Behind its eerie name, the blood plum harbors dark red foliage and picturesque spring blooms, followed by juicy-sweet fruit in fall. The magnificent flowering and fruit tree thrives as a majestic shrub that assumes a tree-like habit with age. With a topiary, the refined variant of the cherry plum retains a compact, densely leafed shape. You can read about when and how to properly cut a blood plum in this tutorial.

Thin out before flowering

Table of Contents

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  1. Types of cuts and dates
  2. Educational pruning shrub
  3. topiary
  4. thinning cut
  5. frequently asked Questions

    6. When and how to cut?

    The blood plum naturally thrives as a large, tree-like shrub with a stable structure. The pink-white to reddish cup flowers appear annual side shoots. As early as late summer and autumn of the previous year, a blood plum lays the buds for the spring-fresh spectacle of flowers. In advanced age, the flowering shoots overhang, which is not always to the liking of the gardener. Training with a limited number of scaffold shoots is recommended for small gardens. Thinning out dead wood prevents premature deforestation. The following table summarizes all sensible types of cuts with recommended dates:

    cut type goal/occasion best appointment
    education cut build a compact shrub shape after flowering to final height
    topiary shorten overhanging shoots if necessary after the flowering period at the end of June (St. John's Day)
    thinning cut Remove deadwood, promote light-flooded growth every 3 to 5 years in February to early March

    A radical makeover cut leads to blood plums not to success. Although the tree has dormant eyes, it lacks the vigor to sprout vigorously after a rejuvenation cut. Instead of growing a neglected shrub, a combination of pruning and pruning is conceivable, ideally in late winter.

    Instruction for education

    If a blood plum can develop freely at the location, an educational pruning is unnecessary. In a small garden, there are many advantages to constructing the flowering shrub with a limited number of ground shoots. The available space can be used optimally. In addition, there are no space problems in later years that require radical pruning or even clearing. How to properly raise a blood plum:

    • The best time is after the flowering period at the end of June until the desired final height has been reached
    • Blood plum raise with 3 to 5 strong ground shoots as a permanent framework
    • Cut excess ground shoots to 10 cm short cones
    • Extend trellis shoots by about 10 cm each year

    By building up selected ground shoots in stages of 10 centimeters per year, you promote stability and carrying capacity. It is undoubtedly difficult to prune the desired growth after flowering. As a result of the reduced growth, the blood plum branches better and bears more flowers and fruits.

    tips

    The more frequently and more vigorously you cut a blood plum, the more the wild root will push through. Keep an eye out for bold wild shoots from the rootstock all year round. Rip out a water shoot as soon as you spot it. Otherwise, the wildlings will overgrow the noble blood plum in no time.

    Cut blood plum bush - instructions topiary

    If your blood plum has been successfully trained, the pruning shears can rest for a few years. Only when the lower shoots form branched heads or overhang significantly does a topiary restore the representative appearance. How to cut correctly:

    • The best time is after the flowering period at the end of June, close to St. John's Day (June 24)
    • Please be careful: only cut if there are no bird nests in the wood
    • Aged, overhanging shoots are slimmed down by means of a pruning
    • To do this, select a lower, outward-facing side shoot
    • At the junction of both shoots, cut 0.5 to 1 cm into the old wood to remove the senescent part of the shoot

    A topiary is not on the schedule every year. The already slow growth of about 25 centimeters per year in the youth phase is reduced to a leisurely 5 to 10 centimeters on older blood plums. It takes several years before overhanging branches form again after expert shaping.

    An older blood plum bush is falling apart with strongly overhanging shoots. A topiary after flowering eliminates the aesthetic problem. With the help of the diversion pruning, you direct hanging and heavily branched shoots to a lower-lying side shoot.

    digression

    Breeding business has top priority

    Blood plums are a favorite summer perch for our feathered friends. The richly flowering and fruitful wood offers birds ideal conditions for raising their offspring. The cutting time of blood plum and brood business collide. According to the Federal Nature Conservation Act, there is no doubt about whose needs take precedence. Paragraph 39 states that pruning of any kind is strictly prohibited from March 1st to September 30th. Slight grooming cuts may be carried out, provided that it can be ruled out with certainty that nesting birds will not be disturbed or even scared off.

