Should I remove the dead leaves from my hornbeam?

[Digiwig]

I inherited this hornbeam last year. I'd like to keep it going as long as possible, but I've absolutely no bonsai experience. The leaves turned orange over autumn and I half expected them to fall, but they didn't. Now its early spring and the leaves are still here! I can also see some small buds coming through. Should I now remove the dead leaves? To help the new ones come through?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.



[Showing buds]

 

[AlainK]

The leaves will fall when the new buds open, but if you want to wire/trim the branches, it's easier when the leaves are removed.

 

[sorce]

I believe the leaves are there for a reason we don't understand and removing them opens up the possibility to find out why the hard way.

Could be a signal to useful animals, or a deterrent for bad ones. Maybe hides the buds from spring munchers?

Pretty tree!

Welcome to Crazy!

Sorce

 

[sorce]

Sorce

 

[Brian Van Fleet]

It won’t hurt to remove them, or to leave them. It’s perfectly normal for hornbeam to retain leaves through winter, and they will drop off over the next few weeks.

If you do remove them, be careful to not damage the opening buds. Hornbeam leaves are best removed by pushing the leaf down and back toward the trunk, rather than pulling them toward you. Nice little tree, good luck with it.

 

[AlainK]

To understand the phenomenon better :

Marcescence

 

[Cypress187]

Nice tree! Welcome to the forum!

 

[Digiwig]

Thanks for the advice everyone. The tree is now budding and all but one leaf remains! I shall update later in the spring!

 

[penumbra]

Many trees retain leaves over winter. Hornbeam, Beech, and the younger branches of most oaks. There are plenty of others. This goes back a ways but in college I was taught trees retaining leaves was to protect the buds. I didn't question it but I did wonder how much protection the leaves might provide. I assumed it was to protect against cold but that really did not make terribly much sense. Maybe the dead leaf keeps birds from eating the nice plump buds. I am not really sure what the thinking is or was or if views have changed over the years.
In answer to your question, I let the swelling buds push the leaves off if they last that long, though it seems most leaves drop a bit prior to that. I never pluck the leaves off but I have found that the do often fall off with the gentlest of prodding.

 

[Forsoothe!]

I think the stiff base of the petiole does provide some protection of the bud in the axil and never pull the leaf off. At the very least, it hides the bud from the sight of predators. If I want it out of my way I cut off the petiole just above the base and let the new growing bud kick the dried petiole base off as/when it increases in size. I defoliate in June the same way: cut the petiole at the base of the leaf, which makes it look dumb like a porcupine, but the bud in the axil is important and I don't want it damaged.