Hi all.. I've got a peachcot that I bought several years ago (from rootstock) and it's currently about 4 years old. Anyway, last year we were remodelling the house and were not able to water it properly and it went through much of the summer heat w/o water. This seems to have effected it this year.. The leaves never really got past the early stages (never much bigger than a bottle cap) and the tree currently looks somewhat dead on the main branches despite keeping it well watered for the past 6 months. Anyway, my question has to do with suckers.. This tree has countless suckers near the base of the tree that I originally thought might be weeds.. Anyway, in looking at it closely this past weekend, it appears that the tree has perhaps sent out many suckers in search of water.. Some as far as 10 feet away.. Is this something I should be concerned about? I've chopped the majority of them down to ground level this past weekend but haven't trimmed around the main trunk.. Comments?
Whatever killed the scion (stone fruits are subject to many pests and diseases) it appears the stock is now trying to take over. You will probably want to kill these off before the patch gets even bigger.
I think I killed the scion probably due to lack of consistent water (we didn't have any water on the property for quite some time during remodeling). Is it possible that the Scion/tree will make it through this or should we just remove the tree and put something else in its place? I've never had something like this happen with a tree.. In reviewing what the definition of scion and stock are, it sounds like it could be possible that the stock is not necessarily a peachcot but could be something else (perhaps an Apricot).. Is that a valid assumption?
Yes: It's probably an open-pollinated seedling of some common hardy type of stone fruit or a rootstock cultivar selected for certain desired characteristics, like dwarfing or nematode resistance.
Thanks Ron! In thinking about it a bit closer, I think there may be a new leaf or two that I saw sprouting off the main trunk.. If that's the case then perhaps there's still hope.. My wife wants to move the tree (assuming it's still alive) to the front yard -- where I think it would probably give some great shade after a while.. Is it too late to move a fruit tree that's been in the ground for ~4 years or can it be done if I dig a REALLY wide hole? MTIA!
Thanks! I'll see about cutting down all of the stock growing about and see if I can keep that under control while the tree (scion) hopefully recovers on its own
i would wait till at least next fall to try and transplant it even if it recovers and starts growing good this year putting it right back into transplant shock would probably kill it. if you know how to graft i would graft one of the suckers/rootstock that sprouts away from the plant if one has sprouted in a good spot usually early spring is the time to graft not sure about grafting in mid summer for stone fruits.but that way if the main plant dies you have backup scion wood for later. you could also air layer the suckers/rootstock than graft to those next spring if they get to growing good. just a few thoughts good luck
