I sometimes wonder how these plants ever managed to survive in the wilderness.

==>>> i used to wonder the same from the youngsters in my kids school with the helicopter moms .. and dads ... a lot of them turned out very neurotic ...

try not to love your plants to their detriment.. i found that abject neglect often worked better than too much love ...

ken

Bill - To help ease your mind, the new growth that occurs in the leaf axil, the crotch formed by the leaf and the branch it's attached to, is a new branch. The rooted Ficus microcarpa cutting you see in the image below has 2 new branches developing in the axils of the 2 mature leaves.

The buds from which these new branches grow (axillary buds) are not singular. There is a single file row of buds in every leaf axil just waiting for the opportunity to make something of themselves. If a leaf is shed, it leaves behind a scar which is visible for a varying length of time, usually 1-5 years; but still, that row of latent buds persists and ready to erupt. So while you mourn the loss, there are many more in the same position ready and willing to replace the lost.

In many species of woody plants new branches appear and are clearly seen but seem to have suspended growth. Example:

These would-be nascent branches are being inhibited from growing by a growth regulator/ hormone (auxin) which is produced in all living tissue, but the primary source is the growing tips of branches, the branch apex or apical meristem. Cutting off (pinching/ pinching out) the source of the lion's share of the growth regulator suppressing these lateral branches allows another growth regulator to become dominant and stimulate these "stalled" buds to grow. Pruning is the only SURE way to make new branches grow where you want them; however, improving cultural conditions (high light loads, air movement, appropriate temps, good air:moisture level in the grow medium, and luxury level fertility will usually stimulate new branching in most plants that branch. You might also have some success by removing the mature leaves from the node above the node where you want new branching to occur. Example:

Note the branch I have pinched back to 2 leaves. That pinch will (reliably) force new branches to grow in the axils of the 2 smaller leaves. Removing the larger mature leaf will reduce the flow of auxin flowing toward the roots from that leaf. This is often enough to ease suppression of new growth in the node immediately proximal (closer to the roots).

Too, there are several contributors to this fora who could probably provide a name to fix that NOID thing. If not, you could always try the Name that Plant forum.

Al

Bill, it's ok to admit it is an obsession. I will admit it.. Ha. All my plants from the tiniest to the largest are!

Bill, I have done the very same thing. In fact just the other day I dropped one right on the ground, and of course it fell upside down and broke. The one that I have been waiting to see growth on forever. So frustrating. I can tell you one thing, there are no clean floors in my house or in my driveway as long as I own potted plants.

I have so many NOIDS my friends.

Al, good to have you around ))

Clean floors? I specialize in decorating my house with pumice bits, sometimes a bit of bark as well on special occasions.

Wendy. haha, good one. Good thing we don't have white rugs, or worst yet, burba.

Have you ever wondered why when a potted plant falls, it never falls right side up? lol