Back budding on chamaecyparis

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Omono
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OK, back in the spring I picked up a Chamaecyparis thyoides, AKA Atlantic white cedar at my local confier nursery. Then after dragging it home I read in several places that chamaecyparis don’t back bud on old wood. This was a disappointment since this tree needs some new foliage closer in to the trunk on some branches. So I set it aside to grow some more and did a little pruning. Well tonight I was watering around the collection when I noticed something green on a small branch I had cut back several months ago. Yes those are little buds popping out on the old lichen covered wood! So has anybody had any luck getting chamaecyparis to back bud on old wood? What is the secret—I am assuming these buds are just dumb luck in my case.

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0soyoung

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???????????
I had a thought about crypto --> cannot delete once one has clicked the little 'Post reply' button.
My only experience is with chamaecyparis obtusa. With it, fat chance in hell, and then it is only at the trunk-branch union/node. But you're not talking "Hinoki", nor are you talking about cryptomeria backbudding.

So,
this post = user error :oops:
My apologies.
 

Leo in N E Illinois

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Actually not Cryptomeria, it is a totally different species, Chamaecyparis thyoides, the North American native Atlantic cedar. In the same genus as Hinoki, but a distinct species.

My knowledge of C. thyoides is only "internet knowledge" they are probably reluctant to back bud, but occasionally it does happen. Watch Ryan Niel vids on Hinoki, he talks about how to get Hinoki to back bud. I imagine thyoides would be similar. "As in not reliable, but not impossible".
 

WNC Bonsai

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I suspect that since this was a short interior branch that I clipped off that it might have had some internal buds that popped once the other foliage was gone. I went iver the tree agin looking for other popping buds on old wood but there are none so this appears to be jsut a fluke. I’ll loko for Ruan Neil’s videos.
 

girv

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@Cofga How is this tree doing? I have 2 I picked up this spring and one of them is popping buds all over pruned branches. The other one not as much but it was worked significantly harder.
 

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It really hsn’t put out a other buds that might be back buds. But it did grow a lot over the summer. I just finished completely wiring it. One problem is ths the foliage shoots tend to grow frow all around the branches creating a bottle brush appearance. That makes it harder to create nice flat pads. I will put up a post as soon as I get a chance to take some photos—its dark out right now.
 

girv

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Was just doing some wiring on it so took a few quick photos. On the first one, I cut the branch down to a stub and considered making a jin or removing completely, now it has buds all around it. Not at all what I expected after reading about these.
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Forsoothe!

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Seems I've been told some do, be thankful if you find one, but most don't. Not a species or variety thing, -an individual plant thing. I have a ~forty year old one collected from my neighbor's landscape ~8 years ago, happy in lots of sun, rangy but looks good from 50 feet away on the street, but is too thick to wire and has never back-budded anywhere even though the interior is very open. I have a dwarf White Cedar, same/same.
 
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