I've seen instances where a branch is partially cut and bent over in order to encourage the growth of a dormant bud below the break. What is this technique called?
Hi, Paul. No. That's trying to root the section. This method is used for forcing a bud. I'll see if I can find a picture of what I mean.
Have a look at Image 23 in this document on T-budding citrus. I'm wondering if there is a name for doing this when used as a way to force a dormant bud in any tree. Come to think of it, is this in fact an accepted way to force a bud for the purpose of reshaping a tree? I currently trying this on two different trees.
i know exactley what you mean.....but i cant for the life of me think of what its called.....there is also the thing with hedges, where they cut and lay the hedge (old english tradition, which i think is almost gone) latent budding...seems to pop into my head..if i think of it i'll be sure and post up.
Junglekeeper. Don't know the name but I tried this with some roses last year and it worked! Oscar, as an expat Brit. your post rang a bell. Did you mean "laying" a hedge? If so hedgelaying.org.uk/faq.htm may be of interest. I remember being told that you could tell the age of a hedge by the number of different plants making up the hedge. One per hundred years as I remember and that worked with our 1500 home in Yorkshire. Margaret
Hi, I cant find the name of the technique exactly, but I think I can help. I recognize the idea of breaking rather than cutting from some reading I did on grafting fruit tree. The plan is that some sort of side graft is inserted into the tree. Then when the graft is established the top of the tree (your rootstock) is bent over and broken so that your graft will grow up and become the new treetop. The bending is done over cutting to reduce the bleeding and stress on the tree. Once it has died then it can be cut off. Ive just been looking for a while trying to find a name for that technique, but I cant. If it actually has a name other than breaking/bending over the top of the rootstock, you will find it buried in writings about fruit tree grafting. Hope that helps. This is the only mention Ive seen of breaking limbs. In any other case you would just prune the tree. Michael
Nice to know this works as these are my first attempts with this technique. It made sense to keep the nutrients flowing in the branch in order to increase the chance of getting the bud to grow. I guess this is common in various propagation methods; the document referenced above involved T-budding. I'm sure that's where I got the idea from in the first place. If it works in forcing a newly introduced bud, then surely it would work with an existing bud.
If the attempt is to force a bud break on a lower bud whereby the top portion of the branch or stem has been cut, bent over and is not related to propagation, I would think it is a form of top-working, a forced change in the top of the tree and as such pollarding is also a form of top-working. In regards to the lopping and bending reference in the link document, we had a different method of applying these terms in the nursery. For Winter grafting of a certain plant we would break the top, bend it over and then make a cut right on the underside of where the rootstock top had been broken. We called this lopping. For the Spring and for some Summer grafts of the same plant we would break the top of the rootstock, bend it over, not make a cut and we called this bending. Most people equate the lopping and bending to budding. Like as in the article most commonly used in t-budding for Citrus and Fruit Trees, among others. The technique to us was lopping when we made a cut in the rootstock top which also entails the bending of the top over. I do not believe there is a technical name for the lopping and the bending in relation to propagation but there may be one that I am not aware of. Jim
