Anybody cutting candles yet?

[kez]

Hey all,

It's about that time of year, has anybody started?

If so, what are you're reasons? Also if not what is it you are waiting for?

I haven't started yet, some trees hardened off weeks ago, others haven't still. I will let the trees push a bit more energy yet

Kerrin

[stocaz]

I did mine last weekend, left it too late last year

[Jow]

Ill do mine this weekend and maybe next.

Cutting candles has nothing to do with how the growth has grown or hardened, its entirely calendar based.

[Wayne R]

Programmed to do mine next week. Will be my first attempt and I'm as anxious as a cat on a hot tin roof. Not trying to achieve anything other than "doing it right".

[kez]

Please explain jow, I would have thought it was exactly the opposite. Don't we allow trees to grow and disperse energy before cutting, forcing a second flush resulting in shorter needles and candle necks? I would have thought that every year a tree will move differently depending on the weather leading up

Cheers,

Kerrin

[Jow]

Its about having enough time for new growth to grow in the seccond flush. If you cut too late you don't get a second flush and the tree will only produce new buds that will not extend until the following spring. If you cut too early then you get long needles/ inter-nodes in the second flush. The cut time is to do with the remaining growth time in the year rather than the trees current growth phase.

Joe.

[kez]

cheers mate

Being in wollongong I think I have a bit more of a window for growth time

Good to see everyones routines though, keep them coming folks

Kerrin

[Scott Martin]

Yep. Larger trees done and working my way through the mid sized trees.

[shibui]

I some trees a few weeks ago. These are trees that I particularly wanted to push for backbudding and increased growth while still restricting branch elongation - trying to recover some that were allowed to get away many years ago. still not sure it will achieve the desired results but

Still holding off on the newer, better tamed ones. It is hard to wait while watching them get all wooly and overgrown but I get good results from candle cutting from mid - end Dec. Might start a few this weekend and continue next week until I get through them all.

[miyagiman]

I want to start doing mine tomorrow. QUESTION; do we cut all the shoots at the base, or wire into position if needed and then cut them at the required length?
This is always a confusing topic , and I thought it might be great for myself and a few other enthusiasts to get a few more hints, so that we can get it right. I can drive the deciduous trees ok, but struggle with the black pines, some of you have some amazing pines and I am always envious of them, my pines always look a bit straggly and would love to rectify this.
Thanks, miyagiman.

[alpineart]

Hi Fella's , I did mine about 2 months ago contrary to the advice of many . I have been treating my JBP'S the same as my EBP'S "Nigra's" . Out of action at the moment with Pneumonia and Pleurisy and have returned home to find the secondary growth needs a wee trim . I did manage to pinch a few yesterday with plenty of secondaries begininning to alongate , some have beat me to the punch by fully alongating but most certainly will be cut back if necessary .

Cheers . Alpine

[shibui]

QUESTION; do we cut all the shoots at the base, or wire into position if needed and then cut them at the required length?

It depends on what you want to achieve.
Normal decandling is to cut just above the base of new candles - leave about 5mm of the new growth - and several new shoots will grow from where the fresh growth joins the older wood.

If you need to extend the length of a branch or shoot AND the new candle has needles nearly to the base then you can cut anywhere along the new candle. New shoots will grow from the base of the needles that you leave on the candle and often a few from the junction of old/new as well. Remember that no needles = no buds there now or in the future so it is usually better to cut back harder so you can get more side shoots for ramification.

If your tree is under development and you have a longish branch with plenty of older needles you can cut back past the new candle and into the previous year's growth - just as long as you leave some healthy needles you should get buds from the base of the needles.

I was considering these techniques while cutting today. Some photos to explain will be very valuable to make it all clearer. I'll try to get some shots here tomorrow and hope some others will also consider taking some shots to clarify how they prune pines.

[Brian]

I have been pulling needles on my radiata pines today.

[shibui]

Started pruning some of the black pines today. Here are some photos as a guide to how I deal with different stages of growth.
These first pics are of trees that I'm still developing. Most of the shoots were not cut last year so they would grow freely and help thicken the trunk up a bit but now I have to prune before the oldest needles drop so i can get buds closer to the trunk.

decandling black pines 05.JPG

decandling black pines 06.JPG

You might be able to spot the stages of growth on this branch. From the end: new candle that grew this spring (green color bark) with needles at the end and a bare neck at the base; then another bunch of needles and another bare patch (brown bark this time) - This was the candle that grew last spring and has now hardened off; Right back near the base of the branch, a bit harder to see, there is another bunch of needles with a short, bare part growing out of the main trunk. this was the candle that grew here 2 years ago. It has the really long needles.

decandling black pines 07.JPG

With normal decandling we would just cut the new candle leaving a short stub

decandling black pines 08.JPG

Then reduce the number of needles at the end of the shoot. New buds will grow from the base of the candle that has been cut and possibly a few from the needles near the cut.

decandling black pines 09.JPG

But in this case I have quite a long piece of branch with no side shoots. If I don't force more new buds closer to the trunk I'll be left with a long, bare branch with side shoots near the end. There are more, older needles closer to the trunk so I have cut this branch further back to force new buds from these older needles.

decandling black pines 10.JPG

Here's a branch that has some smaller new candles growing from it. I have pruned the terminal candle off completely just leaving the new side candles. Note that these candles do not have a bare neck at the base so i can use them for side shoots on this branch. A couple were too long so I've cut them shorter. New buds will grow from the base of the needles that I've left and will ramify this branch even more.

decandling black pines 25.JPG

[shibui]

This tree is a bit more advanced.

decandling black pines 28.JPG

This one had the candles cut last year so doesn't have so many long branches, just the long new candles so cut all the candles just leaving a 5mm stub of each candle. Then remove needles from all the shoots so there is only about 8-10 pairs of needles on each shoot.

decandling black pines 29.JPG