There still seems to be confusion regarding pinching these plants.
Let me quote from K Murata first.
''Nipping......The new buds of shimpaku are three pronged and appear in spring and autumn (and summer?)
Nip the central bud before it hardens. A day or two later (more like a week for me) , nip the two buds that remain on either side. If you nip the buds like this - as soon as they have appeared, secondary buds will appear in four or five days........the secondary buds should be nipped the same way too.
....thus in the case of shimpaku, it is necessary to repeat the process all through the growing season.
This is the secret of increasing the number of branches and of making the bud tips fine, dense and beautiful''
So, ''pinching'' (actually not pinching but more plucking or pulling) the tender new growth tips is done to make the foliage dense and ''cloud like'' This is the very essence of shimpaku'' and IMO should be done at least during the year prior to exhibiting the tree.
Murata continues....
''If the bud-tips of shimpaku become too dense, the lower and middle branches will be impeded in their development resulting in a top-heavy appearance. To avoid this, nip the branches at least once a year. The best time to trim is in spring before the buds come out........make sure there is a small branch beneath the one you are about to cut off.......''
Well I think that is pretty straight forward right?
Well apparently not to some folks who believe the recommendation for pinching requires you to grab a handful of foliage and rip it off! The tender new growth comes of as easily as a dandelion flower and if you find you need to use any force at all it's already to late to use fingers.
The auxin myth.
Auxin is produced at every growth tip (besides other places) and NOT only the ones you see extending beyond the foliage profile. If there is a lighter colour in the tips of the needles (which in spring is every single tip) they are actively producing auxin and to remove a few here and there makes absolutely no difference to the tree's vigour.
Browning of foliage.
This only occurs if you happen to leave a portion of the new tip behind when you pinch it off. If done correctly, you will either remove the entire tip and leave nothing behind or at most there may be two scales left at the base of the removed tip which remain and brown off. Either way this is of no consequence.
I'm in the middle of the growing season here so let's have a look....
Before pinching...
After pinching.
As you can see there are two scales left at he base of the pinched shoot. These will brown off and soon get swallowed up by the new growth as the season goes on. If you worry about this sort of thing you worry too much!
Another one.
Before
After
And one more for luck..
Look at the centre of the pic.......before
After...
Just to repeat.
Pinching is what is used to create density and beauty in the plant.
Trimming and pruning is also necessary but it is used for thinning out and maintenance.
Note... we should not forget the fact that any weak material should not be pinched or trimmed until it's strength is restored. After that we can shorted the longest strongest areas by trimming with scissors. The pinching part comes into the picture after we have a healthy tree in a display pot and we are ready to improve it's density and beauty
Let me quote from K Murata first.
''Nipping......The new buds of shimpaku are three pronged and appear in spring and autumn (and summer?)
Nip the central bud before it hardens. A day or two later (more like a week for me) , nip the two buds that remain on either side. If you nip the buds like this - as soon as they have appeared, secondary buds will appear in four or five days........the secondary buds should be nipped the same way too.
....thus in the case of shimpaku, it is necessary to repeat the process all through the growing season.
This is the secret of increasing the number of branches and of making the bud tips fine, dense and beautiful''
So, ''pinching'' (actually not pinching but more plucking or pulling) the tender new growth tips is done to make the foliage dense and ''cloud like'' This is the very essence of shimpaku'' and IMO should be done at least during the year prior to exhibiting the tree.
Murata continues....
''If the bud-tips of shimpaku become too dense, the lower and middle branches will be impeded in their development resulting in a top-heavy appearance. To avoid this, nip the branches at least once a year. The best time to trim is in spring before the buds come out........make sure there is a small branch beneath the one you are about to cut off.......''
Well I think that is pretty straight forward right?
Well apparently not to some folks who believe the recommendation for pinching requires you to grab a handful of foliage and rip it off! The tender new growth comes of as easily as a dandelion flower and if you find you need to use any force at all it's already to late to use fingers.
The auxin myth.
Auxin is produced at every growth tip (besides other places) and NOT only the ones you see extending beyond the foliage profile. If there is a lighter colour in the tips of the needles (which in spring is every single tip) they are actively producing auxin and to remove a few here and there makes absolutely no difference to the tree's vigour.
Browning of foliage.
This only occurs if you happen to leave a portion of the new tip behind when you pinch it off. If done correctly, you will either remove the entire tip and leave nothing behind or at most there may be two scales left at the base of the removed tip which remain and brown off. Either way this is of no consequence.
I'm in the middle of the growing season here so let's have a look....
Before pinching...
After pinching.
As you can see there are two scales left at he base of the pinched shoot. These will brown off and soon get swallowed up by the new growth as the season goes on. If you worry about this sort of thing you worry too much!
Another one.
Before
After
And one more for luck..
Look at the centre of the pic.......before
After...
Just to repeat.
Pinching is what is used to create density and beauty in the plant.
Trimming and pruning is also necessary but it is used for thinning out and maintenance.
Note... we should not forget the fact that any weak material should not be pinched or trimmed until it's strength is restored. After that we can shorted the longest strongest areas by trimming with scissors. The pinching part comes into the picture after we have a healthy tree in a display pot and we are ready to improve it's density and beauty