Straight, full growth and a rich harvest: it is possible with the right pruning of the sea buckthorn. But be careful: don't cut wildly.
Simply cutting wildly is not a good idea with sea buckthorn. If you want the plant to grow straight and not bare from the inside, you have to use the secateurs correctly. This is not so easy as the shrub has long and sharp thorns. So be sure to wear gloves to protect yourself.
So that nothing goes wrong when pruning, we have summarized the most important points for you here.
The best time to cut back
Sea buckthorn is only pruned after the harvest, between autumn and September. If you prune in winter, make sure you do it on a frost-free day.
Pruning is not necessary every year, but depends on the sex of the plant.
Sea buckthorn is available as male and female plants. In order for the bushes to bear fruit, you need a pair for pollination. Berries only grow on the female plants. The female plant should be pruned more often, a pruning every two years is good. For male shrubs, a cut every four years is sufficient. The condition of the bush is decisive - as long as the female sea buckthorn bears evenly and plentifully berries and the branches of both specimens are full of leaves, you can wait.
» Caution: Do not prune in spring when the buds have already formed - this will affect the yield!
What do you cut the sea buckthorn?
For a proper pruning, the harvested branches are shortened by about a third. Incidentally, the fruits of the female sea buckthorn always grow on the previous year's wood, so you can easily tell whether they are from this year's or older branches.
Prune shoots that have grown in the current year only if they grow very far out of the crown. If the sea buckthorn bush is extremely dense, you can thin out within the crown. You can also take this action in the current year. Also cutbare, dry branches far back.
Combine harvest and pruning
If you want to process your sea buckthorn fruits, you can combine harvesting and pruning. This saves you the hassle of harvesting the prickly branches. Cut off the fruit-bearing branches and freeze the pieces, then the frozen berries are easy to shake off or scrape off with a fork.