Too many shoots? Or just right?

[Mike Corazzi]

JBP

Couple weeks ago I cut some candles.
They stayed pretty tiny as nubbin buds. Thought they would winter over before elongating.
Well, they didn't.

Question is should I leave everything be as is or do some selecting now?

If selecting, which would you keep?

Thanks.

 

[bwaynef]

Presumably you decandled to begin/continue refining the tree ...or some area of the tree. If you select the buds that you want to keep now, they will receive all the energy the tree is pushing to ALL of the buds. If you wait, and remove the extra buds later, they'll have bled off some of the energy, allowing for more refinement of the buds you want to maintain.

 

[Mike Corazzi]

Presumably you decandled to begin/continue refining the tree ...or some area of the tree. If you select the buds that you want to keep now, they will receive all the energy the tree is pushing to ALL of the buds. If you wait, and remove the extra buds later, they'll have bled off some of the energy, allowing for more refinement of the buds you want to maintain.

So, cut and refine the one that's left?

If I let them "bleed off" energy will that mean that all of them will grow smaller than saving just one?

 

[bwaynef]

If you select buds now, their growth will be coarser than if you allow all the buds to develop and select the ones you want to keep in the fall.

 

[clem]

Presumably you decandled to begin/continue refining the tree ...or some area of the tree. If you select the buds that you want to keep now, they will receive all the energy the tree is pushing to ALL of the buds. If you wait, and remove the extra buds later, they'll have bled off some of the energy, allowing for more refinement of the buds you want to maintain.

you're right but, letting all the candles developp their needles until November, you risk a swelling. The "option" you describe is explained by Ryan Neil in a youtube video.

Cutting now the extra-candles to avoid swelling, and letting just 2 candles (of the same strength) is the "option" described by Bjorn in his youtube channel.
I have also a JBP and i prefered to follow the advise of Bjorn and so remove the candles, seeing a swelling developping of branches.

 

[Brian Van Fleet]

In your second photo, I would remove the one labeled “G”. Can’t tell what’s going on in the first photo.

Timing is debatable. Pick a way and observe how it works for you.

Some argue to let them all grow and thin them out in the fall because it helps keep the new growth balanced (stronger branches send more shoots, but they can be smaller, so you’re ultimately restoring balance later). Boon’s students are in this camp, I believe, and don’t report coarseness in the tips.

Others argue it’s best to reduce them down to a pair as early as you can identify them to avoid coarseness at the tips. You do risk allowing strong shoots to divert all that energy to a single pair of shoots. Then, just shorten the occasional too-strong shoots when they look like your 2nd photo.

Once you’re getting to this level of detail, you are probably paying close enough attention to intervene before any adverse effects appear from leaving too many clustered on one terminal.

 

[Mike Westervelt]

Agree with what others are saying, if your goal is refinement, leave all of them until fall cleanup.

If you are still in structural development, you may want to reduce to 2 shoots