Hello all. Some of my young fruit trees (around 3 years old) are sporting branches that are coming out of the root stock (below the graft site). What do I do about these? I have heard that I should rip them out rather than cutting them as this will only stimulate further growth. Any suggestions? Thanks. :)
I usually pinch these off when they are still new. However, if they are hardwood branches, just prune them off each time they show up. You want your rootstock to focus it's energies on the scion (upper) part of the tree. I wouldn't recommend ripping branches off your tree, as it may cause excess damage to the tree.
you could also air layer the suckers that way you have rootstock for more plants if you know how to graft than after you prune the air layer off trim the suckers on the main tree to the ground.
