Spiraea - preparation for winter. Proper planting and care of spirea
Spiraea - lush early or late bloomer flowering bush arnica, which is often grown in plots as a separate element of the landscape or in group plantings. The plant has gained popularity among gardeners due to its beautiful inflorescences of various colors and the absence of the need to create special conditions for growth.
But even an unpretentious plant needs to be looked after so that it is healthy and decorative. It is especially important to provide spirea with autumn care and properly prepare it for winter.
Features of care and preparation for winter - general tips and recommendations
In order for the plant to benefit from the care provided, all actions must be carried out exactly as recommended. Autumn care for spirea includes the following necessary manipulations.
Watering. Spiraea has good drought resistance, so the shrub is unpretentious to watering. Moisten the tree trunk circle beautiful flowering plant Only necessary if it’s a dry autumn. To completely saturate the bush with moisture, add 15 liters of water to the root of an adult bush.
Important! The next watering can be done only after most of the earthen clod has dried out: roots that come into contact with wet soil for a long time rot.
Feeding. In order for spirea to gain strength before winter, phosphorus-potassium fertilizers are applied at the root of the plant in doses specified by the manufacturer.
note ! Despite nutritional value, mullein cannot be introduced: it contains a lot of nitrogen, which stimulates the formation of young shoots, as a result of which the plant wastes the energy accumulated for wintering. For the same reason for autumn feeding spirea is not used mineral fertilizers nitrogen based.
Trimming. Such fast growing shrubs, like spirea, needs to be pruned annually so that the plant blooms luxuriantly and has decorative look. In addition to the aesthetic component, garden manipulation - excellent prevention from fungal diseases.
Mulching. Despite the fact that spirea is endowed with excellent cold resistance, to be on the safe side, the roots of the shrub, which are located close to the surface, are covered with a layer of peat, leaves or hay. The same mulch is placed on top of bent shoots to protect them from frost.
Shelter. Most varieties of spirea are endowed with high frost resistance: the bushes can tolerate temperatures dropping to -35..-50 C. Only species such as Japanese, white-flowered and Nippon spirea suffer from frosts in the middle zone. When spring arrives, the owner of such spireas often discovers that the tips or all shoots have frozen.
Video: caring for spirea, including in autumn and in preparation for winter
Pruning in autumn
It is impossible to grow beautiful flowering bushes on your site without regular pruning. Thanks to autumn pruning, spirea acquires lush crown, which next season will be completely covered bright flowers. In addition, as a result correct pruning the plant reacts less painfully to cold, which is very important when growing relatively heat-loving varieties of spirea.
Why trim
Having planted a lush bush on their plot for the first time, many doubt whether it should be pruned, for fear of harming the plant or spoiling it. appearance. Spirea needs pruning for the following reasons:
- Trimming improves the bush's breathability, making the plant more resistant to fungal diseases and insect pests.
- Removing dried, deformed and too protruding shoots from the crown improves decorativeness.
- Pruning old branches stimulates the plant to form new growth.
- Due to the shortening of the shoots, the bush blooms more abundantly and becomes more luxuriant due to the active growth of side shoots.
Thus, pruning is an indispensable component of normal growth. beautiful flowering shrub. And if the pruning was done according to all the rules, there is no need to worry about the plant at all, since spirea is endowed with the ability to quickly recover.
When is it better to prune - in spring or autumn?
One part of gardeners postpones pruning before the cold weather to the beginning of spring, thereby saving their time and not injuring the plant before winter, while the other is confident that autumn pruning spirea increases resistance to adverse conditions and helps to survive the winter.
Despite this division of opinions, manipulation in equal parts effective both in spring and autumn. Therefore, each spirea owner needs to determine optimal time for pruning, based on the condition of the plant and your own preferences.
Timing for pruning in autumn
To ensure that the cuts have time to heal before cold weather sets in, autumn pruning of spirea should be carried out no later than 2 weeks before frost. Depending on weather conditions in different regions, the optimal time for manipulation is in September or October.
How to trim correctly - instructions and diagram
The shrub begins to be pruned in the second year after planting. Trimming is carried out in the following order:
- Remove dried, pest-affected and diseased shoots. Broken and damaged branches are cut off to the first living bud.
- The tips of young shoots that have not yet become lignified are cut off.
- On late clear bushes, dried inflorescences are cut off.
- To rejuvenate the plant, 1-2 branches 3-4 years old are cut into a ring and replaced with young ones.
