LOL Darius... I don't get it either! However once the stalk divides into 2, buds usually are not far behind. They bud at the Ys and up. The plant is divided into 3 regions. the roots, the vegetative (the stalks), and the flowering regions (above the Y). The link above shows a good Y. However, even a brand new tiny Y can show buds. The plant will never flower below the first Y. Look at a mature plant, it has Ys on top of Ys. Another way to tell a plant is ready to flower is the leaves at the base get uneven. Anyone have a good pic of that? I will post one later if no one has for you.
If you grow a cutting taken from above the Y, the plant will start to flower very fast. Usually these grow into a bush with multiple shoots. If you get one from below, they grow up taller before they form their Y so this is better for a standard tree effect. Though a bush type can throw suckers which will grow tall before hey Y so you can use it as an alley tree.
Did I make sense? lol
I think I have a Y
Here is a picture I posted a while back of my uneven leaves. http://davesgarden.com/fp.php?pid=513216
Good picture for explaining what the leaves look like when buds start setting.
Kell you did a good job.
This message was edited Sunday, Jul 27th 2:26 PM
Poppysue, congratulations, and hope to see a photo of a pretty bloom in a short while.
Badseed, I'm with you I haave seedlings from just above the seedling mix to ready to transplant. I do have 5 larger brugs, some carryovers from last year and 2 new ones I bought this early summer. No buds there yet tho.
Brugie, I have to differ with you about no earwigs problems if hot and dry. We have not had a drop of rain since first of June, and for past two week terribly hot. From 90 to 104 daytime, luckily does cool off at night. the smoke from the wildfires is very bad. There is a firefighting camp at out local school area with more than 1200 fighters and equipment. The worst fire in the nation is about 25 or 30 miles west of here, more than 63,865 acres by yesterdays paper, 31 crews, 13 helicopters, 22 engines. The fire was lightning caused and is at 5000 to 7000 feet elevation, in heavy timber. Estimated containment date, unknown, maybe until the snow flies. Cost to date is $20.7 million. So it is no wonder we have heavy smoke cover. Donna
Donna, maybe earwigs just aren't that common around here. I don't know, but can say for sure that I'm sure glad I don't have many of them, if any right now. Those fires sound horrible. Hope you all will stay safe out there.
I had to run out and take more pictures before I left! LOL
Here is an original Y on a cutting that is under 2 feet tall. It was from the flowering region and flowering fast. It has already split again and each side of the Y has formed their own Y and at each of the 3 Ys there are flower buds. Tiny weenie buds.
a different view
and a close up of the one of the 2 top Ys.
See the bud?
Well, it's making just a bit more sense. Thanks, kell, for the photos as well as explanation. Yes, I can see the start of a bud in the last pic, same with poppysue's photo.
Here is the rest of the shoot that is Ying. It is a sideshoot off a cutting. I have let the original cutting grow sideways to get it to put out more sideshoots and have them grow quickly. This is a plant alot of my friends would like a piece from. I am trying to oblige. However now that it is budding I can't bring mysef to cut it off. However its friend has not Yed yet and will be living an independent life today!
The bud in the closeup is right in the middle of the Y, Darius. The why it must Y before it flowers........ I guess that is the way God made this one to give us hope along with the joy of knowing we are about to be imminently gratified.
kell, and everyone, Thanks. Tomorrow I shall check my brugs (yes, I have 3 although 2 are quite small even though carried over from last year) with my camera in hand. I may have more questions, then, though, LOL.
I check mine 2 or 3 times a day, looking for Y's! I have one seedling that split into two perfectly even branches, both sides are comtinuing to grow at exactly the same rate, it looks like a perfect Y, but the plant is still too little for that to be true, darn it! I'll have to go check all my leaves to see if any are uneven. Is there any way to tell if a cutting is from above or below a Y? probably not, I guess..see how impatient I am? LOL, I need to just face the fact that I may not see my first bloom until next year :O(
Well, Now I don't really get "uneven" leaves at the base. Badseed's photo doesn't show where the leaves originate. I do have a couple of "Y's" on my smaller brugs.
Here's the other one.
And here's what I guess is the "Y" on my one brug that has bloomed?
And more "Y's" at the top of the one that has bloomed...
I wouldn't call the first picture Y'd. More like two branches off the main stalk. Good pictures for showing Y's.
Yeah, Brugie... I wondered about that first pic also. Figured one of you experts would correct it if wrong, LOL.