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Author Topic: Suckers on ornamental trees  (Read 4950 times)

Offline buzzbee

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Suckers on ornamental trees
« on: September 06, 2010, 10:09:30 pm »
I have a couple bradford pear and a couple flowering plums in the front yard. They like to throw suckers from the root stock. Did I not plant them deep enough or is there something else i need to do. I keep cutting them off,but they keep growing back or start a new one.

Offline hardwood

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Re: Suckers on ornamental trees
« Reply #1 on: September 06, 2010, 10:19:07 pm »
I don't know much about pears or plums, but I do know there's a sucker born every minute  :-D

Scott
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Offline buzzbee

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Re: Suckers on ornamental trees
« Reply #2 on: September 06, 2010, 10:34:25 pm »
I don't know much about pears or plums, but I do know there's a sucker born every minute  :-D

Scott
And i'm a born again sucker,LOL ;)

Offline AllenF

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Re: Suckers on ornamental trees
« Reply #3 on: September 06, 2010, 10:35:13 pm »
Our plums, cherries, and blueberries all have suckers.  We just cut them low with the mower to keep them down, but you could mulch or use pine straw as a weed/ sucker stopper.  I don't think it matters how deep you plant, it is where the roots grow out that the suckers come from.

Offline buzzbee

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Re: Suckers on ornamental trees
« Reply #4 on: September 07, 2010, 07:49:26 am »
These seem to come from the  joint where the rootstock may have been grafted to the top.

Offline Scadsobees

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Re: Suckers on ornamental trees
« Reply #5 on: September 07, 2010, 09:41:05 am »
Those are normal... I think it is from the slightly stronger rootstock continually trying to bypass the graft, if you don't remove them, then you lose the graft.  I can't tell you how many ornamental pears and cherries I see that look nice for a while then somebody doesn't remove a sucker and all of a sudden one year that little weeping cherry right next to the house becomes a great big tall monster cherry!! :roll:

Some bushes normally spread through suckers, but I think that is the case for most trees.
Rick

Offline Brian D. Bray

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Re: Suckers on ornamental trees
« Reply #6 on: September 07, 2010, 01:14:35 pm »
I agree that root suckers are normal, a nusance but normal.  Most small to medium sized horticultural shrubs or "trees" will send up root suckers.  Every fruit tree I have send up rain suckers, the in orchard the sheep and goats keep them down, but in the yard I have to mow them continuously right along with the grass.  The lilacs and plums are exceptionally prolifc this way, I have patches were the root suckers have crowded out the grass and I just keep mowing.  Hazelnuts (filberts) are another one that is famous for root suckers.  If you don't keep them cut back your hazelnut tree quickly becomes a brushy thicket.
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Offline buzzbee

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Re: Suckers on ornamental trees
« Reply #7 on: September 07, 2010, 06:51:09 pm »
Brushy thicket,that is exactly what would happen without constant trimming. Thanks everyone.