Anti-aging pruning begins for plants older than 4-5 years. The aging of the plant indicates a large number of old shoots and lack of young shoots. In order to bring your favorite bush back to life, all shoots are cut at a height of 30 cm from the ground. As a result of pruning, spirea quickly replaces lost branches with young ones, on which many flower buds are formed.
If the bush is not only very old, but also severely damaged, deep pruning is used: all branches of the spirea are completely cut off. After such manipulation, there should be no stumps left, otherwise lifeless thin shoots will grow from the buds, and the bush will lose its beauty.
Video: autumn pruning of Japanese spirea
Worth knowing! Spiraea lives about 15-20 years, and if after anti-aging pruning the bush does not form strong shoots, it's time to replace it with a new one.
Separately, it is worth mentioning the cultivation of hedges. In order for group plantings to have a well-groomed appearance, spirea need to be pruned annually. During pruning, hedges are given or maintained in the required shape by shortening protruding shoots from the general green mass. Maximum length pruned branches should not exceed a third of the length of the annual growth. In plants that have reached the age of 4-5 years, shoots can be shortened by half of the growth.
Video: how to trim spirea
Care after pruning, feeding and fertilizer
Having completed the pruning, the area close to the spirea is cleared of debris. And then the trimmed bush is watered abundantly and complex fertilizers with large amounts of phosphorus and potassium are applied.
Shelter for the winter
Warming plants in the garden before winter is by far the most important manipulation, the quality of which can save the plant or cancel out all other preparatory work and destroy it. For construction winter shelter no special materials or skills are required, all you need is available materials and half an hour of free time.
Do I need to cover it for the winter?
The advisability of covering spirea for the winter depends on the characteristics of the variety and the weather conditions of the region. In our country, subject to a snowy winter, medium, low, gray, oak-leaved, and three-lobed spirea can do without shelter: representatives of these species survive until spring when temperatures drop down to -50 C.
Shelter is especially important for recently planted spirea bushes that have not yet had time to form a powerful root system, due to which they are strongly influenced subzero temperatures regardless of the variety.
How to properly cover for the winter
When covering spirea for the winter, it is important to observe established rules so that the shrub feels comfortable during winter and does not dry out.
To protect a lushly flowering shrub from the cold, you need to do the following:
- The shoots are collected into a loose bunch and tied with a rope.
- The tree trunk circle is covered with a 10 cm layer of dry mulching material: peat, straw or foliage.
- The prepared branches are carefully bent to the ground and secured with a metal hook.
- A layer of dry foliage 10-15 cm thick is placed on top of the bush and applied with several branches so that the wind does not blow the mulch.
In winter, the shelter is supplemented with snow, throwing thermal insulation material from other parts of the garden. Such a simple shelter will protect the shoots and the plant itself from freezing.
What are the features of preparing for winter in different regions?
Climate different regions Russia is very different from each other, so in order for the winter to end successfully, during preparatory work weather conditions must be taken into account.
In the middle zone and Moscow region
If it's a snowy winter, top part adult shrubs are not covered, since the snow cover will protect the spirea branches from unexpected severe frosts. To protect the root system, the spirea tree trunk circle is covered with a 10 cm layer of mulch, which is applied with tops or branches.
In the Volga region
The plant is insulated in the same way as in Middle lane. The only thing I would like to remind you of is the need to carefully cover young seedlings, regardless of the region of growth.
In the Urals and Siberia
IN northern regions Only winter-hardy varieties are grown that are capable of reinsurance during the six-month cold weather. Pruning in the Urals and Siberia is carried out in the spring, since large-scale removal of branches can take a lot of energy from the plant, and it will not be able to survive the winter. They cover the shrubs in the same way as in other regions. The only difference is that the thickness of the mulch layer increases to 20 cm.
Typical mistakes in autumn care and preparation for winter
Doubts or poor knowledge of the technology of growing spirea are the main reasons for making mistakes that have a detrimental effect on the shrub. The following mistakes when caring for spirea in the fall and preparing for winter will help you avoid repeating the wrong actions:
- In the hope of preventing the ground from freezing, spirea is often and abundantly watered. Due to excessive watering, the rhizome rots and the bush dies.
- Nitrogen-based mineral fertilizers are applied.
- They do not comply with pruning deadlines. As a result of cutting too late, the plant does not have time to recover by winter.
