What could be causing these short internodes?

[Gabler]

I have a couple of red maples (Acer rubrum) that have been growing strangely this spring. Certain branches look normal, but others have this weird dense growth habit with wrinkled leaves. They have been receiving as much fertilizer as the others I'm growing out, and they were up-potted at the same time and in the same manner as the normal trees a year and a half ago. Thoughts?









As you can see from the pictures, last year's growth had much longer internodes.

 

[BrightsideB]

It just want’s to be a bonsai jk I don’t know

 

[BrightsideB]

It’s auditioning lol

 

[dbonsaiw]

"Rich person's problems". My rubrum has 10 inch internodes LOL.

 

[Gabler]

"Rich person's problems". My rubrum has 10 inch internodes LOL.

That's usually how they are.

 

[dbonsaiw]

Definitely following this thread to see if whatever you did can be reproduced.

 

[Gabler]

Definitely following this thread to see if whatever you did can be reproduced.

I don't know what I did, but hopefully I can figure it out.

 

[Deleted member 47471]

the nerve of those internodes

 

[penumbra]

It might be forming a witches broom. Often this is due to a virus.

 

[Gabler]

It might be forming a witches broom. Often this is due to a virus.

Does that mean I could start a new dwarf cultivar?

 

[Gabler]

Normal growth on the same plant for comparison:

 

[Eckhoffw]

I’ve seen this on some Japanese maples on this site before. Wish I could recall the thread or reason for.

 

[Gabler]

I’ve seen this on some Japanese maples on this site before. Wish I could recall the thread or reason for.

Thanks. I'll have to look for that.

 

[penumbra]

Does that mean I could start a new dwarf cultivar?

In theory, yes.

 

[rockm]

Could be fungal infection of the bud, or insect damage. the lumpy leaves in the first photo says it's more physical damage than genetic, at least to me.

 

[Gabler]

Could be fungal infection of the bud, or insect damage. the lumpy leaves in the first photo says it's more physical damage than genetic, at least to me.

I thought it was frost damage at first. The leaves emerged well before the last hard freeze and the last frost date, and I thought perhaps that had injured the new leaves, but I wouldn't have expected frost damage to shorten the internodes, too.

 

[Rodrigo]

That happens to my trident every year and I've never understood why or been able to prevent it but I think it's fungal. Mines not really ever hit by late frosts and it still happens so I don't think it's that.
It always grows very strong in spring, then 2-3 months later the terminal buds start dying off. Then if it starts growing again, the internodes are extremely small and leaves are either deformed or show some type of defect

 

[Gabler]

That happens to my trident every year and I've never understood why or been able to prevent it but I think it's fungal. Mines not really ever hit by late frosts and it still happens so I don't think it's that.
It always grows very strong in spring, then 2-3 months later the terminal buds start dying off. Then if it starts growing again, the internodes are extremely small and leaves are either deformed or show some type of defect

View attachment 550664View attachment 550665View attachment 550666

Weird.

 

[nuttiest]

Did you have a dead animal in the last few weeks? Rotten fruit? New compost?

 

[Wires_Guy_wires]

It could be those mites that also cause witch brooming in pines.
Those mites attack buds in late summer, and they're basically invisible critters (as small or smaller than spider mites) and they leave no trace. But the plants response is out of this world in the sense that the mites do a better job at producing bud proliferation than almost any plant hormone can.

High cytokinin vs. auxin content explains all that we're seeing here.