I have a Kifu Privet which is in refinement. I pinched in Spring to redirect energy. Then came back Early Summer and cut back to inner growth. I made the mistake of feeding the tree after and the leafs and extensions are a little bigger than I hoped.
My question is (regardless of feeding or not):
Should I be pinching growth in Summer to redirect energy with this second flush of growth or should I let it run out harden, re-accumulate energy then prune it back around mid August? (thinking this extra energy is what will make it produce more back buds)
Can I treat the second Summer flush (after it has hardened and cut back) like Spring growth and pinch it to get the tree to push buds and growth closer to the trunk. Or do I let it run and prune it back to 2 buds, 1 or 2 times for the rest of the year?
For Future reference:
Since it is a chuhin tree in refinement should I have still held off with feeding until around August restricting long extensions and leaf size?