A new tip I learned today

Today was my next to the last Master Gardener class. I was wondering about something that I had done to the brug seedlings and got my answer, which I think others might benefit from...

About ten days ago I radically removed all the bottom leaves on every seedling, leaving pretty much only the Y leaves. Within a few days, I began to see buds, and now they are all loaded with buds. I wondered if removal of those big leaves forced bud growth, and according to today's instructor, that's exactly what happened! Apparently it causes a shock to the plant and it feels the need to begin propagating, hence the bud formation! Cool, huh? I'm only telling you all what I have done, not recommending that anyone else do this, but it did work for me!

How big were your seedlings, you did this to? I have done this to lots of brugs through the years, have not seen buds form?

They were between 3-5' tall.

They are all in the pictures from this thread:

http://davesgarden.com/t/438041/

Maybe it was coincidence...

Is this like Rooty using the rubber mallet on the trunk I wonder?

I almost always remove the bottom leaves and never triggered a Y...
My Creamsickle seedlings I have removed the leaves a few weeks ago and still no Y
although they are only 2 1/2 -3 feet

I wonder if it was just "time" to Y

Enjoyed all the pics on site. Beautiful home Gretchen.

Weather has a lot to do with bud formation. we are now just getting warmer with not so much dang rain! Have a few "oldies" blooming. Got to get better.

There was already a Y -- I left pretty much only the leaves at and above the Y. What I didn't have were buds. The instructor indicated that the removal of so many leaves triggered the bud formation, not the Y formation. Sorry for the confusion. I didn't explain myself very well. I must be tired, as usual. Gretchen :)

Shelly, from what I've heard/seen, beating on a tree trunk is supposed to stimulate growth. When I saw it on a gardening program, they used a rolled up newspaper to do the beating.

CC: Its probably just coincidental. I just thought it was maybe worth sharing...

Hibiscus: Thank you! And yes, I agree the weather does have a lot to do with bud formation, however they also bloom in greenhouses in the dead of winter (short days).

Thanks for the info. i had read something ike this before, but was too chicken to take off the lower leaves. After reading from you, and heasring from your Master Gardener Innstructor, I think I'll have the guts to strip off most if not leaves on the brugs that have Y's on them. I'll let you know what happens, with before & after pics.

My brugs took a beating yesterday, we had a microcell storm that came up in minutes, gusts to 70kmh (40+mph) and dies down in about 1/2 hour. Knocked over about 6-8 of my plants, before I could rush out and lay them all down on the ground. Today it's back to 30*C so around 90F

way to hot for us here.

Linda

Thanks for the tip! Soooo, I'm off to my garden to strip off some of my Brug's lower leaves! Hopefully, it will stimulate more buds to form!! I'll let you know if it works as well in the Mid-Atlantic as it does in Texas!! We've had a lot of thunderstorms, high temperatures and the humidity feels like you're taking a sauna!!

I sure will try this if my brug after Ying seems reluctant to bud. Thanks Gretchen!! My trouble is alot of mie are already without lower leaves by the time they Y. I think it needs a shock so you must have to take alot off.

Hey here's a thought, why not try pinching the tops out of them before you strip so much off the lower limbs? Isn't that what we are supposed to do to get our other plants to branch?



spelling errors ...good grief!

This message was edited Jun 19, 2004 6:10 PM

This message was edited Jun 19, 2004 6:10 PM

I wouldn't do it on a brug. Your wait for another Y and blooms will be much longer.

MsCritter: This does not force them to Y...it supposedly forced buds to form after the plant has y'd. If you prefer a bush shape to that of a "standard" or tree shape, I guess you'll just have to wait until its good a ready to produce on its own, because, like Brugie stated, its not going to flower until it y's and if you pinch the top, it'll just take that much longer to re-produce the y so it can flower... I feel like I opened an ugly can or worms here. Sorry, all :) Gretchen

Gretchen, i tried taking leaves and side growth when i barely started growing brugs.. there were two results i've notice then: one of the brugs had the bushy look, but they bloomed immediately after. the other one grew to a tree like appearance. took the brug to be 7 feet tall before it bloomed.

since it has been so hot here, buds and leaves are falling off, i trimmed off most of the big leaves along the main trunk of the brug. these are seedling i grew last year that never bloomed. mind u, i did not touch the top part, only the side shoots and large leaves on the lower part of the plant. now it is a wait and see situation to see what will happen. i will keep u posted.

Thanks, MaVie! I'll be anxious to hear of your results, and I hope your weather improves!!! Gretchen

Well, you got me there, Gretchen. Mine bloomed inside during winter also, so much for the warm weather theory!

