Pine ordinary does not require special care in order to develop. It can grow even on poor or stony soil and reach great heights. Pruning is an integral part of coniferous tree care. Read more about how to properly form a crown and prune pine branches, read in the material.

Time to trim

Cropping is:

• removal of branches;
• pinching the tops;
• reduction of shoots of an adult plant.

The procedure is carried out for those parts that are not needed and can harm, creating excessive shading or conditions for the life of insect pests. Periodic shearing is also necessary to prevent branches from contacting power lines and other utilities. If you neglect the procedure, the tree will not become more fluffy, green or decorative.It will look painful and unsightly. The main goal of the process is to preserve the natural beauty and health of the plant. Partial thinning of the crown helps to maintain a balance between the volume of branches and roots. You can also give a young pine a given shape, creating a beautiful decor for a summer cottage.

Important! Before cutting an allegedly dry old branch, use a knife and scrape the bark. If dried plant tissue is underneath, then you can carefully cut it off.

The correct pruning of conifers begins from the first of February and is done before the beginning of March. Pruning pines after sap flow has begun is not recommended. The exception is dry branches in which there are no juices. Due to circumcision in the summer, the bark is severely damaged, conditions are created for the penetration of fungal infections into the plant.

General rules

Do not be afraid of the enormous size to which a tree can grow. In the country, you can plant dwarf and decorative pines. When choosing seedlings, be sure to pay attention to the root system. It must be developed. By the time of planting, the plant itself should be no more than 5 years old.In the future, seedlings are taken worse. When planted correctly, the pine tree roots perfectly. After all, its main feature is unpretentiousness. She does not need thorough care and in order to be intensively watered or fertilized.

Regarding cropping, pay attention to the following rules:

1. For the first time, a pine tree may need pruning at the time of planting: damaged branches or roots must be removed.
2. Removing young branches is delayed until they become large enough, and it will be clear how much they affect the shape and whether the gardener needs to cut them.
3. Most conifers, including pine, have one central leader. If there are several of them, then you need to leave only one, the most powerful stem shoot.

Did you know? The Chinese believe that pine — a magic tree that brings happiness and takes home from trouble. Therefore, they grow them in the garden as a symbol of longevity and prosperity.

Step-by-step instruction

For work you may need:

• wood hand saw - This is the easiest tool to use;
• sharp clippers or pruners for branches with a diameter of less than 20 mm.

Please note that the pruner is in the form of scissors, it is designed to cut living branches. And there is a pruner in which the lower base is made in the form of an anvil - it is used to remove dry branches. This variety works like an ax, so it cannot cleanly cut living branches.Pruning shears, designed for cutting live branches!

Basic pruning rules:

1. Before work, inspect the tree and outline the goals: branch density, general shape, size. This is important for dwarf and tall species of pines, spruces and Christmas trees.
2. You need to work with a young tree, adults do not tolerate the removal of branches and are ill for a long time.
3. You can’t remove the central trunk. Otherwise, a bushy plant of an indefinite shape will turn out. In addition, the absence of a central trunk will make the tree more susceptible to infection by insects and diseases.
4. If the branch should be partially sawn off, be sure to leave a green shoot near the cut, otherwise it will die completely.
5. Unlike coniferous shrubs, the pine tree does not have a “dead zone” (a sector in which the needles die out due to density), therefore it needs less pruning. But the lower and lush inner branches can die off due to shading, and in this case it is better to remove them.

In order to rejuvenate

Pay attention to the technique of formation and growth of a pine branch. At the end, an ordinary kidney is formed, which gives growth next year. If you do not stop it from growing, the branch will stretch, the needles will fall along the length of the branch, and you will get a long shoot with landscaping at the end.

Important! In order to trim, put on clothes that will not be a pity to throw away. Pine resin, which will be on it after the procedure, is almost not washed.

Therefore, the gardener should:

• shorten the length to stop the growth of the branch size and activate the "sleeping buds";
• cut off old branches on which there are no longer any buds that can be activated from pruning.

This method of rejuvenating trees in a summer cottage is usually used once every three years.

Step-by-step instructions for rejuvenation:

1. Trim the side branches 10-15 cm.
2. Leave the lower shoots longer than the upper ones to form a cone-shaped tree beautifully.

Crown formation

Probably the first bonsai trees were natural formations, and people noticed this form and began to cultivate it in the gardens. Styles are characterized by the presence of symmetry or asymmetry in the form, curved lines that should embody the influence of natural factors: wind, snow, etc.

Among the styles of shaping a tree, there are:

It is convenient for pines and spruces to give the form of a cone, since this is their natural form. But their branches are also well formed into a pyramid, longline structure or create the shape of a familiar bonsai. Haircut allows you to slow down growth and make the crown more lush and green. Bonsai are made when the seedling is not older than 7 years.

In this case, each shoot must be cut separately, so as to obtain the desired shape. Formative pruning is carried out in early May, when young shoots have formed, but flowering has not yet begun. The next year, the operation is repeated, and then simply maintain the achieved form as necessary.

