Hey Everyone - I have a very healthy tx cedar elm that I recently cut back to induce a second flush. The second flush grew as expected, but I'm curious about something. The first 1-3 "nodes" on the second flush don't appear to have leaves - only sheathes?
Are there dormant buds here?
If I cut back to these, will it just die back?
How do I prevent this in the future if it's not going to help improve ramification.
Thanks!
View attachment 377600
View attachment 377601
View attachment 377602
There is a wealth of information in links here that are relevant to information I seek beyond the questions of the op, thanks much to you folks.
Thoughts on the questions asked...
yes those are healthy buds. what you are calling sheaths are stipules that appear healthy indicating good buds. these stipules will die and fall following when the leaf emerges.
if I were trying to create ramification in a branch, reduce leaf size, shorten internodes, or activate those buds I would cut each branch to two leaves if the tree is healthy. Cutting to two leaves will definitely let some light in as well aiding all those things. I would not cut beyond two leaves to the buds -could, but why risk it..
am curious what the whole tree looks like.
You can’t prevent this healthy growth in the future, only hone it back to encourage what you want. You could slow it down, but why slow if developing branches and/or not looking for tighter internodes? Also agree that if just left to extend and fatten those buds would activate without any trimming, especially if they have light getting to them.