Questions re Fall Buds first Mugo ...

[Kelly]

Hi Vance et al,
Hope all is well with you and yours.
I have a couple questions re my first mugo that we have been working on. Thanks again for your help and advice.
So ... a month ago or so ... per your recommendations, I broke off all of this year's candles and trimmed each branch's needles top and bottom. I did not break off the apex new growth ... not really a bud ... Please see pics. I have also sprayed the tree with Captan ... which is why the bud end's all look white.
Now new buds are forming on the ends of all the branches ... sometimes more than one. I don't see any buds farther back on the branches anywhere.

Question: For this fall - before I put the tree to bed for the winter - do I do anything else? Keep all the buds or select just one per branch?

If I understand this process correctly, we are hoping for buds farther back along the branches to eventually compact the tree into bonsai size?

Just a note - we are moving - semi-retirement from Ottawa, Ontario to British Columbia for semi or full retirement next spring so I am trying to keep my half dozen bonsai (mugo, 3 junipers, ficus, Fukien tea) all very hardy/healthy in anticipation of the trip across the country. I am saying this as I don't want to do any really invasive/large changes until we get there, hopefully late next spring.

So ... what more to do this fall?

Thanks in advance.
Cheers
Kelly Kovach

 

[Adair M]

Kelly, those appear to be adventitious buds. They will grow into candles next spring. Generally speaking with pines, you want to grow two new shoots at the end of each terminal tip each year. So, you would want to keep two buds.

Now, when should you eliminate any excess buds? Personally, I would wait until they start growing next spring. Vance, who is a Mugo specialist, will probably be able to give you more specific guidance.

Backbuding will probably occur, that just takes longer.

 

[Kelly]

Re-posted from private IM

Quote Originally Posted by Kelly

I will post this on a new thread with pics under Pines - same name. "Questions re Fall Buds first Mugo"
Hi Vance,
Hope all is well with you and yours.
I have a couple questions re my first mugo that we have been working on. Thanks again for your help and advice.
So ... a month ago or so ... per your recommendations, I broke off all of this year's candles and trimmed each branch's needles top and bottom. I did not break off the apex new growth ... not really a bud ... Please see pics. I have also sprayed the tree with Captan ... which is why the bud end's all look white.
Now new buds are forming on the ends of all the branches ... sometimes more than one. I don't see any buds farther back on the branches anywhere.

Question: For this fall - before I put the tree to bed for the winter - do I do anything else? Keep all the buds or select just one per branch?

If I understand this process correctly, we are hoping for buds farther back along the branches to eventually compact the tree into bonsai size?

Just a note - we are moving - semi-retirement from Ottawa, Ontario to British Columbia (yay) for semi or full retirement next spring so I am trying to keep my half dozen bonsai (mugo, 3 junipers, ficus, Fukien tea) all very hardy/healthy in anticipation of the trip across the country. I am saying this as I don't want to do any really invasive/large changes until we get there, hopefully late next spring.

So ... what more to do this fall?

Thanks in advance.
Cheers
Kelly Kovach

Reply from Vance:
It sounds to me that you are doing everything right. Don't worry about the budding, you keep doing what you have been doing and you'll start to see them. Nothing more to do.

Reply from Kelly:
Ok thanks Vance ... I thought we had to pick 2 buds on each branch end ... but I guess we are waiting for buds farther back on the branches ... Cheers

Reply from Vance:
Kelly, Usually I do not deal with removing extra buds till spring time, though I guess you could do it now. If you remove them now you will cause the remaining buds to get larger which you may not want. If you remove in the spring this wont happen and the production of extra auxins will help in causing back budding down the branches.

Semi-good-bonsai/COLOR]
http://www.bonsainut.com/forums/phot...t=500&ppuser=6
An old fart doing bonsai since 1957

Reply from Kelly: Ok thanks - very helpful; I will wait until spring.
Cheers
Kelly