Stage One: Dormant Buds.
When the buds are dormant, the roots are also dormant. During this time the tree can be lifted from the ground or its current pot, bare rooted if necessary and repotted.
In late spring dormant buds set from the previous summer begin to swell and elongate. These new elongated areas are called candles. (Figures 2, 3). As the weeks go by the candles continue their elongation and also harden off new needles.
Cut a little bit higher than the position you want bud break and hope you get it where you want it, or inspect the trunk closely for the small bumps that may be dormant buds.
Wiring and bending the branches then seems to stimulate dormant buds to develop when the tree begins to leaf out.
In this picture of an Acer palmatum branch, it is possible to see both dormant buds on the left-hand side of the branch, and extending buds that indicate that the tree is coming out of dormancy and is ready to be repotted.
Therefore, the bonsai is still strong enough to leaf out again, but lacks the initial burst of spring energy to produce large leaves and when dormant buds are activated, smaller leaves result.
All Broadleaved trees: Pruning back close to dormant buds at old leaf scars or internodes, or points where branches fork, in midsummer induces these buds to develop. Leave a short stub at first and remove it when the new shoots have hardened.
 See also: Dormant, Tree, Growing, Bonsai, Pruning
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