apple and apricot tree shoots

[karaman]

hallo,

have some old apples and an apricot tree in garden. they all throw up shoots from the roots under the soil. moving house, would like to take both with me to new garden.

Question:a) is it any use digging up these shoots to take with me - are they likely to be the same as the parent - have no idea what variety they are, so cant just go buy one. b) is it any good nurturing one of these shoots so that it takes over from the parent when it dies? c) if the answer is no to above, then why does the tree throw them up anyway? and should i cut them down?

thanks

karaman the spirit never dies

+++++++++++++++

[gunner]

Try stooling em, a form of layering. although you may not have the time if moving soon. air layering may work. If time is short you may have to take hardwood cuttings and hope for the best.

cut the bottom out of a old pot, wounded the shoots and them slipped the pot over the shoots. Didn't use any hormones with this group. Filled it with a peat mix and a bit of fertilizer compost, don't use any soil mix that may harbor disease. this next spring I will lift the pot and cut the lower roots, then in the nursery till it is well established.

Yes, the offspring will be the same as the parent,

Yes, start training a shoot or branch. I have a old golden plum I saved from the garbage heap in that is in end stage counseling right now, I had close to 80 lbs of fruit from her this year but she has terrible bark rot. I have been training a branch to take her place and also have shoots stooling as a back up.

As for xtra shoots you don't intend to use yes, do cut them to direct their energy back to the parent.good luck

[sherwin dubren]

karaman,

If either of these two trees are grafted (apple maybe and apricot less likely), these root suckers growing from the ground do not have the characteristics of the tree above them. If not grafted, then they do.

Best way to be sure is to cut off some twigs of new growth from them when the trees go dormant. Place them in closed plastic bags with damp toweling and keep them in the fridge until next Spring. Then get some apple and peach rootstock and graft them atop. If you haven't moved by then, plant them in pots that you can take with you to your new home.

Sherwin

[David Hare-Scott]

Propagating the shoots is only useful if they are the same tissue as you want to bear fruit. This will be the case if these trees are not grafted or if the shoots are from above the graft. You can frequently tell by inspection. Mostly shoots from around the base of a fruit tree are from the rootstock (ie below the graft on a grafted tree) and not suitable. If they are from under the ground they are from rootstock and have probably been stimulated to grow because at some time the roots have been disturbed by over enthusiastic cultivation, mowing or traffic.

David

[gunner]

As I read the comments I find I told you how to do it but not I don't think I addressed your questions all together well.

1. "is it any use digging up these shoots to take with me"? I think so, nostalgia would be my prime purpose but apple stock @ US nursery prices are ~25-35 USD. so for a little investment in work and a little time...
2. "are they likely to be the same as the parent"?, my answer was yes but as Sherwin and David pointed out, it does depend. So "Who's the daddy"! Paternity test are expensive Dan any graft marks maybe long lost. Also note that shoots on some citrus trees ( especially apples) don't fare or produce as well as the parent, maybe smaller tree, maybe smaller fruit, inferior taste.....
3. is it any good nurturing one of these shoots so that it takes over from the parent when it dies? I believe so but I also believe in selection of the fittest. First, ask yourself if it is nostalgia or quality and quantity of fruit that drives these questions ?
4. why does the tree throw them up anyway? Survival.

1. should i cut them down? Again yes, to drive the energy back to the tree unless you are going to use them.

Personally, I would use the shoots, if for nothing else, as rootstock. As an contingency or if you are unsure if the tree was originally grafted, I would also take cuttings( there are many cuttings, so look them up) and try grafting or budding onto the root stock.

The American Horticultural Society's PLANT PROPAGATION book is a good resource. Should be available at your library.

'm sure David and Sherwin could give their fav resource material for grafting/budding also.

[sherwin dubren]

There is a ton of sites describing grafting of fruit trees. Just Google for it. My club has a section on it at

If you really want to be sure you get the same fruit at your new location, safest bet is to take a cutting from an upper branch of 'new' (last seasen's growth) in the spring and either graft it immediately to a rootstock while the tree is still dormant. You can alternately store the twig (scion) in a damp plastic bag in the frig until the summer and do a bud graft onto a rootstock or another peach tree. Chip buds are usually the easiest and most successful.

Sherwin