Tree buds are fascinating containers that assure trees’
survival. Filled with the
promise of trees to come, the swelling and opening of buds
are sure signs that spring has
arrived.

Buds’ many
jobs

Buds shield and hide new growth and flowers. At their
centers, they cover small growing
points that hold the genetic legacy trees are trying to
reproduce.

They come in both leaf and flower forms. The flower
buds expand to reveal various
sexual parts of the tree. Some contain only male parts,
while others contain only female.

The buds containing sets of both sexual parts can be
scattered all over the tree or
segregated. Many trees have female, seed-producing flowers
near the top and male,
pollen-producing parts near the bottom of the tree
crown.

Flower buds

The flower buds of some tree species have a complete
set of parts representing both
sexes. Other trees have only male or female parts on any
one tree.

All flower parts in buds are at some stage of
development. Some are completely formed
and just need water to pump them up. Others have tissues
that need to develop before they
can be expanded.

For spring-blooming trees, cutting into a flower bud
shows miniature tissues crumpled
and wrapped around each other, waiting for the proper
signal to grow.

Some trees have flowers that begin to form colors in
the bud. Others wait for bud
expansion to generate colors. Still other buds contain
tissues that will remain green or
brown and blow in the wind.

What’s in a bud?

Buds themselves comprise a resting stage for tree
tissues, a quiet way station bridging
the gap from one season to the next.

If you think only the flower buds contain a tree’s
genetic future, think again.

Leaves,
too

As spring temperatures and soil water supplies begin to
rise, the leaf buds begin to
swell. The leaves inside the buds uncurl and fill out.
Extra growth may be completed along
the edges of the leaf blades.

The outside of a leaf bud is covered with bud scales.
These hard, tough scales help
protect the baby leaves from water loss and physical
damage.

Some bud scales have unique colors and coverings of
various fibers and waxes. Sometimes
you can find these scales scattered across the ground
under a tree that has fast expanded
its leaves.

And so on, and so on. . .

At the base of mature, fully expanded leaves are buds —
growing points covered by bud
scales. These growing points could grow to be next year’s
flowers or leaves.

If its leaf is damaged or knocked off, though, the
growing point could expand into a
new sprout this year. For most leaf-base buds, they sit
quietly under their protective bud
scales awaiting a wake-up call.

Trees have buds nested inside other buds. Looking
inside the buds of many tree species,
you can see the baby leaves that will some day expand and
serve the tree. Inside these
buds, at the base of each baby leaf is a baby bud.

Assuring
survival

Trees assure their survival by producing many growing
points, only a few of which ever
grow. Buds are a way to externally protect the precious
growing points from damage.

As buds become surrounded by wood and overgrown with
bark, some die. Many others no
longer form scales but grow enough each year to stay just
below the bark.

The trees keep them in reserve in case surface buds,
leaves and branches are damaged.
Called dormant or latent buds, the tree can quickly expand
them into new shoots if needed.

Notice the buds on your trees. Think about the wonder
of how each bud contains the
foundation for many other buds and many other years.