fruit trees- suckers and water sprouts.

[mopinko]

so, i have this cherry tree. a purple cherry. it about 4 yrs old, and this thing just sends out suckers like it’s gonna die. it has a very scraggly habit anyway, sending out new shoots every which way. have yet to get cherries, and thinking it’s just a dud i shd take out.

i also have a pear that sends up water sprouts like crazy. partly cuz it got a too heavy crop too young and a lot of the branches got bent down. i had pros come and trim last yr, cuz things got away from me while i was sick for a long time. but there’s only so much they cd do at 1 time. can i trim these now, wait for the fruit to set, or just wait til winter?

any advice to get this stuff under control?

[piddyprints]

1. I wish I knew.

Our cherry trees produce regularly now, but we don't do anything to them. They're about 12 years old. The older pear trees are pretty mysterious. Whether or not I prune them, they either produce or not. We had a huge crop last year, but the squirrels ate them all before they were even ripe. That was a first and I surely don't know what to do about it.

The plums have set fruit this year, so we'll see what happens. Our blueberries produce every year for a full month.

Anyway, good luck with your trees. I hope you find some answers.

[alittlelark]

2. The root stock is trying to send up the shoots

It would produce terrible fruit it you let it. Fruit trees are always grafted to create a tree with strong root stock and good quality fruit I suggest cutting all suckers and wrapping the base in tree wound tape. Orchards use flexible tubes, but the white tape works well to prevent suckers.

[mopinko]

3. i actually dont think this 1 is grafted.

i know they usually r, but i vaguely recall this 1 wasnt.
but what does the tape do? the suckers r coming from underground.

[alittlelark]

4. If they r coming from underground cut a large circle of cardboard

Or even 2 with a hole in the center just large enough for the trunk. Slice thru the radius on one side so u can place the trunk in the cut-out center circle. Make sure it’s 6 or so inches past the last sucker on the outside edge. Weight it down. The suckers r looking for sun and won’t find any. Don’t be tempted by the ease of plastic - it would stunt the trees growth.

[mopinko]

5. hmm

that wd b about an 8' circle. useful tip tho.