Should I cut some buds or let a young JBP grow wild?

[WIlliam_Butler_Yeets]

My 2 JBP are starting to swell buds, both started a repotting this year, so were half-barerooted about a month to 6 weeks ago and seem to be doing quite well, they don't seem to have missed a beat. On the smaller tree in particular, a lot of the branches have 3 buds at the end of the branch, usually one larger and two smaller. Should I cut off these larger buds before they start eating up a lot of energy pushing candles, or let them go, and does the recent partial repotting mean I should take one particular action over another? Or is it best to let them run and then trim back later in the year?

 

[Wulfskaar]

I think you want to let them grow, and then prune in late spring, when the needles are beginning to push out. Late May to early June.

Then in fall, you prune down to pairs.

This video and the related series of videos really helped me out.

 

[WIlliam_Butler_Yeets]

I think you want to let them grow, and then prune in late spring, when the needles are beginning to push out. Late May to early June.

Then in fall, you prune down to pairs.

This video and the related series of videos really helped me out.

yeah I kinda missed the boat on bud selection last fall, but I can prune back later in the year, maybe if I'm taking out the middle of a 3-tined fork it'll stimulate some bud back on the parent branch

 

[Wulfskaar]

yeah I kinda missed the boat on bud selection last fall, but I can prune back later in the year, maybe if I'm taking out the middle of a 3-tined fork it'll stimulate some bud back on the parent branch

Just a note on where to cut the candles:
*Cutting above the base of the candle will cause the buds around the base to grow.
*Cutting below the base of the candle into older needles will encourage back-budding and random needle buds to pop.

It all depends on what you want to accomplish. I've done this the last couple years and it almost works like clockwork. One of the cool things about JBP is that they are very well-known and predictable.

Other things to keep in mind:
*Are you trying to gain branching?
*Are you trying to balance growth?
*Are you allowing a sacrifice branch/trunk to grow unchecked to thicken the trunk?
*Are you trying to gain vigor in weaker, lower branches?

 

[WIlliam_Butler_Yeets]

Just a note on where to cut the candles:
*Cutting above the base of the candle will cause the buds around the base to grow.
*Cutting below the base of the candle into older needles will encourage back-budding and random needle buds to pop.

It all depends on what you want to accomplish. I've done this the last couple years and it almost works like clockwork. One of the cool things about JBP is that they are very well-known and predictable.

Other things to keep in mind:
*Are you trying to gain branching?
*Are you trying to balance growth?
*Are you allowing a sacrifice branch/trunk to grow unchecked to thicken the trunk?
*Are you trying to gain vigor in weaker, lower branches?

oh, this thing is a baby, it's like 3 years old, I'm just going for trunk girth and trying to avoid making any reverse taper or mistakes that can't be fixed

 

[Wulfskaar]

oh, this thing is a baby, it's like 3 years old, I'm just going for trunk girth and trying to avoid making any reverse taper or mistakes that can't be fixed

That Eric Schraeder video is perfect then, as those are all 3 year old JBP.

 

[Potawatomi13]

My 2 JBP are starting to swell buds, both started a repotting this year, so were half-barerooted about a month to 6 weeks ago and seem to be doing quite well, they don't seem to have missed a beat. On the smaller tree in particular, a lot of the branches have 3 buds at the end of the branch, usually one larger and two smaller. Should I cut off these larger buds before they start eating up a lot of energy pushing candles, or let them go, and does the recent partial repotting mean I should take one particular action over another? Or is it best to let them run and then trim back later in the year?

If wanting to get movement into lower trunk do it now before too late to bend. Are you in a club here?

 

[stewarjm192]

I always find that my black pines sprout new terminal buds even after my bud selection in fall, so I remove unwanted buds at all times, if you don’t want it get rid of it.

Depending on the age, letting it grow could be the right option, letting a sacrifice branch run while decanting lower buds might be right, but who knows, depends on where they are and where you want them to be