JBP candle cuts?

[Mike Corazzi]

If, at the proper time I cut the candles where marked would new buds form at the red lines?

 

[Wulfskaar]

I believe they would... at or below the red lines.

 

[Dabbler]

Normally I remove them at the point they meet on the branch - completely removing them - you might be able to remove them halfway up to get a 2nd flush but you might get un even needle length

 

[bwaynef]

Depends when you do it, and when you want the buds to form.

 

[Brian Van Fleet]

New buds will form between needles along the remaining portion of this year’s candle, with a high likelihood some will form close to the cuts. These adventitious will look blue and weaker this year, but will strengthen.

 

[Balbs]

What would be the advantage of this versus decandling?

 

[Bonsai Nut]

What would be the advantage of this versus decandling?

Less stressful to the tree, possibility of getting buds back along the branch (among the needles), you may want a branch junction further out along the branch (at the cut site), the branch may be too weak to support completely decandling a candle at the tip, etc. You may do this if you are working with young grafted branches, for example.

 

[Balbs]

Less stressful to the tree, possibility of getting buds back along the branch (among the needles), you may want a branch junction further out along the branch (at the cut site), the branch may be too weak to support completely decandling a candle at the tip, etc. You may do this if you are working with young grafted branches, for example.

Thanks! So what would be the advantage of decandling? Tighter ramification?

 

[Bonsai Nut]

Decandling develops ramification, and reduces needle size. The second push of growth has smaller needles, and increasing ramification allows you to spread the strength of the tree over a greater area, so that each future shoot is smaller and doesn't extend as far. It is a stressful operation for the tree, so you have to be careful that the tree is strong and responds well to the process, and it is very important that you use other techniques to balance strength over all foliage areas so that one part of the tree doesn't get too strong, while another part of the tree gets weak and/or dies back.

When you see those beautiful JBP show trees with uniform strength and short needles, they are the result of painstaking maintenance over the course of years. Let the tree grow freely for even two seasons and you could lose a decade's worth of work - the tree will revert to apical dominance, lower branches will weaken and/or die back, the shoots will start to lengthen and the needles get longer... and in two years you have a bush with no interior growth - and no easy way to get that interior growth back.

 

[Balbs]

Decandling develops ramification, and reduces needle size. The second push of growth has smaller needles, and increasing ramification allows you to spread the strength of the tree over a greater area, so that each future shoot is smaller and doesn't extend as far. It is a stressful operation for the tree, so you have to be careful that the tree is strong and responds well to the process, and it is very important that you use other techniques to balance strength over all foliage areas so that one part of the tree doesn't get too strong, while another part of the tree gets weak and/or dies back.

When you see those beautiful JBP show trees with uniform strength and short needles, they are the result of painstaking maintenance over the course of years. Let the tree grow freely for even two seasons and you could lose a decade's worth of work - the tree will revert to apical dominance, lower branches will weaken and/or die back, the shoots will start to lengthen and the needles get longer... and in two years you have a bush with no interior growth - and no easy way to get that interior growth back.

Thank you! This helps clarify the differences.