Pruning Weeping Cherry Trees and Other Grafted and Budded Ornamentals - Page 3
At my website, http://gardening-articles.com I've got a couple of photos that show exactly what I'm talking about in this article. You can clearly see the weeping effect that the Weeping Cherry tree is supposed to have, but then up through the middle come these branches that are no more than just suckers from the stem, or the rootstock as it is known in the nursery industry.
Looking closely at the photos you can see that these suckers originate from below the graft union. This problem could have been prevented if someone had just picked off these buds when they first emerged on the stem of the tree. Then they would have never developed into branches.
This tree can still be saved, but there will be a large scar on the stem when the upright branches are pruned off. But under the canopy of the weeping tree these scars will never show.
Another interesting plant that is grafted is the Weeping Cotoneaster. In this case the seedling that is grown to serve as the rootstock is Paul's Scarlet Hawthorn, and Cotoneaster Apiculata is grafted onto the Hawthorn rootstock at a height of 5'. Years ago a nurseryman found through experimentation that these two plants are actually compatible, and a beautiful and unique plant was created. I have one of these in my landscape and we love it.
Back to Previous Page
