Collected carolina hornbeam budding?

[WNC Bonsai]

I have a Carolnia hornbeam I collected last winter that pushed buds this spring. However, most buds were either at the top or down near the roots, only about one branch mid-trunk. Since I would like to have a number of branches to work with and there are numerours bud primordia scattered up and down the trunk I am wondering how I can encourage those sleeping buds to wake up and do their thing. Is it likely additional buds will pop next spring, or do I need to chop the top of this trunk to force those down lower to pop?

 

[Velodog2]

Pruning branches now (or a little earlier) will stimulate buds quite a ways back as well as at the cut if the tree is healthy and happy.

 

[Zach Smith]

If by last winter you mean this past one, I'd suggest waiting till next year and cut off the shoots near the top of the tree while leaving the collar of each one. They will come back, and you'll enhance the probability that some of the dormant buds below will wake up. I've seen this happen even when I didn't cut off any shoots.

 

[WNC Bonsai]

Thanks guys. I should also have mentioned that I need to chop about 4-6”off the top anyway but since I have multilpe shoots up there I can do that and not lose the one I am planning to defelop as the new apex. Because these trees grow essentially all summer I have been pinching back the new apex and have secondary branching already on the shoots at the apex. However pinching back hasn’t forced the old buds to pop although I swear some are getting bigger—sort of like a pimple developing then getting real ripe before it explodes.

 

[leatherback]

In general, hornbeams (I only have korean and european) respond great to letting grow tal and cutting back. I have been getting dozens of buds on bare trunks after cutting several feet (2 seasons) whips of european hornbeams.

 

[WNC Bonsai]

Come next March I plan to lo off the upper 4-6” along with a couple shoots on it that have been growing wild this summer. That cut will be just above anothr shoot I am developing as the new apex. Hopefully this re-chop will induce these dormant buds to go ahead and break come April.