Has anyone tried to force a dormant bud by nicking the bark just above it? Is this method effective?

I always force a bud by cutting the rootstock about 1-2 inches above the bud... Many bend & notch, but my best results are cutting the rootstock off 1-2 inches above the bud...

I am inclined to agree with Lazz. I have tried all methods (bending, cutting and breaking and cutting off completely), and just cutting it off a few inches above the bud works best for me. There is one advantage in bending it over, if the bud fails after the rootstock is bent, you can always straighten it up and have another go at it.

One strange thing I have observed, is that if I notch above the new bud, I don't normally have much luck in getting the bud to break with any vigor. On the other hand, if a bud fails, one or more buds right below the resulting scar will be sure to break and grow like mad!

I have tried all 4 methods and had success with all 4. I used the notch method on my Minneola Tangelo where I had added a mandarin and an ambersweet orange and did not want to loose any of the existing top. They were the last 2 buds to break of all the buds I did last fall, but they have put on more growth than the Minneola.

The most growth I got from those fall buds was a Daisy mandarin on a trifoliate rootstock sprout that I cut off--it grew over 4 ft this summer.

I had a Red Valencia bud that I forced by cutting the top limb. It grew reluctantly by about 3" long the entire year last year. I don't know what happened this summer, but that sprout suddenly became so vigorous it is now 5 ft long and I think it is ready to bloom this coming spring.

Some things are unexpected. I simply cut off the limb above the bud once they took if I do the budding, the major reason is that I give away the cut portions as budwoods to other friends. If the added bud didn't sprout, I'm sure I have a bark grafted version somewhere else in the tree that have sprouted.

Thanks for all the replies. It may be helpful to put the question into context. As an indoor grower I am forced to prune to control tree size. This results in side branching but sometimes not in the desired way and so I would like to be able to force a bud to help shape the tree.

Ned wrote:

if I notch above the new bud, I don't normally have much luck in getting the bud to break with any vigor. On the other hand, if a bud fails, one or more buds right below the resulting scar will be sure to break and grow like mad!

JoeReal has observed the same. This is encouraging since even if the desired bud doesn't break I would end up with a bushier tree which is what I would like. Are there any potential problems with nicking the bark? Does it affect the growth above the nick in any appreciable way?

It should not affect the growth above the notch since the idea is to prevent the flow of the hormone that is secreted from the apical stem from moving downward and exerting dominance on the bud.

I have also noticed that when horizontal limbs get long enough that the tip falls below the middle of the limb that the limb starts sprouting shoots upward-- you might try the tie-down method to remove dominance on some limbs that are near horizontal-- that shoud stimulate some vertical growth on the limb.

Skeet, I think your observation is a good one. It's consistent with the following passage in a chapter on pruning.

Quote:

The self-arching form is produced by quick growth and this gives long supple branches which bend under the weight of the fruit or even the foliage. From the apex of the arching branches vigorous and upright shoots commence to grow and these will themselves bear fruit and bend over. The self-arching form is common to the citrus...

So I may just allow the fruit to weigh down the limbs and then see what happens before I make a decision on further pruning. This and the bark nick will give me some options to mull over.