The Japanese columnar cherry should not only be cut if shoots of the wild form are growing up below the grafting point. When pruning this fruitless form of the columnar cherry, the aim is usually to ensure the shape, he alth and abundance of flowers of a plant.
When and how should you cut a Japanese columnar cherry?
A Japanese columnar cherry should only be cut two to three years after planting to maintain shape, he alth and abundance of flowers. It is important to have clean, sharp cutting tools and to remove diseased or frozen shoots.
The first cut should not be done too early
Since the Japanese columnar cherry can react relatively sensitively to pruning, it should only be cut for the first time about two to three years after planting. However, you should not wait too long before making a topiary or maintenance cut, as the individual cutting measures should not be too extensive. It can definitely make sense to thin out some branches immediately after flowering in summer and then pay special attention to removing branches that show signs of disease in autumn. In contrast to many columnar fruits, the Japanese columnar cherry should not be pruned during the frosty winter months.
Good reasons for pruning
Many gardeners believe that, according to the name, any pruning is unnecessary for a Japanese columnar cherry. The amount of pruning required is generally limited, but occasional interventions in plant growth are still essential. As a rule, rejuvenation pruning, shape pruning and pruning complement each other in the sense of a maintenance pruning with measures that flow smoothly into one another. The following reasons make it necessary to prune the Japanese columnar cherry:
- excessive height growth (more than 5 m height is possible)
- column shape perceived as too wide
- Disease and fungal infestation
- Decrease in the number of flowers
- branches growing too close together
Make cuts wisely and carefully
Before each cut, you should check whether clean and sufficiently sharp cutting tools are available. Larger cuts when removing thicker branches should be made close to the trunk without damaging the trunk itself.“Frozen” shoots should be removed in spring after the last frost. Since these are usually associated with dry periods for the Japanese columnar cherry, you should stimulate root growth in deeper layers of the earth by watering more rarely and more abundantly.
Tip
Because Japanese columnar cherries are relatively susceptible to disease, major cuts on the trunk should be treated with an appropriate tree wound closure product after branches are removed.