Having given the spirea a little time before winter, you can safely expect a most beautiful sight in the form of abundant, bright flowering. The main condition is all the components autumn care must be implemented correctly.
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Spiraea is a shrub that attracts attention with its lush flowering, spectacular coloring of leaves and inflorescences, the size and size of the bush, as well as unpretentiousness and endurance; this plant can be used in any type of landscaping. But in order for spirea to show all its decorative “possibilities”, you need to know some details of caring for it. Let's get to know them.
Classification of spirea species
To begin with, it is worth remembering that all spirea are divided according to flowering time.
Spring-flowering
Species such as spirea middle, sharp-toothed, plum-leaved, Vangutta, Thunberg, three-lobed bloom in May - early June and belong to the group of spring-flowering spirea.
Summer flowering
Another group of spireas becomes covered with inflorescences in July–August and is classified as a summer bloomer. These include dwarf, birchleaf, Japanese, loosestrife, white, Douglas and densely flowered.
Planting spirea
Landing location
The area for these shrubs must be located in a sunny place, even in hot southern regions.
Boarding time
The best time to plant spirea is September. Favorable weather is cloudy, or even better – rainy, when the soil is well saturated with moisture.
Soil and size of planting holes
Spiraea grows best and develop on loose, breathable soils with a large amount of humus. Of course, plants will grow on poor soils, but in this case they will not be able to show all their beauty.
Planting hole size defined as follows:
- If the soil on your site is exactly what spirea likes, the planting holes should be 25-30% larger than its root system and 40-50 cm deep.
- If the soil at the site for growing is not entirely suitable, then it is advisable to dig a hole three times larger than the root system of the seedling. Both in width and in depth.
The mixture with which the hole will be filled, are made up of sand (river), peat and turf or leaf soil. Moreover, two parts of earth are taken, but sand and peat are taken in one part.
Distance between planting holes depends on the placement of spirea and flowering time:
- Summer-flowering spireas, when planted in a hedge, are planted at a distance of 40-50 cm from each other; when arranged in several rows, the distance between rows is 30-40 cm. In group plantings, a distance of 50-70 cm is maintained, sometimes up to 1 m.
- Spring-flowering spireas are planted more freely. In hedges at a distance of 70 cm - 1 m, in group plantings - 1-1.5 m.
For group planting, holes are dug at a distance of 50-70 cm.
Landing technology
Before planting, soil is first poured into the bottom of the hole, and then the seedling is installed, all the roots are straightened out and only then everything is carefully covered with an earthen mixture.
The bush is planted so that the root collar (the junction of the trunk and roots) is located at ground level.
Before planting, the root system must be inspected and broken and dried roots must be cut off.
If you plant a seedling with a lump of earth, then after planting, carry out good watering.
And if the root system is bare (without soil), then it is placed for 12 or 24 hours in a solution of water and a root formation stimulator. It could be heteroauxin succinic acid, indolylacetic acid and various other preparations that can be purchased at any garden or flower center. Plants treated in this way are immediately planted permanent place growing.
Spirea pruning
Now let's talk about pruning, which differs for summer-flowering and spring-flowering spirea, since the inflorescences of these groups are formed on shoots of different years.
Pruning spring-flowering spirea
- In spireas that bloom in May-early June, flower buds are evenly laid along the entire length of the shoots, but they bloom only on next year. Therefore, pruning such spireas comes down to shortening frozen and dried shoots. It is usually carried out annually in early spring(from March to April).
- Mature old branches and thin shoots are removed once every two years in the spring.
- Also, such bushes undergo anti-aging pruning. To do this, old branches (over 7 years old) are cut out completely.
Pruning summer-blooming spireas
In plants that bloom in July–August, inflorescences form at the ends of the shoots of that year. The next year, these inflorescences dry out, and new flowers form again on the young shoots.
- Shrubs of this group are pruned in early spring, at the very beginning of the appearance of leaves. Each well-developed branch is shortened to powerful buds, and small and too thin shoots are cut out completely.
- After the fourth year of cultivation, it is advisable to prune the bushes at a height of 25-30 cm.
Spirea care
Watering
Newly planted plants and plants in hot, dry times need regular watering. You especially need to pay attention to Japanese spirea, since without sufficient watering it can dry out and die.
Weeding and loosening
Young plants need to be weeded. You also need to periodically loosen the soil under them, because... When weeding and watering, it becomes denser.
