands from sharp spikes. This requires the preparation of thick gloves. It is recommended to sharpen the tool well (it is advisable to use one with long handles and thick blades), since the branches are quite strong.
Anti-aging pruning barberry
Anti-aging barberry must be done in spring. It is required for 8-10-year-old plants, the decorativeness of which has significantly decreased. Removing old shoots will give the plant a new life, the plant will come to life before our eyes, and in a year it will be possible to begin to form bushes.
After pruning, the shoots begin to grow vigorously. You can remove branches on any type of planting: both on a single plant, and on a hedge or a border. Mowing barberry means removing all the shoots.
Note! Old shoots should be cut off at the surface of the earth, and new ones should be shortened to 1/3 of their length. The places of cuts must be treated with antiseptic solutions in order to protect against fungal diseases.
Scheme of anti-aging pruning barberry
Sanitary pruning
Sanitary pruning of barberries is carried out annually. In the process, you can also begin to form a crown. It is recommended to trim only healthy shoots, but do not be very zealous. Weak branches are removed completely.
It is possible to form a crown only in the second year of plant life. In this case, it is worth familiarizing yourself with the scheme in order to make the right haircut and not damage the flower. The procedure should be carried out in the spring, until the buds have opened, and before winter, when the crop has already been harvested.
The following spring, it is recommended to shorten the shoots to 10 cm above the ground. The procedure will increase the density of the bush, it will begin to branch. At 3 years of life, 15 cm of shoots are left above the soil level. For a single plant, a similar method of cutting barberries will allow you to keep in the form of a ball for a long time. Border landings and hedges need this procedure.
Diagram of sanitary pruning barberry
The formation of the correct crown
Forming pruning of barberries can be done in summer and spring. In the spring, shearing is carried out after sanitary pruning. In this case, it is necessary to remove the shoots that thicken the bush. It is also worth cutting off those branches that are located close to the ground.
Additional Information! Barberry tolerates a haircut well, and therefore you can not worry about his condition after the operation. If you combine pruning with proper care, there will be no stress on the shrub.
In the summer, you can spend 2 trimmings. The first is held in early June, the second - after 2 months. In this case, you should use the template, since it is quite difficult to cut the barberry with a cube or ball by eye, since these are the correct figures. At the first haircut, choose the width and height of the bush, cut off the branches that go beyond the borders of the template. Then the growing shoots are simply removed, but it is worth sticking to the given shape.
Important! In the first few years (about 5), the flowering of barberry can not be expected. The procedure is carried out after the appearance of the ovary, and the plants are cut manually by secateurs or scissors. If the bush is old enough or covers a large area, you can use electric scissors.
Plant Trimming Circuit
Trimming
If you want to create sculptures from living plants, the forming haircut is changed to curly. It is held twice a year: at the beginning and end of summer. It is not difficult to form a barberry bush, since it will not take serious efforts to obtain light geometric figures.
For these purposes, guide rails are most often used, which are fixed vertically and horizontally around the bush in a certain size. Subsequently, the cutting of branches that go beyond the borders is carried out.
You can use not one plant, but several at once, so that it would be easier to create larger-scale structures. A pair of plants is enough for a small cube, and if a larger size is needed, then it is worth planting from 5 to 9 plants.
Additional Information! It is most difficult to form a barberry with a ball, since a more complex design for the template is needed. Most often, plywood or plastic is used, from which a semicircle is cut, and then mounted on a pin. If this structure is rotated around its axis, it will form a ball.
By practicing simple shapes, you can create more complex ones. This is not very difficult. It is necessary to combine several simple shapes into one complex, and then carry out all the same curly cropping procedures.
Curly barberry
Pruning barberries in spring, summer: features
The main difference between summer and spring pruning is the lead time. In the spring, it is necessary to carry out the procedure strictly before the appearance of the kidneys so as not to harm the plant. In the summer, decorative trimming can be carried out at any time, regardless of the month.
In the spring, it is recommended first of all to cut off those branches that have not survived the frost - dried up or decayed. In summer, exclusively sticking out branches that violate the whole picture are removed.
Important! If pruning was carried out due to the presence of pests or any disease, it is recommended to burn the branches immediately after cutting.
Care after trimming
Many people know how to cut Thunberg barberry, but not every gardener uses a number of measures that will help the plant recover after shearing. This is necessary for subsequent fruiting and growth.
Top dressing
In the spring, after pruning, it is worth adding nitrogen to the soil. Every adult plant needs a bucket of organic matter, which is rotted manure or mature compost. Distribute it is an even layer around the trunk. Gardeners often use for this purpose top dressing of fermented grass in liquid form.
In summer and autumn, it is worth adding potassium and phosphorus. These elements will allow the plant to better prepare for the upcoming cold weather. Substances can be found in inert flour or furnace ash. If these fertilizers are not enough, it is also recommended to introduce a complex of minerals.
After additional decorative trimming, you can add liquid foliar top dressing. In this case, it is worth using either potassium humate or the same fermented grass.
Shear care
If the slices have a diameter of more than half a centimeter, they need to be processed. Otherwise, fungal spores or insect larvae can penetrate the wounds. The infection will subsequently have to be treated for a long time, and with a delayed diagnosis, the plant may die at all.
Slice processing
Smear slices can be one of the following substances:
- garden antiseptic;
- garden cook;
- oil paint;
- solution of brilliant green.
If you properly process the places of cuts, they will quickly grow bark, they will not have hollows, and they will not begin to rot.
Pest Prevention
The most effective way to protect against pests is the treatment of branches and leaves with a soap solution. To prevent the development of various diseases, it is recommended to introduce colloidal sulfur and Bordeaux mixture into the soil. When spotting appears on the leaves, it is worth using means containing copper.
Barberry does not need constant care, but use in landscape design means a constant cutting of bushes, because of which sometimes you have to arm yourself with tools with long handles and put on thick gloves on your hands. Do not forget later about proper care.
