You surely know the plant called lady of the night or galante de la nuit. It is one of the most popular because the flowers come out at night and also have a very pleasant smell and seducer to whom no one is indifferent. But among its many treatments, could you tell us when the lady of the night is cut?
If you don’t know how to answer, don’t worry, because we know. And if you want to have a Nocturnal Cestrumthen you need know in depth this treatment that will help better flowering and better development.
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how is the lady of the night
scientific name nocturnal estrum, the lady of the night, or galán de noche, is a shrub type plant. he can reach five meters in height and has oval and long leaves.
But the most striking are its flowers, which can be white (normal), yellow or green. He throws them out in the form of short bunches with lots of flowers on them. And a noticeable smell, especially at night, hence its name. It always blooms from late spring to late summer.
After the flowers comes the fruit, which comes in the form of a white berry where it contains the seeds to reproduce it.
Why carve the gallant at night
If you have a night lover and you’ve never pruned it because you think you’re losing part of the plant, the truth is, you haven’t. In fact there is two important reasons why you should consider size lady of the night:
- For improve flowering. Believe it or not, by pruning it, you encourage the bush to produce more branches and more flowers. Indeed, if the size is well done, it is possible that it blooms twice in the same year.
- For remove damaged parts. Dry, diseased, rotten branches… Although they are no longer useful, they are a waste of energy and, as such, the bush suffers.
It is therefore important to realize it.
When is the lady of the night cut
If you want to know the exact time when a night gallant should be trimmed, we tell you here. In reality, and so that you don’t suffer so much, they tend to happen in two phases.
The the first phase begins at the end of winter, when the frost and cold are gone and it’s time to wake up.
This pruning is going to be the strongest that is given and the objective of this one is none other than to reduce the size and eliminate the branches that can hinder or hinder others.
In return, the lady of the night must respond with a increased flowering and development of new shoots.
The the second phase is optional, but highly recommended. It takes place during the summer, and what we try to do with it is to make it bloom again, so that there are two cycles in the same year.
How to prune Cestrum nocturnum
Now that you know when to prune the lady at night, it’s worth talking about what you need to prune and how to do it. We leave you this little guide that can help you do it with your plant and achieve good results.
Tools to carve the gallant at night
As we have already said, the lady of the night can reach five meters in height. If it is still small and you can manage it, you can use some shears But if it is very large, it may make more sense, especially for the upper part, that you use a saw.
Before making cuts, it is important that make sure the scissors or saw cuts well, to make a clean cut. We also recommend that you clean the tools with alcohol to prevent them from having something that spreads diseases in the bush.
Obviously you have to protect your hands, so don’t forget to put on gloves.
If the cuts you are going to make are significant, it might not be a bad idea to have a healing paste or, in his case, a little cinnamon powder because you will help prevent diseases from entering these areas and at the same time he will recover much faster.
The first step, observation
Before you get into branch cutting, why not take a full look at it? This way you will see the shape that the galant de nuit has and you will be able to outline the cuts better. For example, imagine that you are going to do a winter pruning. And the shape it has is unlike anything. Well, you can create a round or rectangular shape just by looking at the silhouette of the bush.
pruning time
Now yes, you have to start cutting. And before fear takes hold of you and you think you can “kill” your beautiful bush, know that it won’t be so. Lady of the Night is one of the hardiest shrubs and will resist everything. Plus, he easily recovers from any “disaster” you might throw at him. So it’s time to get to work.
And that’s why :
- Mark which main and secondary branches are important. They will have to be cut, yes, but always leave them a few leaves so that they don’t suffer too much.
- Do not cut at ground level. If you do then, no matter how hard he resists, there’s no way he can get away with it.
- Start trimming the branches sticking out of the bush, the ones that break the aesthetic as desired.
- Then, opt for dry, badly positioned, messy branches… To give you an idea, if there are branches that collide or tangle with each other, then remove one. As for plants that are dry, rotten or in poor condition, if possible, remove them from the base, as this will ensure that they do not steal more energy from your plant.
- Then, it is important to oxygenate a little, that is to say to eliminate interior branches that can interfere with interior oxygenation. It is necessary to make sure that the sun reaches it from all sides, as well as the wind (oxygen) and for that it is necessary to check that the interior is not too compacted.
As you see, you shouldn’t just know when lady night is cut but also to know what are the most important cuts to make so that your shrub rewards you with a fragrant night bloom. Do you have a night lover in your house?