Mulching
It is good to mulch the ground around the spirea with peat, sawdust or husks from seeds, nuts or buckwheat. The mulch height is from 6 to 8 cm. This helps keep the soil moist and loose long time, and also reduces the number of waterings.
Top dressing
For full development and lush flowering It is advisable to feed the bushes with fertilizer containing nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium and microelements (for example, Kemira-lux). This is done in early spring.
For spireas that bloom in July-August, it is also advisable to carry out another feeding in June.
Reproduction of spirea
This ornamental shrub can reproduce
- seeds,
- layering and
- cuttings (summer and spring).
Growing spirea from seeds
To sow seeds, select wide and low containers, which are filled with a mixture of peat (moor) and leaf soil.
The seeds are covered after sowing thin layer peat or light soil (1 cm).
The first seedlings appear on 8-10 days.
To prevent the appearance of fungal diseases, the soil and emerging plants must be treated with phytosporin, a solution of potassium permanganate or foundationazole.
After 60-90 days, the young bushes are transferred to a garden bed (shade or partial shade) and the roots are always pinched. Then be sure to water and cover with a small layer of mulching material.
In the first 3-4 years of life, spirea must be regularly watered and loosened. But it is worth considering that the root system of young spireas is shallow in the ground and can be easily damaged.
Bushes obtained from seeds begin to bloom in the 3rd or 4th year of cultivation.
Reproduction by layering
Spiraea should be propagated by layering in the spring. At this time, low-lying shoots are pressed to the ground in specially made grooves and attached with small forks. The end of the shoot is cut off and its entire length is covered with earth.
For the winter, the cuttings are covered with fallen leaves. By next spring, rooting occurs, the shoot is cut off and planted in a permanent place.
Propagation of spirea by cuttings
The most accessible and quite simple The method of propagating spirea is cuttings. In this way, you can propagate any species and hybrid of this ornamental shrub.
Cuttings are harvested after intensive growth of shoots ends. It is worth considering here that cuttings from spring-flowering species begin to be taken from the beginning of June. And for spirea, which blooms in July-August, cuttings are harvested from mid-June.
Chopped shoots are placed in containers filled with a mixture of washed river sand and peat (preferably high-moor). For friendly and quick rooting, you definitely need 4-5 times of watering or an installation that creates fog.
Most species of this shrub give a high percentage of survival rate (from 50 to 70 percent). And if you treat the cuttings in a solution of a root formation stimulator (12-24 hours), then the rooting percentage can reach 100 percent. The rooted cuttings are transferred to the beds next spring for growing or planted in a permanent place.
Diseases and pests and their control
All types of spirea are not often attacked by various pests, but sometimes it happens. Let's get to know some of them.
Spider mite
Perhaps the most formidable among them is the spider mite, since in one growing season 8 to 10 generations of this pest can appear. Whitish paniculate spots appear on the surface of the leaves on which the spider mite has settled. Then the leaves turn yellow, dry out and fall off.
Particularly noticeable is the increase in the number spider mite from July to August (during hot and dry summers).
To combat this pest, arex (0.2 percent solution), metaphos, fozalon, keltan and phosphamide are used.
Aphid
Also, quite a lot of damage is caused by aphids, which feed on the sap of leaves, peduncles and tender young shoots. It is especially dangerous from June to mid-August.
This pest can be destroyed with solutions of pirimor, actellik, kronefos, fozalon. In case of minor damage, they will also help folk remedies, such as tincture of tobacco, capsicum, onion, garlic, soap solution.
Blue meadowsaw sawfly and whitefly
To combat these pests, you can use the drug Fitoverm, Decis Pro.
Diseases
In addition to pests, spirea can be affected by fungal infections, such as gray mold and various spots. For treatment, fungicidal preparations are used, such as foundationazole, phytosporin-m, ditan m-45, Bordeaux mixture, colloidal sulfur.
Beginners and experienced gardeners love spirea bushes for their attractive and beautiful view, fast growth rate, winter hardiness and ease of care. Shrubs are divided into two categories: spring and summer flowering. In spring, spirea blooms with thin, arching branches and cascading large clusters of white flowers. In summer, the bush has pink, white or red flowers on vertical shoots. Both varieties are prized for their shapes and vibrant colors. Flowering duration is about 6 weeks. The original bush, with many branches that are densely covered with white flowers, is called “May snow”, “bride”.
Is it difficult to grow?
