Pumpkin is a crop that needs to be pruned if you want it to grow properly in addition to meeting the rest of the requirements. many people ask how to carve pumpkins because there are many ways to do it. However, the type of pruning that is given is not so important, but the pruner technique. For this reason, it is essential to practice first as pruning techniques become known.
In this article we will tell you how to carve pumpkins and what aspects you need to take into account.
Contents
main Features
Pumpkin flowers are yellow, large, funnel-shaped. They have a short lifespan: they bloom at the first light of the sun and close definitively in the middle of the morning. As a monoecious plant, it has both male and female flowers and is self-pollinating: female flowers can be pollinated by pollen from male flowers of the same plant.
However, cross pollination prevails. That is, the female flowers are fertilized by pollen from other plants of the same or different species. When the female flower is fertilized, the fruit develops, otherwise it dries up.
As for the fruit, in general, the fruit varies in size, pumpkin zucchini weighing more than 20 kg. They are spherical, flattened, curved, with a smooth or rough surface, in yellow and green tones. The pulp is firm and orange, and the seeds are transparent and flat, 1 cm long. The fruit and its seeds are used for human consumption, livestock feed, medicinal and ornamental products. Pumpkin seeds were eaten roasted in large quantities before being replaced commercially by sunflower seeds.
It has a semi-woody stem which is prostrate or climber and has coil springs for climbing. The leaves are large, heart-shaped, deeply incised and rough to the touch. They are green.
Why are pumpkins carved?
The Purpose of Carving a Pumpkin is to redirect your energy and remove damaged or withered stems, leaves and flowers. It is good for the plant because it helps prevent diseases and improves its development and appearance, which is why it is one of the most important tasks in the care of our plants.
Pumpkin pruning serves several purposes:
- It is conducive to light and aeration of the plant stem.
- Promotes plant growth.
- Remove damaged, broken or dried twigs, leaves or flowers, which may also harbor pests.
- Improves flowering.
- Boost the color.
In this way, the development and appearance of the specimen will be enhanced if proper pruning is performed. Therefore, this will increase the size and flowering of the plant.
When to carve pumpkins
Generally, a good time to prune pumpkins is in early spring, before the plants regenerate and the risk of frost has passed. This reduces sap loss and the wound will soon begin to heal as it approaches the developmental stage. Fall pruning can be a good option in climates where the winters are not very intense.. Seasonal pruning is done annually.
Pumpkin cleaning or maintenance pruning is a common task that we can do at any time of the year. This is done when suckers start to appear, those twigs that grow between the main stem and the branches. The ideal is to remove it when the measurement is less than 5cm.
How to Carve Pumpkins
To carve a pumpkin, we only need a pair of alcohol-sanitized secateurs and a few gloves. There are different types of pruning depending on what you want to achieve, let’s take a look at them. The purpose of clean-up pruning is to make room for the growth of healthy new growth and to remove unwanted elements from the plant. This pruning comes with other maintenance work throughout the year.
First, we’ll remove the suction cups by doing the following:
- We will find secondary shoots or shoots that appear between the first leaf and the main stem.
- Later we will carefully cut the sucker, making the cut as close to the main stem as possible without damaging it. It is best to do this when the shoots are less than 5 cm long.
- Cut branches diagonally to allow water to drain. This will prevent water from remaining in the wound and causing it to become infected.
So we need to eliminate the following negative factors:
- Dead, dry or diseased stems, leaves and flowers.
- It probably comes from the same root (they are called snakes).
- Plants growing from the plant feet are weak or poorly positioned, and we are not interested in its development.
- The branches cross, stray or intertwine on the bushes.
- Withered flowers, which make the plants look ugly and consume energy.
floral waist
Flower pruning is done annually, usually in late winter or early spring, and is intended to increase the flowering of the plant. We will proceed as follows:
- winter pruningwhen the worst of the cold has passed, around mid-February
- Buds that have bloomed will never bloom again, so they must be removed for new buds to grow.
- floral waist It can be done at the same time as cleaning.
- Do not cut non-flowering stems, as they They are for next year’s bloom.
Remember that the best conditions for plants to grow are moist conditions and plenty of light.
size reminder
When a plant has been neglected for a long time or has started to grow slowly, it may be a good time to do a rejuvenation or renovation pruning. With it, we will make the plant grow new shoots from its base and grow again. This is careful pruning that will rejuvenate the pumpkin, but it can also be done gradually.
- drastic rejuvenation size: In the first case, what we are going to do is prune the whole plant so that it is at ground level. This should only be done if the specimen has the strength to endure it and be sure to water and fertilize afterwards.
- Gradual rejuvenation size: It consists of eliminating 50% of the branches by aligning them with the inserted sections. The remaining branches were cut to half their length, just a third of the tip of the best buds we could find.
I hope with this information you can learn more about how to carve pumpkins.