Back budding behavior on sugar maple raft. Any suggestions?
- Thread starter NamesakE
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0soyoung
Imperial Masterpiece
All maples do it, so not to worry.
IMHO the best practice is to allow the first flush to grow (extend). Sometime around April/May extension will pause = you'll have long new shoots with fully opened/hardened leaves. Prune back the new growth to a leaf-pair/node. You can do this like pruning a hedge or you can cut back each shoot separately = your choice. Of course you don't want to prune any branch you're trying to thicken = just let it grow until fall or until it is as thick as you want. Repeat with the next flush that will ensue, beginning a few weeks later and likely will pause again circa August.
You can then clean up the structure immediately after leaf-drop in fall the winter image is important to you. Likewise, this is a good time to wire. Alternatively, wait until the following spring to clean up the structure, especially if you are trying to compact the form. As buds begin to swell, cut back to visible buds. Lower buds will emerge in a few weeks and you can again cut back to visible buds until you have it cut back to suit your aims. I think this might be advantageous in cold climates as even in my mild one, there is less 'winter die-back'. Generally one can be far more aggressive, but irritating surprises can happen (too often
).
Lastly, I'll note that removal of new tip buds or decapitating soft be growth is a means of weakening the tree. It stops the new growth 'dead in its tracks' and tends to suppress back budding.
IMHO the best practice is to allow the first flush to grow (extend). Sometime around April/May extension will pause = you'll have long new shoots with fully opened/hardened leaves. Prune back the new growth to a leaf-pair/node. You can do this like pruning a hedge or you can cut back each shoot separately = your choice. Of course you don't want to prune any branch you're trying to thicken = just let it grow until fall or until it is as thick as you want. Repeat with the next flush that will ensue, beginning a few weeks later and likely will pause again circa August.
You can then clean up the structure immediately after leaf-drop in fall the winter image is important to you. Likewise, this is a good time to wire. Alternatively, wait until the following spring to clean up the structure, especially if you are trying to compact the form. As buds begin to swell, cut back to visible buds. Lower buds will emerge in a few weeks and you can again cut back to visible buds until you have it cut back to suit your aims. I think this might be advantageous in cold climates as even in my mild one, there is less 'winter die-back'. Generally one can be far more aggressive, but irritating surprises can happen (too often
).Lastly, I'll note that removal of new tip buds or decapitating soft be growth is a means of weakening the tree. It stops the new growth 'dead in its tracks' and tends to suppress back budding.
NamesakE
Mame
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Wow great post! Thanks for all the information Osoyoung. That wasn't how I was going to at all! I was going to prune it back hard to shorten all the "trees" coming from the raft and let what was left elongate and that the pruning would induce back-budding below the hard prune.All maples do it, so not to worry.
IMHO the best practice is to allow the first flush to grow (extend). Sometime around April/May extension will pause = you'll have long new shoots with fully opened/hardened leaves. Prune back the new growth to a leaf-pair/node. You can do this like pruning a hedge or you can cut back each shoot separately = your choice. Of course you don't want to prune any branch you're trying to thicken = just let it grow until fall or until it is as thick as you want. Repeat with the next flush that will ensue, beginning a few weeks later and likely will pause again circa August.
You can then clean up the structure immediately after leaf-drop in fall the winter image is important to you. Likewise, this is a good time to wire. Alternatively, wait until the following spring to clean up the structure, especially if you are trying to compact the form. As buds begin to swell, cut back to visible buds. Lower buds will emerge in a few weeks and you can again cut back to visible buds until you have it cut back to suit your aims. I think this might be advantageous in cold climates as even in my mild one, there is less 'winter die-back'. Generally one can be far more aggressive, but irritating surprises can happen (too often
Lastly, I'll note that removal of new tip buds or decapitating soft be growth is a means of weakening the tree. It stops the new growth 'dead in its tracks' and tends to suppress back budding.
Is what you said still viable with shortening the "trees" or would that count as removing new bud tips? Now I'm thinking all the energy saved in the tree over the winter could push harder growth on the shortened "trees" then I could use the technique you just gave me to get back-budding after. I hope that makes sense! Thanks again!
