Quote:
Originally Posted by Raven
when you prune
and your removing the tips ... when you do that your sending the growth compounds down to the segment below it establishing that as the leader... and that stimulates the majority of the growth to happen there... so you want to do it so it compliments the shape
of the bush or plant and the branch is aiming towards the outside
of the plant in the direction you want it to go
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If I remember my botany classes: what you are actually doing by removing the growing tip (apical meristem) you remove the source of auxins which inhibit the growth from the lateral buds. When the tip is removed, the lateral buds start to grow and in some plants one of the lateral buds becomes dominate and produces the auxin which inhibits the lateral buds again. In other plants most/all of the lateral buds continue to develop, each with an active tip which inhibits lateral buds on each stem.