Watch as Spring Tree Buds Open

Identify the Parts of a Twig

Mar 1, 2009 Susan Caplan

Snip some twigs from a few trees this spring and watch as the buds open indoors. Learn how the twigs tell you about the tree's past and future growth.

You can bring branches indoors and watch closed buds open into spring blossoms, a process called forcing. While waiting for the buds to open, you can learn about trees and their leaves-to-be.

Collect Branches with Buds You Can Force

To gather branches you will need some help from an adult and a pair of garden clippers. Snipping off the twigs will cause less harm to the tree than trying to break them off by hand. Branches on the ground likely fell off the tree because they are dead. Pick up a fallen twig and snap it, if it breaks easily then the wood is dead. If it bends, it is living.

You are looking for wood with a bright green layer beneath the bark. This is the cambium and it is the growing part of the tree. Cut a collection of budded twigs from different trees.

Examining the Buds on Trees

Snip the twigs at an angle, which creates more area for the tree to absorb water. Set them into a container with a sturdy base and add water. Find a place to set your branches so you can check them each day yet someone won’t knock over your display.

Bud Scales

The buds you are looking at formed last summer and contain the spring’s flowers and leaves. A bud scale protects the leaves-to-be from becoming injured or drying out. Different buds have distinctive scale patterns.

Terminal Buds

Find the buds at the tips of each twig. These are the terminal buds. They mark the end of the twigs growth for one season and the start of the next season’s growth.

Bud Scale Scar

Move your eye down the twig to the thin ring circling it. This is where last year’s terminal bud grew. The distance between the bud scale scar and the terminal bud is how much this part of the tree grew last year.

Lateral Buds

Buds along the side of a twig are lateral buds and may contain stems and leaves, flowers, or both. The pattern the lateral buds form can help you identify the tree. Opposite buds are on either side of the twig. Alternate buds form a zigzag pattern. Whorled buds encircle the twig.

Leaf Scars

Directly beneath a bud you will find a scar showing you where last year’s leaf fell off.

Lenticels

The spots and lines you see along the twigs’ bark are lenticels, vents that exchange carbon dioxide and oxygen between the tree’s tissues and the outside air.

Comparing the Buds on the Twigs

  • Can you see different bud scale patterns on different branches? How many different types, or species, of trees do you have?
  • Look at the distance between the terminal bud and the bud scale scar. Of the branches you collected, which grew the most last summer?
  • Examine the lateral buds on each twig. If one twig has buds that are different sizes, the larger one contains flowers and the smaller one will develop into leaves. Watch the buds as they open and see if your observation is correct.
  • Do the different branches show differently shaped leaf scars? How would you describe these shapes?
  • What shape lenticels do you see along the branches? What colors are the different twigs?

To force buds to open indoors, cut twigs from a variety of trees late in the winter or early spring and set them in water. The time of the season will determine how long you’ll have to wait for the buds to open. While you wait, observe the parts and unique qualities of each twig.

The copyright of the article Watch as Spring Tree Buds Open in Kids Activities is owned by Susan Caplan. Permission to republish Watch as Spring Tree Buds Open in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.
Buds Getting Ready to Blossom, Susan Caplan Buds Getting Ready to Blossom
   
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