Q.In botanical gardens and tea gardens, gardeners trim the plants regularly so that they remain bushy. Does this practice have any scientific explanation?

Yes — trimming is a direct, practical application of apical dominance. In most plants the growing apical bud suppresses the lateral (axillary) buds beneath it. Removing the shoot tips by trimming takes away this suppressing apex, so the lateral buds are released from dominance and begin to grow out, producing many new side shoots. This is exactly the effect used deliberately in tea plantations and hedge-making to keep plants bush …

In most higher plants, the growing apical bud exerts an inhibitory effect on the lateral (axillary) buds located along the stem, a phenomenon called apical dominance. As long as the apical bud is intact and actively growing, the lateral buds beneath it remain largely suppressed, so the plant tends to grow tall and comparatively thin, with few side branches. …

Method: Recognising an Apical-Dominance-Based Horticultural Practice

This method applies to any question asking "why does a gardening/farming practice (trimming, mowing, pruning, pinching) produce a bushier or denser plant?"

Steps

Step 1: Identify what the practice physically removes

Ask what part of the plant the practice cuts away. If the answer is "the growing tip / terminal shoot / apical bud," you are almost certainly dealing with apical dominance, not some other hormone effect.

Step 2: Recall the underlying rule

The apical bud maintains a higher auxin concentration than the lateral buds beneath it, and this auxin actively suppresses lateral bud growth. As long as the apex is intact, the plant grows tall with few branches.

Step 3: Apply cause and effect to the specific scenario …