# Young american beech - partial defoliation

**URL:** <https://forum.bonsaimirai.com/t/young-american-beech-partial-defoliation/6116>\
**Category:** Horticulture\
**Created:** [May 27, 2020, 12:21pm UTC](https://forum.bonsaimirai.com/t/young-american-beech-partial-defoliation/6116 "2020-05-27T12:21:27Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Phil.St-Jacques](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex029/user_avatar/forum.bonsaimirai.com/phil.st-jacques/32/10052_2.png) [@Phil.St-Jacques](https://forum.bonsaimirai.com/u/Phil.St-Jacques)\
**Post date:** [May 27, 2020, 12:21pm UTC](https://forum.bonsaimirai.com/t/young-american-beech-partial-defoliation/6116/1 "2020-05-27T12:21:27Z")

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Hello, I have this young american beech collected in spring 2019. It was heavily fed last year and produced this spring long shoots with massive leaves (\>6 inches). The interior and lower buds are now shaded.

Is it a good idea to partially defoliate to stimulate interior ramification even at this early stage? I am not focused on trunk thickening but rather setting enough ramification to build taper in the long run.

 ![20200527_080753](https://canada1.discourse-cdn.com/flex029/uploads/bonsaimirai/original/2X/9/9e18d6ebb0f7d661b8b8eb66b7670fc1c9159f91.jpeg)

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**Author:** ![Gary.Jones](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a6a055/32.png) [@Gary.Jones](https://forum.bonsaimirai.com/u/Gary.Jones)\
**Post date:** [May 27, 2020, 10:14pm UTC](https://forum.bonsaimirai.com/t/young-american-beech-partial-defoliation/6116/2 "2020-05-27T22:14:09Z")

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Have you thought of heavily pruning the top and leaving the lowest branches to grow out?

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**Author:** ![Phil.St-Jacques](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex029/user_avatar/forum.bonsaimirai.com/phil.st-jacques/32/10052_2.png) [@Phil.St-Jacques](https://forum.bonsaimirai.com/u/Phil.St-Jacques)\
**Post date:** [May 28, 2020, 1:59am UTC](https://forum.bonsaimirai.com/t/young-american-beech-partial-defoliation/6116/3 "2020-05-28T01:59:40Z")

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@Gary.Jones Yes the plan is to chop the tree to existing buds at about half the height. Those buds all opened this spring. I will try to take a picture.

Perhaps I should cut the trunk now that the first flush is hardened. I could then let it grow as you say and let it heal itself this year, only cutting this year’s growth to two buds in winter or early next spring.

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Phil.St-Jacques](https://yyz1.discourse-cdn.com/flex029/user_avatar/forum.bonsaimirai.com/phil.st-jacques/32/10052_2.png) [@Phil.St-Jacques](https://forum.bonsaimirai.com/u/Phil.St-Jacques)\
**Post date:** [May 28, 2020, 2:56pm UTC](https://forum.bonsaimirai.com/t/young-american-beech-partial-defoliation/6116/4 "2020-05-28T14:56:22Z")

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Here is a close-up of the three buds that extended at mid-trunk height where I will cut to rebuild the apex. Overall tree size will be 2.5 feet for a tree that may reduce its leave size only to a certain degree since _Fagus grandifolia_, as the name implies, naturally have large leaves. I want to grow this one for the winter and spring silhouette.

 ![20200528_070859](https://canada1.discourse-cdn.com/flex029/uploads/bonsaimirai/original/2X/c/c00a3c38d102632670964967f7af23275849962b.jpeg)