Although the vinegar tree is considered an easy-care ornamental shrub, it does require care from time to time. Water and fertilizer are only necessary in certain situations. Cutting and overwintering are also easy. There are differences between potted plants and outdoor trees.
How do you properly care for a vinegar tree?
Vinegar tree care includes occasional watering in dry periods, avoiding fertilization, minimal pruning and being hardy outdoors. Potted plants require regular watering, optional compost fertilizer, topiary and winter protection with a jute bag and protected positioning.
Pouring
Vinegar trees are undemanding when it comes to care. If the site conditions are right, the tree will develop splendidly without much maintenance. Only in very long dry periods will the shrub be grateful for irrigation. Under normal conditions, the amount of water in the soil that the roots use over a large area is sufficient.
Container plants should be watered more regularly so that the substrate is continuously moist. The tree cannot tolerate waterlogging, which is why you should ensure there is sufficient drainage in the pot and a permeable substrate with a proportion of sand.
Fertilize
Its widely branched and flatly spreading root system serves to extract water and nutrients from the substrate over a large area. Therefore fertilization is not necessary either. To help with stagnant growth, you can fertilize the vinegar tree between April and August with compost that is spread on the tree disc. Avoid working it into the substrate as this could damage the shallow roots. New shoots can occur in the open root areas. Alternatively, nettle manure is suitable as fertilizer.
Cutting
Cutting measures are not necessary. They often promote the development of unwanted urges. Bare branches can be cut from the crown all year round. Pruning reduces the size of crowns that have grown too high or wide. Vinegar trees should not be cut too far back into the old wood. Although the tree sprouts again at the interfaces, the shoot bases are often unstable and therefore at risk of wind breakage.
When cultivating in containers, regular topiary is necessary so that the vinegar tree does not lose its shape. The shrub tolerates regular cuts without any problems and sprouts again quickly.
Wintering
Vinegar trees are hardy down to temperatures of -30 degrees Celsius when grown outdoors. Potted plants need winter protection.
How to overwinter potted plants:
- Cover the planter with a jute sack
- Place the bucket on a block of wood
- place in a protected place, e.g. on the south wall
- ideally placed in the house
