Pines commonly produce three types of buds: terminal buds, needle buds and adventitious buds.
Terminal buds, often referred to as apical buds when they appear at the top of the tree, are the buds located at the tips of branches.
Terminal bud
Large terminal bud flanked by two lateral or accessory buds
Needle buds are buds that form between sets of needles.
Needle bud
Young shoot developed from a needle bud
Adventitious buds are buds that form elsewhere, typically directly from branch or trunk tissue.
Small adventitious bud
Vigorous adventitious buds
The ability to distinguish between these three bud types can be useful when cultivating pine as bonsai. Can you spot all three bud types on your trees?
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Jerry says
Great article/ explanation, on different buds on a JBP. Thx. for taking the time to explain this.
Jonas Dupuich says
Thanks Jerry – I appreciate it!
Rik says
Hi Jonas, What is the difference between terminal buds and adventitious bud. Thanks, Rik.
Jonas Dupuich says
Hi Rik – good question. Terminal buds are the buds that naturally occur at the end of all growing branches. Adventitious buds are buds that appear in “unexpected” places (for example, we expect to find buds at the ends of branches). Under the right conditions, dormant adventitious buds become active and generate new shoots.
I hope this helps – I’ll say a bit more about different bud types in future posts.
Derek says
Hello Jonas,
I have all three all over the place. When is the best time to remove the adventitious buds at the ends of the branch? Which would be best to remove, largest , smallest, whichever you don’t like? I have a lot of 3 and 4 buds showing up on all my pines.
Jonas Dupuich says
Hi Derek – it’s common for many buds to show up in the same place so it sounds like the tree is healthy! In general, the best time to thin pines is in fall. Thinning and cutback is a big topic, here’s an example of cutback on a red pine that might help: https://bonsaitonight.com/2018/04/20/thinning-a-red-pine-forest-2/
Derek says
Hi Jonas,
I would ask about the terminal buds as well. Should they be removed? If yes, when?
Winston Tyler says
Do these comments also apply to the Austrian Black Pine, pines negre?
Jonas Dupuich says
Great question Winston – Austrian black pines can produce the same three types of buds, but they don’t bud as easily as Japanese black pines. As a result, the development techniques are different for Austrian black pines.