This plant is hardy and thrives in almost any climate. climatic zone. Gardening stores offer bushes for planting in large quantities. You need to purchase spirea for your plot in spring or autumn. Depending on the variety, the plant has different heights. Therefore, ask in advance what size an adult bush will reach, so as not to make a mistake with the choice of planting site. Spiraea is great for landscape design, creating a border on a site, as a hedging tool, and for planting a perennial garden.
Preparing for landing
According to the advice and observations of gardeners, spirea develops well in sunny areas with loose, fertile soil. Ornamental shrub must be planted taking into account the design of the site. Please note that the distance between plants when planted in the form of a hedge is maintained at least 50 cm. When placed alone, this distance can be increased. The root system must be prepared before planting. If it is open, then damage to the shoots is clearly visible, which must be removed with sharp garden pruners.
The angle of the cut should be smooth, clear, and not wrinkled and wet.
Be sure to adjust the crown of the bush . Overgrown branches should be shortened by a third. If the roots are very dry, the shoots are cut off a little more. When purchasing a spirea with an earthen lump on the root system, you will need to water it abundantly so that it softens and only then can it be lowered into a hole for planting.
Landing
A separate hole is dug or a trench is dug for each plant. The width is chosen based on the volume of the root system, usually 50x50 cm. The hole must be dug in advance so that the hole can dry and ventilate. The depth of the hole is 50 cm. The plant is lowered into it so that the root collar is at the level of the soil surface. Prepare the mixture for pouring into the hole:
- sand;
- Earth;
Maintain proportions 1:2:1. You need to straighten the roots in the hole and then fill them up soil mixture. Loosely trample the ground around the bush and mulch with peat. It is preferable to carry out gardening work in autumn, September, early October. Transplanting spirea in the fall will allow the plant to strengthen before the onset of frost.
Rules for caring for spirea garden shrubs
Planting and care has special meaning, for those who want to get a magnificently flowering bush. This is achieved through properly selected and prepared soil. On scarce soil it will not be possible to form a lush and spreading spirea shrub.
Clay soils when planting spirea require mandatory drainage of brick, crushed stone and sand of at least 15 cm.
Spiraea is unpretentious; it can withstand severe frosts and dry weather. The plant is not susceptible to attack garden pests and diseases. Loosening is not included in the mandatory list and is purely aesthetic.
It is advisable to cover a spirea seedling planted in autumn special material so that it can more easily endure low winter temperatures.
Watering
Spiraea, planted in the spring, has not yet developed its root system sufficiently, so it needs regular soil moisture. During the dry summer months, ample flowering varieties spirea Wet ground around the bush will provide favorable conditions and will allow the spirea to grow stronger. Spiraea, covered with flowers in spring, does not depend much on regular moisturizing soil. The exception is those seedlings that were planted recently.
Mulching the soil will provide additional convenience. It will retain the moisture of the soil under the bush longer. The roots lie close to the surface; in the summer months, 15 liters of water for each bush twice a week is enough.
Top dressing
Fertile soil is already good basis for growth and development, so fertilization is not as important as on poor and meager soils. Spiraea is fertilized in early spring. After pruning, mineral fertilizers (complex) are applied. In mid-summer, mullein and 10 g of superphosphate are used for each plant.
Trimming
For a beautiful crown and lush flowering, it is necessary to periodically clean the bush from dead, diseased and broken branches at any time of the year. Spiraea can be subjected to serious pruning and this will only benefit it. Pruning spirea in autumn is most preferable. The plant is preparing for winter season and extra branches will weaken the bush in the spring. When you prune spirea after winter, pay attention to the tips of the shoots. It is necessary to remove those that have frozen. This procedure will ensure beautiful flowering.
A shrub that blooms in summer is pruned with the onset of spring. Those that bloom in spring are subjected to this procedure immediately after flowering ends. On plants over 10 years old, all signs of aging must be removed so that it can form a new crown. Typically the lifespan of a shrub is 20 years.
Some gardeners consider pruning spirea an unnecessary task. In this case, you risk getting unkempt thickets with a lot of dry branches and poor flowering.
Reproduction
The spirea plant is very convenient and unpretentious; propagation is carried out in several ways: cuttings, shoots and seeds, and the latter option is not suitable for hybrid plants, since seeds do not appear on them or do not have the characteristics of a mother bush.
Spring - best time for planting seeds. They are buried in high peat and well moistened. Germination will take 10 days. Next, they are picked when the spirea is transplanted into open ground, you need cloudy weather or evening. Provide mulching and regular watering. In a year, spirea can grow up to 10 cm in height. The first flowering can be expected in the 3rd year of the plant’s life.