Did you know? Pine trees appeared on Earth at the beginning of the Jurassic — about 130–200 million years ago.

Trimming scheme step by step:

1. Imagine the general shape of a tree, better draw or take as a basis your favorite photo.
2. Inspect your pine tree. Decide which branches to trim. Delete some, but not all, otherwise the tree will dry out.
3. The bonsai technique also involves bending branches into a horizontal form using stretch marks and wire. This works well with young flexible branches.
4. If the shoot needs to be cut off entirely, make an incision on the ring to cause the appearance of resin that will tighten the wound.
5. To cut the pine tree into a beautiful spherical shape, it is necessary to reduce the appearance of young growths to different lengths - from 2 to 8 cm.Low pruning leads to the appearance of highly branched small branches that form a dense ball, which gives the branches fluffy.
6. To improve the decorative properties, plucking part of the needles is also practiced. This will improve the air exchange in the crown and allow the formation of decorative groups of elements.
7. Pay attention to the natural shape of the tree. Black pine (Austrian) is broadly conical at a young age, and umbrella at a mature age. Weimutov pine, or white eastern is narrow pyramidal. Making a reservation in such a way as to get a ball out of a cone is not welcomed by specialists in creating bonsai.

If you intend to form a pine tree in the nivaki style, then the algorithm will be as follows:

1. Sanitary pruning by removing dry, with a few needles and thinned branches. For this, the end of autumn or the beginning of winter is suitable, when the air temperature drops to + 5 ° C.
2. Nivaki perform according to the principle of a triangle: each individual branch should have the shape and arrangement of needles close to a triangle directed with one tip up. Leave the forming trim in the middle of summer.
3. Immediately give the desired shape does not work. It is unacceptable to cut off more than 30% of the green mass of the plant, so select and refine those branches to which you can give it, and next year will form the next group.
4. It is necessary to look after the form. To do this, pinch those shoots that violate it.

Pinch

After the tree is shaped, work begins with growth. In some places it needs to be slowed down, and in others strengthened.Pay attention to the branch growth technique. First, a new shoot (candle) appears from the kidney, then it lengthens, and then the needles grow into growth. They will grow until mid-summer. In the interval between the appearance of new needles and their full formation by mid-July, pinching is carried out. Someone does it with nails, someone with the help of scissors.

Did you know? Walnut of Chinese white pine is moderately toxic. If you taste it, then in your mouth a metallic taste will remain for several days. This medical condition is called «pine mouth syndrome».

Both old and new needles are inspected for their conformity to shape. When plucking, observe the basic rule: the more needles, the more vigorous the growth of the branch. If you want it to continue to grow, leave more needles. At the end of the shoot that you pinch, in the next season a whorl of new small shoots with shortened needles is formed. Thus, more magnificent sections of the branch are obtained.Fewer needles are left on the upper shoots and more on weak, lower and inner ones. Also, the internal branches prefer not to touch at all in order to maintain their fluffiness. Pinching enhances the circulation of air in the crown, helps to distribute the growth energy in the tree, directing it to the desired areas.

Thinning

Thinning is the complete or partial removal of branches. Spend it in order to remove those branches that do not fit into the general configuration. Thinning also prevents thickening. Branches that can rub against each other are the source of a potential problem.Mechanical damage creates conditions for infection of the tree with fungi. Branches whose angle is greater than 90 ° can break under a gust of wind, so they must also be removed. Thinning is carried out along with sanitary pruning as necessary.

Pruning

Conifers grow in any, including adverse climate, so it seems that pruning is not necessary for them. But without it, the tree will look slightly pubescent, with long branches and sparse needles.

When planning cropping, clearly set yourself goals: why do you need to do this, and what should be the result. Unlike hardwood, pruning conifers does not enhance their growth. It is justified only in those cases when it comes to its sanitary variety or giving the tree a shape.

Sanitary pruning

Sanitary pruning is designed to rejuvenate the plant. It consists of removing the lower branches of pine. Also, gardeners cut all dry, damaged and diseased shoots. This should be done every time a problem occurs, and it must be safely fixed. Pruning allows you to keep the tree healthy and encourage sleeping buds to grow more actively.

Important! Cropping for rejuvenation is carried out every 3 years. Thanks to this procedure, the tree will look great and take up much less space.

Regardless of the reason for pruning, the methods for shortening the branches are the same. You can remove the entire dry branch, as well as shorten or pinch part of the shoot. But, as a rule, pinching or shaping does not apply to sanitary pruning.

After haircut care

Pruning is stressful for pine. At the place of the slices, an open space is formed through which pathogens enter the plant. The emitted resin will quickly tighten them. But this takes some time. To speed up the process, gardeners stain open wounds with latex paint to prevent infection. Before applying, make sure that the paint is non-toxic and can be applied to trees. Thoroughly water immediately after pruning.

If the soil is too compact, then it must be loosened to provide oxygen access to the roots. These measures will help the pine recover. Pruning is not a very frequent procedure, but its benefits to the tree are obvious. Especially if it is an old pine. To ensure that your trees are always beautiful and lush, try not to run them and maintain an optimal shape.