Breaking off new growths to encourage more growths?

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kentuckiense

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Back in January, I noticed the new growth (about 2cm long) on my Phrag. St. Ouen had retained a little water and rotted over night. It definitely smelled like rot. Anyway, I excised the rotten growth and prayed that it would sent out another. Well, about a month later, it has now sent out two new growths: one directly above the one that rotted, and one on the other side of the bloomed growth. While I have no intentions of ever doing it, has anyone here intentionally cut/broke new growths in order to encourage the production of more?
 
Once in a great while, when the new growth on either a Paph or a Phrag climbs way above the potting media. Occasionally I'll break the climber off, and put the plant in higher light hoping the new growths will not climb as bad. This is only done to extreme climbers.
 
It's always been my feeling that breaking multipile new grows is a by-product of a positive change in culture. Of course, assuming the the plant has the genetics to do so.

It might be as simple as the lengthening daylight period this time of year in the N. Hemisphere. Or a change in feeding regimen. Or just having removed the diseased tissue.

Whatever the reason, the plant seems to be telling you it's happier now than it was before. And whatever you've done/are doing is the right thing.

I personally don't believe that the phenomenon of "bushing" that you see in some plants when you pinch off the apical tip to allow dormant lateral buds to develop is in play here.

charlie c
 
charlie c said:
I...

I personally don't believe that the phenomenon of "bushing" that you see in some plants when you pinch off the apical tip to allow dormant lateral buds to develop is in play here.

charlie c


funny. i think they opposite is true. my thoughts is that because the new growth (apical tip) has been damaged, in a effort towards self-preservation, it's telling anything that can grow that it's important that they grow or else the plant may die...
 
I've seen the multiple budding in response to Erwinia infections before. I think there may be a feedback loop, as I'm starting to see a correlation to Erwinia cueing in with the hormone induction at leaf axils when new growth is imminent, possibly causing super stimulation of growth hormone development and multiple growths???

For the time being I've cut out the SuperThrive since it is an artificial auxin, that may have been cueing up the Erwinia I had problems with this past summer.

Otherwise I think your survival theory was quite logical.
 
I personally don't believe that the phenomenon of "bushing" that you see in some plants when you pinch off the apical tip to allow dormant lateral buds to develop is in play here.

I may have worded that badly, since the growth directly above the rotted one was a survival, triggering of auxin, response. I just don't necessarily believe that the second growth breaking was blindly in response to the same stimulus. I think we've all seem some cultivars, in different and varied genera, when they reach a certain size routinely start breaking two growths similtaniously. I not sure how you differentiate exactly what went on here. And I'm a little hesitant to assign, one and only one, cause/effect relationship.

The idea of increased hormone levels in response to Erwinia infections is intriguing; but one I don't think I've ever seem. Certainly sounds like a plausible idea. I just don't believe it's the only possible explaination.

charlie c
 

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