A sea buckthorn specimen left to its own devices tends to become bald with age. It also produces fewer fruits. To ensure that the harvest does not fail completely, regular pruning to care for the bush is recommended.
When and how should you cut sea buckthorn?
The ideal time to prune sea buckthorn is after harvest in late winter. Female plants should be pruned every two to three years and male plants every four years. Wear gloves, cut back harvested branches and remove no more than half of the shoots.
When is the best time to prune?
In principle, cutting the sea buckthorn bush is not absolutely necessary. However, if you would like to enjoy its fruits regularly and do not want to end up with a bare crown, you should prune the shrub regularly.
The ideal time to cut sea buckthorn is after the harvest in late winter. Female specimens should be cut every two years (every three years at the latest). On the other hand, it is sufficient to cut male specimens every four years.
How to cut back sea buckthorn?
With the right time in mind, the following points should be taken into account when cutting:
- Wear gloves to protect you (€13.00 on Amazon) from the long spikes
- cut back all harvested branches (sea buckthorn bears its fruit from last year's wood)
- do not remove more than half of the shoots
- if applicable Additionally thin out the inner crown area over the course of the year
Cutting sea buckthorn for harvest
Smart minds are already cutting the sea buckthorn to harvest its berries. To do this, the fruit-bearing branches are cut off. You can take the branches home with you and pick them off at your leisure.
The process is similar in industrial harvesting. The risk of injury from the spines and crushing of the berries is lower than if the berries were picked directly from the bush.
Use the cut branches for propagation
If you cut back a male specimen that has no berries on it, you can use the branches to propagate the plant. However, the procedure using cuttings is unusual. The root runners are more often used to propagate sea buckthorn.
Tips & Tricks
Avoid severe pruning of the sea buckthorn. Then, with bad luck, the flowers will fail in the spring and a harvest will fail in late summer. It is better to cut sea buckthorn lightly, in good time and regularly every two to three years.