The snowberry or snap pea needs almost no care. You should only use scissors occasionally, otherwise the bush will grow too large. When and how to properly cut the popular ornamental shrub.
When and how should the snowberry be cut?
Snowberries can be cut all year round. A distinction is made between maintenance pruning (spring to April or from summer), pruning (shortening close to the ground if the bush has grown too large), rejuvenation pruning (regular removal of old shoots) and cutting cuttings (in autumn for propagation). Pay attention to runners and prune preferably outside the breeding and setting season.
When does the snowberry need to be cut?
In principle, you can cut back snowberries all year round, even when temperatures are below zero.
- care cut
- pruning
- Rejuvenation cut
- Cut cuttings
How to cut the snap pea
When pruning, you shorten any branches that have become too tall or too sprawling. The best times for this are spring to April or from summer onwards.
If the snowberry has generally become too big, it can tolerate being cut back completely. Cut the shoots as close to the ground as possible. The shrub recovers from this within a short time. However, depending on the season, you may have to avoid flowers or the berries, which are poisonous to humans, for a year.
Older snowberries should be rejuvenated regularly. This will prevent the bush from becoming bare at the bottom. Old shoots are cut out close to the ground. The advantage of rejuvenation pruning is that there are always enough branches with flowers and later berries left on the bush.
Pay attention to runners after cutting
Pruning encourages the snowberry to form new runners. The offshoots sprout like weeds, especially on very dry soils.
Pull out the sprouts as soon as possible so that you can stop the uncontrolled spread of the snap pea in good time.
If possible, do not cut during the breeding and setting season
Even though it is often recommended, you should not cut a snowberry during the breeding and setting season. The dense branches serve as shelter for many birds to build nests.
The flowers are very good food for bees. The bushes should therefore only be cut when many other plants are blooming.
Propagate snowberries through cuttings
If you want to grow the snap pea as a hedge, you can propagate it through cuttings. To do this, cut small shoots 20 centimeters long on a frost-free autumn day.
Store the cuttings in sand over the winter and place them in individual pots in the spring to root.
Tip
A neighborhood dispute shows how important it can be to keep the growth of snowberries under control. He became known in 1999 through a song by the entertainer Stephan Raab called “Knallerbsenstrauch”.