Advise on a collected burning bush

[Balbs]

Hi all, very early spring I dug up this burning bush in some brush near my house. It has some decent, I think, lower trunk movement. It’s been living happily in this flat in my greenhouse for about two months and it’s in flower right now. Should I just let it grow this year? Or should I chop it? If so, where? Am I getting ahead of myself?

 

[sorce]

You gotta go slow with these.

There were a couple good progressions that fell off, what happened...who knows!

Sorce

 

[Shibui]

Looks like it is growing well so should be past the critical stage after collection. I would be starting to prune any time now. They do take some work to get ramification, movement and taper. One of the common names is spindle bush because they were the favored plant to get long, straight sticks to make drop spindles for wool spinning in the real old days. Just love to grow tall and straight.

I notice the trunk is planted right in one edge of the tray. I assume you collected a really long root on this?

 

[MHBonsai]

These are single flush in my experience. If you cut back now it may not grow again this year. I would let it sit and recover this year and chop next spring.

 

[Balbs]

I notice the trunk is planted right in one edge of the tray. I assume you collected a really long root on this?

Good eye. It was growing on a rock so all of the roots are on one side.

These are single flush in my experience. If you cut back now it may not grow again this year. I would let it sit and recover this year and chop next spring.

The idea of ‘flushes’ confuses me a bit. Does being ‘single flush’ mean that for an entire season, the plant will only grow once? Or for a period of time?

 

[MHBonsai]

The idea of ‘flushes’ confuses me a bit. Does being ‘single flush’ mean that for an entire season, the plant will only grow once? Or for a period of time?
[/QUOTE]

**Disclaimer - this is just my experience. Some here have different luck with getting these to grow a second flush of branches/leaves from pruning.

For burning bushes, when you cut the growing tip off of a branch it usually stops growing for the year. It will set buds for next year, but no more growth/extension on the branches that have been pruned. Next year it will grow out like normal. They are super predictable with this and you can build ramification, it's just slower. I'll post some photos of mine this evening if that's helpful that shows exactly what I'm talking about.

Maples, elms, etc are the opposite, you can often prune in the summer and they will respond with all kinds of good stuff (backbudding into old wood, growth to build ramification, tighter internodes, etc.) - they make new branches in response to pruning.

 

[Balbs]

The idea of ‘flushes’ confuses me a bit. Does being ‘single flush’ mean that for an entire season, the plant will only grow once? Or for a period of time?

**Disclaimer - this is just my experience. Some here have different luck with getting these to grow a second flush of branches/leaves from pruning.

For burning bushes, when you cut the growing tip off of a branch it usually stops growing for the year. It will set buds for next year, but no more growth/extension on the branches that have been pruned. Next year it will grow out like normal. They are super predictable with this and you can build ramification, it's just slower. I'll post some photos of mine this evening if that's helpful that shows exactly what I'm talking about.

Maples, elms, etc are the opposite, you can often prune in the summer and they will respond with all kinds of good stuff (backbudding into old wood, growth to build ramification, tighter internodes, etc.) - they make new branches in response to pruning.
[/QUOTE]


I appreciate the insight. Pictures would be great. Thank you!

 

[Leo in N E Illinois]

I have not grown burning bush, but I have grown beech. I have heard multiple times from multiple sources that generally, burning bush are single flush as @MHBonsai described. Take his advice, except I would do my pruning in late summer, just before the autumnal equinox, so that buds are set before winter. That way you get more buds ready to go in spring.

 

[Balbs]

Thanks! What about the timing of fertilizer? Is there value in pushing the plant at this point? Or should all that be done before the flush?

 

[MHBonsai]

If it's growing actively, fertilize. That's my rule of thumb at least.

Check this branch. Early spring this spot was two opposite buds that grew at the same time. I let them extend out a few internodes, then I pruned the left-hand side. Red circle. You can see it immediately stopped growth, and it set new red buds, ready for next year. The will not grow again until next spring. The other side, blue, I want to thicken and I let it run. It is still extending and getting thicker. When it is the thickness I want, I will cut it off to limit the growth for this year.



Here’s another one. These are super predictable in my experience. This fork is at the top of the tree and I don’t want it to thicken much so I pruned them both early spring. Same deal, I let the right one run longer than the other to make the branches more interesting.

Next year all of those red buds will push new branches out, and I will continue ramifying these.

 

[Balbs]

@MHBonsai this was really helpful for me to see the pictures along with the description. Thanks a ton for doing that. This makes a lot more sense to
Me now. So, unless shoot pruned, the shoots will continue to grow for the season. If you prune them, they will back bud, but those buds will not extend until the following spring. Is my understanding correct? Does this same principle apply for big chops?

 

[MHBonsai]

@MHBonsai this was really helpful for me to see the pictures along with the description. Thanks a ton for doing that. This makes a lot more sense to
Me now. So, unless shoot pruned, the shoots will continue to grow for the season. If you prune them, they will back bud, but those buds will not extend until the following spring. Is my understanding correct? Does this same principle apply for big chops?

You got it! Same with big chops.

 

[Balbs]

Awesome! Thanks a ton.

 

[Vali]

These are single flush in my experience. If you cut back now it may not grow again this year. I would let it sit and recover this year and chop next spring.

I have pulled a burning bush out of the ground this spring when it was already in leaf just as an experiment. Bare root, root tips cut, placed in full sun after potting and fertilized after a few days, I believe. I cut it back after about 6 weeks and it is now actively growing it's second flush. I feed and water it quite a lot and it seems to be doing good. Second flush is possible under certain conditions

 

[Balbs]

I have pulled a burning bush out of the ground this spring when it was already in leaf just as an experiment. Bare root, root tips cut, placed in full sun after potting and fertilized after a few days, I believe. I cut it back after about 6 weeks and it is now actively growing it's second flush. I feed and water it quite a lot and it seems to be doing good. Second flush is possible under certain conditions

Did you cut off all of the foliage?

 

[Vali]

No, I just shortened them. All of them

 

[Balbs]

do my pruning in late summer, just before the autumnal equinox, so that buds are set before winter. That way you get more buds ready to go in spring.

@Leo in N E Illinois , every time I think it’sa good idea to do something to this burning bush, I think about your advice here and I don’t do that thing. So first, thank you. But the more I think about why I’m waiting until the equinox, the more I realize I don’t know. Can you elaborate as to why pruning at tours time is advantageous? When you say the buds ‘set’, what exactly do you mean?

 

[Leo in N E Illinois]

Because, burning bush (and American beech) tend to have only one flush of growth per year, you may as well leave the branches on with the leaves, to make and store as much sugars (energy) as possible before you prune them off. Because you normally will not get any new growth after pruning.

You wait until a week or two before the autumnal equinox, because the equinox is a marker that the growing season is over, the trunk has accumulated most of the sugars it is going to accumulate for the summer. Pruning at that time allows enough time for the dormant buds to get the hormonal signal that they will need to grow in spring.

IF you prune significantly after the equinox. THe dormant buds that should be activated in spring, might not have "received the signal to get ready to grow" and what can happen is spring will come, and the tree will be weeks late in budding out.

THis is not a big issue, just a timing technique that helps the tree to accumulate energy (stored sugars) and to grow on time to maximize the next years growing season.

 

[Balbs]

Thanks for the thorough explanation!

 

[Gaitano]

These are single flush in my experience. If you cut back now it may not grow again this year. I would let it sit and recover this year and chop next spring.

This is my experience too