    Thinning cut prevents premature balding

    A regular pruning effectively prevents a blood plum from settling prematurely on its floral old age. Old, dead wood is removed every 3 to 5 years to pave the way for young shoots to emerge. The aim of the pruning measure is an airy and yet stable shrub that is spoiled by the sun's rays deep into the center in order to carry out photosynthesis diligently there. This is how you complete the correct thinning cut:

    • The best time is every 3 to 5 years in February in frost-free weather
    • Carefully examine the shrub in advance for overwintering animals so that you do not cut it if necessary
    • Cut off dead, stunted and frozen shoots
    • Thin out thick branches to the cones (see explanations below)

    When leafless, the blood plum gives you an unobstructed view of the branch network. You can swelling flower buds well recognize to at these places not to cut. Deadwood should only be cut out if there is no option for derivation to a young, vital side shoot. A vitality test eliminates any remaining doubts. Scrape off a little bark. If bright, juicy tissue emerges, it is a living shoot that is not cut. Brown, dry tissue reveals deadwood without any ifs or buts.

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    Cut thick shoots to cones

    Like all plums, the blood plum tends to rot on large cuts. If you are forced to remove an old, thick branch, please cut it not on Astring. There is a risk that the wound will dry very deeply and pave the way for wood-destroying fungal spores. You can effectively prevent rotting of the wood if you cut the branch in question back to a 10 centimeter long tenon. Use this pruning technique when the diameter of the cut is greater than half the diameter of the remaining main stem or stem. Within the next 2 to 3 years, the main shoot becomes thicker and young twigs sprout from the cone. At this stage, in the summer, remove the now dried cone remains so that the blood plum can quickly close the wound.

    frequently asked Questions

    Over the past few years, we have gradually reduced our 20-year-old blood plum bush from 7 meters in height to 3 meters. For some time now, the shrub has only had green leaves instead of the originally dark red leaves. There is no sign of flowers far and wide. What did we do wrong?

    When a blood plum only has green leaves, the wild root has pushed through. A vigorous pruning always stimulates the simple Prunus cerasifera as a base to sprout. If the wild shoots are not removed promptly, they will displace the red-leaved graft within a short time. However, the rootstock should also flower and bear fruit. However, if you cut back in autumn or late winter, the buds that have already formed fall victim to it. Always prune blood plums after flowering and remove wild shoots immediately.

    My blood plum is currently entering its third year of growth. Can I still transplant the shrub in March? What to look out for

    Spring is a good time to relocate. Within the first five years of standing, the blood plum easily tolerates the stressful procedure. You make it easier to grow by cutting back all the shoots by about a third. Water plentifully and regularly. For constant soil moisture, it is advisable to mulch the root disc. If you put your blood plum in a mix of fresh potting soil and compost, rooting in the new location will progress quickly.

    How is it that the blood plum is limited to a height of 300 to 400 centimeters as a shrub and at least 8 meters high as a tree?

    The stronger and bushier a tree branches, the lower the forces for height growth. The sap flow is distributed over significantly more buds and shoots than in a tree crown. Under ideal site conditions and with a lot of patience, the blood plum will give you a maximum height of 5 to 6 meters as a shrub, but only at an advanced age.

    The 3 most common cutting mistakes

    A blood plum with no blossoms and fruit, or with dull green leaves, is the result of classic pruning mishaps. So that you don't have to bother with such deficits, the following table documents the most common cutting errors and gives helpful tips for preventive measures.

    cutting error damage picture prevention
    cut in autumn or late winter Loss of flowering time and fruit hanging prune after flowering
    Wild shoots not removed green leaves because the rootstock pushes through Tear off wild shoots promptly
    never cleared bare crown, few flowers and fruits Thin out every 3 to 5 years in February

    tips

    A blood plum with bulging blossoms is not allowed in a natural garden. Picturesque varieties with single flowers, like the enchanting 'Nigra', are swarming with bees, bumblebees and butterflies. Here the table is richly laid with nectar and pollen. Varieties with double flowers are a disappointing sham for hard-working insects, because there is no sign of nectar here.

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Trees