How to prune tea trees

When to prune tea trees

When is the best time to prune tea trees: It is best to prune tea trees in spring and autumn, because the temperature and humidity at this time are very suitable to promote their healthy growth.

Cuttings of pruned tea tree branches: Cut the tea tree branches into small pieces of 10 cm, remove the excess leaves, leaving only two or three, then dip them in rooting powder, use half vermiculite and half peat as the substrate, put them into the flowerpot, insert about 3-5 cm when cutting, water them thoroughly and place them in a cool place for about a month to take root.

Tea tree pruning

Method of pruning tea trees: When pruning tea trees, cut short the branches that grow too long to make them grow thicker. Also, comb out the dense branches and leaves. This will enhance ventilation and light transmission, and the internal branches and leaves can also grow as quickly as possible.

Young tea trees are mostly pruned instead of cut. Tea trees in their prime can be divided into light pruning and deep pruning. Old tea trees can be divided into heavy pruning and bench cutting.

Tea Tree Pruning Tips

1. Shaping pruning: The shaping pruning of young tea trees, for single-row conventional tea gardens, usually starts at two full-year-old, and is done three or four times at two, three, and four full-year-olds.

2. Light pruning: Raise the cut of the previous year's tea tree by 2 cm each year, and continue pruning until the crown is at a fixed height. Light pruning can be done once a year or every other year.

3. Deep pruning: Due to repeated picking over the years, the branches of the tea tree will become more and more dense. At this time, it is necessary to cut off 10 cm of the crown to control the crown height.

4. Heavy pruning: When the branches on the upper part of the crown are relatively old and the yield has dropped significantly, while the main branches at the bottom of the tea bush are still strong, heavy pruning can be adopted, that is, cutting off about half of the crown and retaining 40 cm of skeleton branches.

Notes on pruning tea trees

1. For shaping pruning, flat pruning is used for young tea trees, while arc pruning and horizontal pruning are commonly used for light pruning and deep pruning in mature tea gardens. The formation of the crown shape begins after the shaping pruning is completed. Heavy pruning is the same as crown pruning. It is a measure of crown transformation and uses flat pruning like shaping pruning.

2. Pruning is harmful to tea trees. It consumes a lot of root storage substances. And because the nutrients are concentrated on the germination and growth of the aboveground part, the growth of the root system will be affected. Therefore, pruning can only be effective when there is sufficient supply of fertilizer and water.