Hey all, been awhile since I posted so I want to share my European hornbeam. This tree was displayed with my RMJ at the PBE this past November. Cut back and partial defoliation was done today.
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Looking great - I think it looks much better after being defoliated.
Question for you - what’s the right way in your experience to get ramification on these trees? Let it run in the season and prune back in fall? I know that there trees set their buds for the next season at the end of the current season.
I’ve just started collecting this species this year (moved to NL) and don’t have much experience with timing and growth management.
Like Fletch I prune and partial defoliate mine around this time (actually two weeks ago) this should trigger a second flush on a vigorous tree. Of course if the tree isn’t growing strongly let it grow till leaf “drop” for pruning.
In my experience, the best way to ratify these trees is with the cutback/partial defoliation. I’ll let the tree extend to 4-5 leaves at which point I prune back to 2-3 and cut each leaf by about 70% as pictured below. I should mention that I’m fertilizing the tree moderately at this time.
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