How to prune cucumbers in the greenhouse and in the open field: tips for forming a bush

Should you pick leaves from cucumbers? This procedure is mandatory for many varieties and allows for easier maintenance, increased yields and many problems. Pruning has certain rules, and some varieties do just fine without it.

What does the correct pruning of the bush give

The state of the cucumber planting improves markedly after the removal of excess parts. This procedure is one of the must, especially in greenhouses. The stages of pruning include pinching - removal of lateral shoots from the leaf axils. To thin out the plant, not only shoots are removed, but also leaves and whiskers.

For what purpose are cucumber leaves cut off:

1. This is partly a sanitary procedure: all yellow, withered, dry, diseased leaves that can cause an outbreak of an epidemic are removed.
2. The abundance of greenery depletes the bush, the root system is forced to work to the limit. As a result, instead of saturating the fruits with nutrients, the plant is spent on maintaining the vegetative part, including the leaves. The purpose of pruning is to redirect nutrients from the green mass to ripening fruits.
3. Another plus from thinning cucumber plantings: caring for them becomes easier. The gardener gains access to paths, it becomes easier to water, loosen the soil, and apply top dressing. Harvesting is also simplified.

Positive changes after the trimming procedure:

• plantings are better ventilated;
• there is access of sunlight to important parts of the plant;
• the risk of fungal diseases, including root rot, powdery mildew, etc., is reduced;
• correctly formed, the bush is getting stronger;
• yield increases markedly;
• due to the removal of barren flowers, the taste of the fruit improves, the bitterness disappears;
• since the load on the root system decreases, the nutrition of the fruits becomes complete, they grow even and healthy. On the contrary, if the green mass prevails on the bush, the cucumbers grow crooked and tasteless.

Pruning features

The variety of varieties and hybrids of cucumber has led to ambiguous rules for crop care. The shape of the bush and the conditions it needs are often determined by the type of pollination:

1. Self-pollinated - varieties and hybrids in which the flower contains both female and male parts; insects and other plants are not required for pollination. Such varieties are preferred for greenhouse cultivation. The bush is formed into one stem.
2. Insect pollinated varieties are planted in an open area. They are grown more bushy.

The care of greenhouse and street plantings is different. In a greenhouse, access to light and air is limited, so pruning is necessary.

How often are leafy bushes pruned? As you grow. For some varieties, one procedure every 7-10 days is enough so that the bush does not overgrow. How do you know if the plant needs pruning of leaves and stepchildren? The lashes begin to curl and get tangled.

Advice! Even healthy-looking leaves should be removed without regret. They still use nutrients to the detriment of the fruit. However, you cannot overdo it: otherwise the plant will not be able to process light, receive less water and air, as a result, will fade.

A few more rules for thinning the bush:

1. Since predominantly male flowers form on the central stem, some of the lateral shoots with female flowers must be left.
2. It is important for the top of the central shoot to have access to light. For this, the plant is tied up.
3. Lateral branches with leaves are cut to the point of growth.
4. You cannot rush to pruning so as not to weaken the plant, but you should not hesitate either.If you postpone the procedure, the lashes will become tangled, the central stem will become thinner, and the already fragile root system will weaken.
5. Pruning is carried out in the morning on a warm sunny day. So the wound will heal on its own during the day.
6. What to do if huge cucumber leaves grow? This happens due to excess nitrogen or the characteristics of the variety. If such greens are healthy, then you do not need to remove them.
7. And the last rule before starting work: to pinch the shoots and remove the leaves, use a well-sharpened and disinfected secateurs. From carelessly cutting off the greenery with your hands, wounds are formed that take a long time to heal. Such places are especially susceptible to fungal attack.

Rules for pruning cucumbers in a greenhouse

For growing in a greenhouse, self-pollinating and parthenocarpic varieties.

How to properly clean self-pollinated cucumbers from excess green mass in a greenhouse:

1. In the lower part of the shoot, lateral offshoots are removed. It is undesirable to touch the leaves themselves: removing them can weaken the young plant. Some gardeners urge the removal of the lower leaves so as not to create conditions for the development of root rot. This tip works for lush and mature shrubs that won't hurt by removing a couple of extra leaves. If the bush is rare, it is better to keep the greens below.
2. An important point with cotyledon leaves: they separate from the stem by themselves when they are no longer needed. The cotyledonous leaf is elongated and single.
3. Above the stem, in 3-4 nodes, you need to leave one cucumber with 1-2 leaves. The growth point is pinched.
4. The next zone is cut off like this: in each of 3-4 internodes, two fruits and two leaves are left. The growth point is also pinched.
5. At the top of the stem, it is permissible to leave three cucumbers and three leaves.

Thus, closer to the trellis, more lateral shoots and leaves remain on them. When the stem reaches the vertical support, it is wrapped around it several times.

Advice! In any case, leaves with mechanical damage, as well as dried, yellowed, with traces of the disease are removed.

How to properly handle parthenocarpic cucumber varieties? Such hybrids form ovaries without any pollination. The flowers on the plant are female, so removal of male barren flowers is not required. Pruning parthenocarpic varieties is only needed as a brightening procedure, otherwise a dense bush will fill the entire greenhouse.

Pruning rules:

1. All stepchildren and leaves are removed until the sixth leaf.
2. Up to six lateral shoots can be left higher along the stem, but their growth should not be allowed to exceed 25 cm.
3. Closer to the top of the shoots, it is allowed to reach 40 cm.

Open field pruning

For the site, insect pollinated varieties are preferred. How to trim outdoor cucumbers:

1. The bush in the garden is grown in several stems. Formation into one stem is unprofitable for bee-pollinated varieties: in such varieties, male flowers are located on the central shoot, and female flowers on the side ones.
2. The lashes are visually divided into four equal parts.
3. In the axil of the fourth leaf, if you count from the bottom, remove all lateral shoots and leaves.
4. Above the stem, that is, in the second part, leave one leaf and one ovary.
5. In the third part, everything is removed, except for two sheets and two ovaries.
6. At the top, three ovaries and three leaves are left.
7. Cucumbers on the site are also grown on a support. The bush can be fastened to a trellis or tied with a rope. The garter procedure is necessary from the moment the bush grows, when it begins to lean under its weight to the ground.

If the cucumbers were placed close to each other during planting, they are pruned more. Excessive thickening will lead to a lack of light, moisture stagnation and other unpleasant consequences.

Advice! Ripe cucumbers also need to be removed in a timely manner so that they do not interfere with further fruiting.

What to do with a mustache

Mustache - thin cucumber shoots necessary for the plant for tenacity.However, the mustache twines not only around the supports, but also around the shoots themselves, leaves and fruits. Leaves with whiskers entangled in them grow twisted, the risk of their disease increases.

Excess whiskers must be torn off, as they take up a lot of nutrients. Removing them does not affect the quality and quantity of the crop.

The agrotechnical method of cutting cucumbers is widely used. The results that gardeners achieve by forming a bush would not be possible with conventional cultivation. Of course, cucumbers will grow, bear fruit without removing leaves and whiskers, but thickening of the plantings with a high degree of probability will lead to serious problems, including loss of yield. Thus, it is possible and necessary to remove leaves from cucumbers.