I have seen the caution concerning leaving part of the petiole
but
haven't seen the reasoning.

If you cut or pull the petiole off you risk damage to the paired
leaf buds which are immediately beside the base of the petiole.
It is these paired buds (and others) that you want to break out
into new leaves.

By removing the leaf and leaving the at least part of the
petiole, you "fool" the tree into thinking it is fall, the
petiole withers and the emerging buds PUSH it off.

For aesthetic reasons, you might cut all but a stub of the
petiole off, but aesthetics should play a small role at this
stage of work on a tree.

Jim Lewis - - Tallahassee, FL - Only where
people have learned to appreciate and cherish the landscape and
its living cover will they treat it with the care and respect it
should have - Paul Bigelow Sears.

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