Tutorial with illustrated instructions (Viburnum)

Plant pruning favors branching

Anyone looking at the freshly planted Snowball penetrates to a planting cut, makes an important one Growth law advantage. The principle of Top funding teaches us that terminal buds are primarily supplied with growth energy. Lower positioned buds rest or sprout only weakly. By cutting off dominant buds, the increased sap pressure stimulates previously subordinate ones eyes to grow. The result is abundant branching at the base of the bush. This is how the perfect plant cut succeeds:

• The best time is in the spring after planting
• Bare-root young shrubs: cut back all shoots by a third or half
• Rule of thumb for pruning: the weaker the young shoots, the stronger the pruning
• Potted goods with root balls: cut off damaged, weak shoots, do not cut the remaining shoots

Before you plant a bare-root viburnum shrub, please carefully examine the roots. Please cut off any kinked, torn or otherwise damaged root strands. Shorten excessively long roots to a length of 20 to 25 centimeters.

Sporadic shape and maintenance cut

Its shapely silhouette forms a snowball under its own power. At a young age, horticultural interventions cannot optimize natural beauty. Up to the sixth or eighth year of standing, pruning is limited to removing kinked or frozen shoots. The figure below illustrates how an older viburnum benefits from an occasional shape and maintenance cut if its vitality declines after eight years at the latest. How to properly cut a snowball:

• The best time is after the flowering period
• Loppers Sharpen, clean and disinfect with alcohol
• At the beginning, remove dead, cross-growing and damaged branches
• Over-long shoots sloping to the ground derive on an internal, annual side shoot

At the beginning of the sixth year of standing, you can effectively prevent signs of aging by removing the oldest ground shoot every year from now on. As a substitute, use the strongest young shoot that you do not blot in the first few years. Weak ground shoots that sprout as a result of the clearing must give way for a light-flooded, airy snowball shrub.

After 6 to 8 years of standing, a snowball bush benefits from a shape and maintenance cut. Extra-long branches lead you to a lower, annual side shoot. One or two of the oldest ground shoots should give way to encourage young shoots to grow.

Digression

Excessive pruning causes aphid infestation

Do not clean withered flowers

The ball- or plate-shaped flowers transform into blue-black berries by autumn, which decorate a snowball bush well into winter. On the way there, the withered inflorescences are truly no feast for the eyes for a short time. Those who tolerate the floral signs of transience will be rewarded with a magnificent fruit decoration. Cleaning out faded viburnum flowers is only advisable in the family garden, because unripe berries are slightly poisonous.

Rejuvenate old viburnum in stages

Slow growth and little need for pruning tempt home gardeners to completely ignore pruning. Without the occasional clearing of dead wood and slimming down long branches, the snowball ages into an impenetrable, flower-poor thicket. How good that most types of viburnum can be pruned. Instead of clearing an old, neglected shrub, rejuvenating pruning fixes the problem. This is how it works:

• Rejuvenate viburnum in two stages
• The best time is always in late winter at temperatures above freezing point
• First year: cut half of the branches off the ground
• In summer: cut young shoots back by half in July
• Second year: thinning out the second half of the ground shoots
• In summer: cut the new ground shoots resulting from the second stage by half

The summer regulation cut of the new shoot primarily promotes stability. Furthermore, the cut back in the lower half causes a build-up of juice, which contributes to the fact that the tapered snowball branches out profusely at the base. The flowering wood is well set up with a framework of five to seven ground shoots. Excess ground shoots should be removed for a successful rebuild.

background

Complete rejuvenation pruning in winter

Pay attention to the cutting technique on the buds

Whatever the occasion, you give your snowball a cut, the key to success is the right one Cutting technique. For the interface, choose a strong bud that is directed outwards. A distance of 5 millimeters ensures that you neither ins eye cut another long stub. The illustration below shows how you can use the scissors perfectly.

Cut snowball twigs just above a bud. Hold the scissors at a slight angle so that the highest point is just above the bud.

frequently asked Questions

Is the snowball poisonous?

All viburnum species and varieties are assigned to the moderately poisonous plants. Leaves, bark and unripe fruits contain various toxins which, in large quantities, can cause symptoms of poisoning in humans and animals. This does not apply to the ripe, blue-black berries. In Eastern Europe, the fruits are harvested in autumn and processed into jelly.

A number of shoots with different, lobed leaves grow all around our snowball 'Aurora'. Can it be wild shoots?

Viburnum carlesii 'Aurora' is a refinement. For this reason, it is not uncommon for wildlings to sprout nose-wise from the rhizome. The different types of leaves are a clear indication. Remove the wild shoots directly from the roots with a brave jerk or cut as deep as possible. This prevents further wildlings from growing.

Should I leave the withered flowers to enjoy the fruit decorations or can the unsightly, brown remains be cut off?

The decorative berry fruits can only develop if you leave withered flowers on the snowball. On early-flowering and frost-sensitive evergreen viburnum varieties, frozen inflorescences are often to be complained about after heavy night frosts. No more fruit can form from this, so you can remove the dead remains.

Last year we planted a winter snowball that actually bloomed in February. Then at the beginning of March came the big snow, which left a more than scanty bush. What can we do?

A young snowball bush in particular benefits from pruning its shoots to stimulate branching. Even if more flowers and buds fall victim to a cut, you should cut back all branches by half. You thin out shoots that have buckled as a result of the pressure of snow.

I've never cut my 10 year old viburnum. How does it work? When is the best time?

After the flowering period is the best time to prune. Cut the shrub back about a third on all sides. A round shape is ideal for light-flooded growth. You can completely remove dead and recognizable diseased wood.

The 3 most common mistakes

If gardeners allow themselves to be seduced by the good-natured pruning tolerance of Viburnum into a radical pruning, long, soft shoots and aphid infestation are inevitable. Cleaning up withered flowers robs the snowball of its neat berry costume. The following overview draws attention to three common cutting errors on snowball bushes with tips for careful prevention:

Tips

The rare need for pruning does not imply that you can easily multiply your most beautiful snowball bushes Cuttings have to do without. Early summer is the best time to cut off half-woody, non-flowering shoot tips that are 8 to 15 centimeters in length. The lower half is defoliated before adding each cutting to a pot Potting soil plant and water.