To propagate spirea by cuttings, woody shoots or very young green shoots are used. For spirea blooming spring, cuttings are used in June, and summer plants - in July. To develop the root system, water the cuttings well and keep them in high humidity. Spring and the first leaves are the time for propagation by cutting. The lower branches are bent to the ground, pinned with a wire bracket and sprinkled with soil. Regular watering will ensure good rooting, and independent shrubs will form in the spring. For winter it is necessary to sprinkle with dry leaves.
Spiraea looks great in picturesque compositions and is rightfully popular among gardeners and landscape designers. Lush flowering shrubs attract attention and delight the eye.
Green cuttings of spirea - video
Video about pruning spirea. Every plant requires special care. Spiraea is no exception. For example, spirea requires annual pruning for normal growth. But when and how to do it - look at the video.
Pruning spirea - video
Ornamental shrubs are very convenient plants. They look good and do not require special care. The main thing for them is pruning, which we will do now.
Why prune spirea?
Firstly, the appearance of spireas after flowering is unpresentable. Secondly, the more you trim the spirea, the more magnificent it becomes, this is natural. Moreover, if you prune the spirea somewhere in mid-July, then by September it will bloom again. You can simply cut off the seeds of a spirea, or you can give it any shape.
Is there anyway I can prune the spirea incorrectly?
No, spirea is absolutely unpretentious. Absolutely! Spirea pruning is done depending on your desire. You can shape it into a ball, you can shape it into a triangle, you can shape it into a square. Spiraea is used to make hedges. If the branches are thick and dry at the bottom, it is better to trim them to thin out the plant a little. These spirea are different in that they bloom on new shoots that will grow back now. The main thing is not to forget that white-flowering spirea (Japanese gray spirea) blooms on last year's shoots.
This, as I understand it, is what she is?
This gray spirea, which blooms somewhere in mid-late May, early June. Therefore, you need to prune it immediately after flowering. Straightaway. The cut branches have already thickened and begun to grow again. And in the spring it will be a gorgeous white bush. Now let's look at the spirea, which was cut a month ago.
Beautiful! Those. do you give the spirea a ball shape?
Yes, the shape of a ball, and, as you can see, the shoots will bloom again in a week. Spiraea is a plant that can be pruned at any time.
Do you need to fertilize or perform any disinfecting procedures with spirea?
So, what should you feed spirea with?
Mineral fertilizers. Full. But a little. Although spirea for the most part unpretentious plants, a species such as gray spirea is often attacked by snails. To prevent this from happening, treat it with phytosporin or fitoverm before the leaves appear, and repeat this procedure after flowering.
Tender pink beauty pleases its owners abundant flowering at a time when many spring flowers have long dried up under the summer sun. An unpretentious and undemanding shrub needs only two conditions - moistening the soil on dry days and pruning.
Why is pruning needed?
Over time, spirea often loses its attractive bush shape: it begins to fall apart different sides, and individual branches may even dry out. Regular pruning will help restore the bush to its former decorative and neat appearance, as well as rejuvenate it.
For summer varieties it has not only decorative value, because this group of shrubs blooms on the shoots of the current year. Timely pruning will help stimulate abundant and lush flowering.
In addition, some varieties of spirea send out a large number of shoots from the main roots, thus occupying all large area. Periodically removing some of the young shoots will prevent the bush from going beyond the boundaries of the flowerbed allocated for it.
Features of spring pruning
The first pruning must be done while spring planting bush, shortening the branches by half. All damaged, weak and dry shoots (if the seedling has them) are also removed.
It is necessary to cut the shoots to the first dormant bud directed outward.
Depending on the age of the spirea, there are some features of its pruning:
- In the first two years of life, all shoots must be shortened evenly.
- In the third year after planting, old branches that are three years old should be completely cut out. They will no longer bloom and will only thicken the bush.
You can start forming a bush in March, as soon as a stable temperature has established and the threat of return frosts has passed.
How to prune spirea correctly in summer?
In summer, the shrub needs attention, especially during flowering, which begins in July and lasts until the end of summer (some varieties bloom as early as the end of June). During this time, it should be inspected periodically.
As the inflorescences fade, you must carefully cut them off with pruning shears, preventing the formation of seeds, otherwise the bush will stop growing. Removing dried flowers will not only encourage the formation of side shoots, but will also prolong the flowering itself.