Apical Dominance and Control During Development
Background
G’day everyone. I am currently developing a bald cypress in Australia (late Summer) where it will not stop pushing new apical growth and I am unsure on what to do. It was repotted end of winter and heavily pruned early spring. It pushed out quickly and in early Summer I was able to prune again and get another big push extremely quickly.
I have been pinching buds and removing new shoots when I can, to stop growth in areas I do not want however not enough attention was paid and the apical region has taken over tremendously and has largely impeded the growth of the lower foliage. The tree is still producing a lot of new growth all over and both upper and lower foliage/branching is budding.
Temperatures never reach below 10C /50F (typically 25C-30C 77F-86F) even in winter, and currently in development on primary and secondary structure.
Concern
I do not want to waste this energy the tree is putting into new foliage at the apex and would rather it be redirected to the lower branches I want to develop.
Questions
- Should I prune all the apex growth I do not want, or do I need to wait for early Spring?
- Is there a way to avoid the problem I have or a method to maintaining growth I should consider?
My thinking thus far
- I should not prune now (end of summer) as this will weaken the tree with a tremendous loss of energy and no return for its efforts. If I do, I should wait several weeks once hardened to allow energy to be regained.
- When I first saw a lot of new growth at the apex, I thought I should let it grow to gather energy and it will harden soon and later removed, however it is still growing strong.
There is clearly a gap in my understanding, and I would like to know or be pointed towards what I am missing.