Stimulating dormant buds

MichaelS

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This year, in a effort to get some dormant buds stirring on a Prunus mume, I had a go at applying some keiki paste to the points where the flowers were attached in the hope of getting any buds that might be there to move. The results are interesting! No buds appeared (so far) in those places (probably no buds there) but lower down on the stem, buds were stimulated and are now expanding. In my experience many of these buds would normally not grow or do so with great difficulty. Keiki paste is normally used for Phalaenopsis orchids to stimulate new plants to grow on old flower stems. It's basically cytokinin in a lanolin paste.
I think next time I will try to apply it directly to the cut. You need exposed tissue for it to be properly absorbed. There was a little of this freshly exposed tissue where I broke off the faded flowers.

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my nellie

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... ...I think next time I will try to apply it directly to the cut. You need exposed tissue for it to be properly absorbed.
There are times that making a small nick over a dormant/adventitious bud will trigger it to appear and grow.
Need to experiment with species and see how this works with what.
 

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Inquiring minds wanna know....


What the hell is keiki paste???
 

MichaelS

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I don't know if it would work well on resinous species because it might have problems mixing with the sap?? Worth a try I guess.
I would be very careful about buying anything with Chinese writing on it. Apparently there are lots of imitation products floating around that don't work well - if at all. I get mine from Flora Labs here but I don't know if they send overseas. They do have an Ebay store.
http://floralaboratories.com.au/wordpress/
 

MichaelS

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There are times that making a small nick over a dormant/adventitious bud will trigger it to appear and grow.
Need to experiment with species and see how this works with what.
Yep. If you can't expose the bud or you can't see it (very common) maybe scraping down to the cambium just above or below it or both? Or cut close to where you suspect there is a bud and apply to the cut.
 

my nellie

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... ...maybe scraping down to the cambium just above or below it or both?
Your question had me making some search and here is what I have learned about the science behind this :

By making the cut/notch over the bud (or over where you suppose the bud to be) you force the tree to interrupt/block the downward flow of growth-regulating compounds/plant hormone from shoots above which keep the side buds dormant below. If less of these compounds reach the bud, it can break dormancy and grow into a shoot/branch.

By notching below the dormant bud we force it to develop into a fruiting bud because we interrupt the downward flow of carbohydrates.
The extra food (carbohydrates) then collects around the bud and stimulates it to become a flower bud.

The technique has been going on for centuries in Europe for all intensive espaliered culture of fruiting trees.
 

Tieball

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Your question had me making some search and here is what I have learned about the science behind this :

By making the cut/notch over the bud (or over where you suppose the bud to be) you force the tree to interrupt/block the downward flow of growth-regulating compounds/plant hormone from shoots above which keep the side buds dormant below. If less of these compounds reach the bud, it can break dormancy and grow into a shoot/branch.

By notching below the dormant bud we force it to develop into a fruiting bud because we interrupt the downward flow of carbohydrates.
The extra food (carbohydrates) then collects around the bud and stimulates it to become a flower bud.

The technique has been going on for centuries in Europe for all intensive espaliered culture of fruiting trees.
Hmmmm.....interesting. I did not know about this technique...the centuries have not found me until just now. Mighty fine find!
 
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