I usually strip some of my lower leaves, to make them taller and let more light into pot. I guess you really need the Y before you get anything. Will let you know if this will work for me. Thanks for the tip.

I'll be anxious to hear if it works for you too, Hibiscus! Please keep us posted :) Gretchen

PS: None of these are in pots. All are in the ground. Seeds planted on January 28th and transplanted to the garden on April 14th.

that is exactly where i have them planted, on the ground. if u leave a lot of side shoots after removing bigger leaves, the plant will have the tendency to become very bushy and will form Y's and bloom soon! whereas if u take off leaves and all side shoots, they will grow taller and straight ... to the point it has reached it's peak to form Y's and bloom.

other members here hopefully will remember when i was asking question about side shoots and the theory of taking off suckers from roses that weakens the plants. this is what prompted me to take off leaves and side shoots, experiment to see what will happen. glad i did, cuz i am able to find how they perform in different ways of cutting shoots and leaves.

I tried that beating thing on a wisteria that was 7 years old and had never bloomed.....

didn't work
but the chainsaw cured it......
well,it cured me ......
I'm no longer looking for any blooms on it....LOL

ROFLMBO!!!!!!!

LOL Pretty good, CC.

Awww. you didn't! I'm about ready to do that to mine. I can't give something time and space that doesn't perform for me.

Don't feel too bad for it...
there are shoots coming up from the ground....LOL

Its trying to drive me nuts!!!!!!!!!

CC... u need to feed Wisteria in the Fall, so it will bloom in the Spring. i use 16-16-16 fertilizer. hth.

Possible chance for that thing to bloom for you yet! If it don't drive you bonkers first!

CC yu sew crasy!! LOL LOL :-)

CC, try this url http://gardening.wsu.edu/column/02-02-03.htm , http://www.gardenhere.com/Plant%20Tips/Wisteria.shtm , http://www.arhomeandgarden.org/plantoftheweek/articles/Wisteria.htm

Sorry Gretchen...I'm a newbie so I feel real stupid now...Thanks:)

CC, you'll probably see sprouts from it for several years. Everytime I think mine is gone, a new sprout appears.

I had tried the pruning...
the root pruning too.....
I beat it around the bottom with a chain
I talked to it
threatened it
and feed it
(I have brugs that do this to me too)

I'm not sure if it was a seedling or a cutting but I think its one that will NEVER bloom......It did try to eat my house and almost pulled the chimney down

I copied this

Most Wisteria flower only when they are between 10 and 15 years old --some plants never bloom. It is important to select roots or shoots from proven Wisteria bloomers to ensure your newest garden addition will really produce the flowers you want. Some cultivars bloom in as little as three years.

I started thinking about when I had planted it..
I bought it at Farm and Family.....

It was '91 so it was plenty old enough to bloom....

I have 3 others I am trying to train into trees.......
but thats ANOTHER story....LOL

My wisteria blooms just fine....it is a tree, but always putting out suckers to be a vine. Never do anything special for it at all, but trim it in winter...
But I have a passion flower vine, that vines and vines, all over the yard...but never flowers!! Any ideas for getting this one to bloom?

I have a passi thats 4 years old and grows like crazy...not a bloom on it,tried stressing it,ignoring it,potted it,unpotted it,threw it in the ground........fertilized,didn't fertilize,cut it back......
I give up ,its going in the ground next week...if it lives through the winter,then it lives...if not?????
If not I have a big brug pot....and more room in the GH....

CC...sounds like we have a similar problem with the passi...mine is in the ground....grows under the brick patio and got into my brick planter around a tree....just keeps growing and growing, through the cracks in the bricks....I would think twice before I put one in the ground....at least yours is contained!! Not mine.... : (

Have you tried bloom booster? Other than sun and fertilizer, there isn't much you can do. Maybe cut it back, but that really shouldn't keep it from blooming to let it grow. Strange.

brugie...bloom booster...would that be 0-10-10 ?

20-50-20

been there
done that.....

Gretchen, I don't know how I missed this thread, but it's a good one! I did about the same thing you did - I removed all the bottom leaves on my older plants, and discovered the same thing that you did, they started putting on buds almost immediately. However, it seems that I read on another thread that leaves should be left on the plant to provide food. Ya think I just dreamed that?? I will tell you that I grow some very nice leaves and I mean big ones and green. If my blossoms get to be as nice as my leaves, I'll be doing well...

You and me both, Sherry! I think when they are very small, they need all those leaves to mfg the sugar necessary to grow. Once they're bigger, they're more "trainable", LOL!

Mine have not bloomed at all yet. So! I went out and gave them a trim. Took the pants off all of them up to the Y and half way up on those who did not have one. Now they all look like a tree, Will now wait and see. LOL

Good luck,TA! When were your seeds planted?