Hi, live up in Merritt, BC...today my partner and neighbour said they were going to prune the fruit trees we have here, we are renters. I specifically said to go easy because I grew up with a father nicknamed Edward Scissorhands and I know all too well the disappointment that comes from overpruning. Anyway, they called me out to look and they totally decimated the chokecherry. They barely left any stump ( few maybe three inches) plus cut off all the suckers growing nearby. I refrained from having a fit outside but lost my bananas once inside the privacy of the house. What will be my best approach to a/get the stump growing some shoots and b/rooting hormone propagation. We are about Zone 5 here so there are some buds on the branches but no leaves yet. Would someone give me some multiple options as to how I should get some branches growing. Really I'm just feeling like weeping.
By choke cherry what plant are we talking about? Is it a shrub or a tree? Could we see a picture of the damage?
It is very sad what they did to your tree. I understand what you feel. However I can see on the pic a very nice looking, strong, although still very young shoot growing there. That shoot will grow very quickly and in a few years you will have a very nice young tree growing there. Fortunately the pruning was done at the right time of year. All nutrients accumulated in the roots to force a new growth in your tree will go now to what is left. It does not need anything more.
Thanks for responding.....that shoot is just a cutting I stuck in for perspective. Do you think it's possible the stump might sprout shoots given some time? My anger and what feels like grief is one thing & then there's the big concern as to how the landlords are going to feel about this.
Oh so it is a tree, likely Prunus virginiana. I always mix up choke cherry and choke berry. It is an unfortunate situation that they've permanently changed the form of the tree. In many cases in the wild, it is more shrub-like, forming dense thickets. It may grow some nice suckers from the base, which you can prune selectively to try to encourage a nice form again. Right now, it's a bit of a waiting game. You could try to propagate it from cuttings but it is not an area of expertise for me, someone else might be better suited to answer that.
Prunus virginiana suckers very easily. I am sure in a couple of months you will see them growing. After another two months or so you can remove the weakest ones and leave only two or three strongest. Next year you can decide if you want to keep all of them, or to leave only one. Or you can leave only one already this year. As I already said, they don't need any special care, they will grow vigorously having support of all those roots ready to feed the whole tree.
