Sometimes a plant has buds exactly where you want a branch—but they just won’t wake up. Bud notching is a small, precise trick that can help you nudge a plant in the right direction.
Bud notching means making a shallow cut just above a dormant bud. This interrupts the downward flow of auxin from the shoot tip. With less hormonal suppression, the bud below the cut is more likely to break dormancy and grow.
It’s especially useful on fruit trees when you want a branch in a specific spot, rather than lots of random new growth. Compared to pruning an entire branch, notching is gentle and targeted.
In practice: use a clean, sharp knife and make a short cut through the bark (not deep into the wood) a few millimeters above the bud. Timing matters—late winter or early spring usually works best.
Because the rest of the plant stays intact, roots and soil life experience less shock. That makes bud notching a low-disturbance way to shape plants while keeping the whole system calm and balanced.
