When is the best time to prune gardenias?

Gardenia Overview

Gardenia prefers an environment with plenty of sunlight and good air circulation, but avoids strong exposure to sunlight. It is suitable for planting in loose, fertile, well-drained acidic soil. It has a strong resistance to sulfur dioxide, strong tillering and germination ability, and is very resistant to pruning. It can be propagated by cuttings, layering, division or sowing.

Gardenia pruning time

1. Summer pruning: The summer pruning of gardenia is mainly done after the flowers have faded, usually around September. It is combined with the pruning of some residual flower stipules to reduce the plant's nutrient consumption and promote the plant to sprout more side buds and flower buds. At the same time, some thin branches in the inner hall can be pruned and some overly long branches can be shortened to make the plant full and symmetrical.

2. Winter pruning: The most suitable time for winter pruning is mid-to-late November. Do not prune too early in winter, and do not do it when the plants have just entered dormancy. It is best to do it before or after a heavy snowfall. At this time, the plants have completely entered dormancy, and the nutrients on the branches have returned to the root system and are stored. Pruning again will not cut off some nutrients in the branches.

Winter pruning should be completed before or after the rain at the latest. Otherwise, the sap of the plant will slowly begin to flow in the branches, and it will be too late to prune again. The gestation and germination of buds will also be delayed a lot.

How to prune gardenia

1. Prune the long branches of gardenia

Gardenia grows vigorously from May to July. At this time, the overgrown branches need to be pruned, which can effectively control the height, promote the growth of side branches, reduce nutrient loss, and increase the amount of flowering.

2. Prune weak branches and branches with bad directions

When the branches and leaves of gardenia are too lush, it is necessary to prune away the weak branches and branches with bad directions, and also thin out the dense top buds. Generally, only 2-3 buds are required on the paper strip.

3. Cut off the flower buds

After the gardenia buds bloom, they should be thinned out. Generally, 2-3 buds should be left on branches with good growth, 1 bud should be left on weak branches, or all should be cut off.

Precautions for pruning gardenia

Gardenia has strong germination ability and its branches tend to grow densely. It has poor ventilation and air permeability. You can retain three main branches according to the shape of the tree and cut off other branches that sprout from the base at any time. After the flowers fade, they should be pruned in time to encourage side branches to sprout under the cut. When the new branches grow three nodes, they can be topped and pinched.