Defoliation question

[Necrosis]

Trying to understand defoliation. When I defoliate and prune my trees I notice they push from the most distal bud which doesn’t increase my ramification or cause more elongation of proximal buds. Am I doing something incorrectly?

How often do you attempt defoliation and pruning? I’m in Central Texas so we have pretty long growing seasons. If I don’t get a good push of growth after 2-4 weeks of defoliation should I attempt a harsher cut back? Typically I defoliate about 70% of the foliage mass.

 

[Brian Van Fleet]

What kind of trees are you defoliating, and what are you trying to achieve by doing so?

 

[Piedmont Bonsai]

Try removing about 90% of the folliage and cut back to two buds when you defoliate. It could be that you are leaving too much foliage and not shocking the tree enough

 

[Necrosis]

What kind of trees are you defoliating, and what are you trying to achieve by doing so?

Goal is to improve ramification. Mostly broadleaf deciduous. Cedar, Maple, Ficus.

 

[Srt8madness]

Isn't defoliation a technique used primarily to reduce leaf size? Pruning would be for ramification.

 

[TomB]

Goal is to improve ramification.

Then you need to cut back to inner buds.

In maples this would be one pair of buds at a node, with maybe one pair further back as a reserve. Leave a long stub (which you can remove later) to reduce likelihood of dieback.

In elms or other alternating bud trees, this might be 3-4 buds, choosing the directions for the new shoots to emerge.

Only do it on trees that are growing strongly and have built up plenty of energy reserves. The trees in your pictures do not look strong.

Defoliating without removing the outermost buds will not create ramification, as you seen. That comes from an ongoing cycle of cutting back, selecting two shoots, growing out, cutting back, selecting two shoots....

 

[rockm]

If that is a cedar elm, you have to cut hard back to inner buds to stimulate backbudding and keep pinching new growth as it emerges to reduce leaf size. I don't defoliate my Cedar elms relying on those two things to increase ramification. Allowing the tree to grow extension shoots and allowing those shoots to lignify before pruning them helps as well. From the look of the photos, this tree may be a bit weak. Allowing it to grow a bit instead of applying aggressive techniques may also help.

 

[penumbra]

Great advice in the previous posts but also consider timing. Before you start hacking here and there consider species (as indicated from a couple example above) and timing. You are a ahead of me by two zones so depending upon species, you may be fine at this time. But I still need to wait a few more weeks at least until all my spring growth is hardened off before I do a serious cut back. My elms are pretty much ready, but my maples need a few more weeks. For many (most) of my trees I target between mid June and mid July here in zone 6 B.

 

[Maiden69]

From the look of the photos, this tree may be a bit weak, as well.

This is key, if your tree is not growing strong it will not push the back buds you are looking for to increase ramification.

 

[penumbra]

This is key, if your tree is not growing strong it will not push the back buds you are looking for to increase ramification.

Excellent point. Shamefully I did not even look at your photos. There is a lack of vigor exhibited here.

 

[Dabbler]

This tree can't handle that and I would get it strong and healthy first as your no where near that stage with this tree as it stands.

 

[Necrosis]

The pictures listed were after pruning and defoliating. Then the next one was subsequent pushed growth. Here is before.