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Many gardeners are faced with the problem of the formation of numerous root shoots in cherries. Often, even after uprooting a tree, young sprouts stubbornly continue to make their way into the light, filling the space of the garden. Getting rid of cherry overgrowth on the site is quite difficult, it will take time and effort.
Why do cherries have shoots
The source of the formation of root shoots in cherries are horizontal roots close to the surface of the earth. The more of them a tree has, the more intensively new shoots form on them.
Cherry root growth reduces yield and interferes with work
There may be several reasons for the formation of a large number of root shoots. Here are the main ones.
- Features of the variety.
- Individual qualities of rootstock and scion.
- Wrong landing. If the roots of the seedling were not buried properly when planting, they can begin to spread almost over the top.
- Strong pruning. Incorrect or excessive shortening of shoots can give impetus to increased growth of root shoots.
- Damage to the root system, trunks or skeletal branches of cherries.
- Improper watering.
- Poor compatibility of scion and rootstock.
Fallen berries can be another reason for excessive growth of basal processes. Cherry pits germinate well and can become a source of a large number of shoots.
How to deal with cherry growth
Root growth is a big problem for gardeners. Because of this, the cherry literally “spreads” around the site, making it difficult to excavate in the immediate vicinity of the tree. In addition, growing shoots take a significant amount of strength and nutrients from the mother plant, and this negatively affects its yield.
Scheme of the formation of root growth, rapidly spreading over the site
Root growth can be dealt with in various ways, but this struggle is far from always successful. Often, after a short period of time after removal, the number of young shoots not only does not decrease, but also increases many times over. The reason for this will be the incorrect removal of the overgrowth. A feature of the cherry is its vitality, the tree perceives any mechanical impact as a threat to its life and takes retaliatory measures, releasing many young sprouts. This must be taken into account, and when removing root shoots, try not to injure either the roots or the aerial part of the plant.
How to remove cherry shoots in a chemistry area
In order to remove the root shoots of cherries from the site, herbicides can be used – the same substances and compounds as for the destruction of weeds. Glyphosate-based formulations are the most widely used among these drugs. These include Roundup, Tornado, Hurricane.
These drugs act on the vegetation is not selective. If you spray the root zone with herbicides, then both weeds and young cherry shoots die.
Herbicides destroy not only cherry shoots, but also other plants
Many gardeners have a negative attitude towards the use of herbicides in the garden, rightly believing that the ingress of the active substance into the tissues of the tree can have negative consequences for it. In this case, there is only one way to remove the root growth of cherries – mechanical.
How to uproot cherries on the site with your own hands
If the cherry is old, withered or diseased, then you need to get rid of it. Cutting down the ground part of the tree is not difficult, it can be easily done with a hacksaw or chainsaw. Much more problems for the gardener are cleaning from the stump site. If it is not completely uprooted, then the root growth will continue to bother the gardener even after the tree is removed. The branched root system will continue to intensively absorb nutrients from the soil, however, due to the lack of the ground part, the plant is forced to spend them on the formation of new shoots. Hemp must be uprooted, if possible, while choosing all the remaining cherry roots from the ground.
The easiest way to uproot the stump is with an excavator or other heavy equipment.
The easiest way to uproot a stump from a cherry on a site is mechanical. In this case, it is simply torn out of the ground using powerful equipment, such as an excavator. If access to the site of heavy vehicles is not possible, then you will have to work with a hand tool. The stump is dug in from all sides, exposing the horizontal surface roots as far as possible. They are completely torn out of the ground, all the rest, going deeper, are chopped with an ax. After that, the hole is covered with earth.
A large stump, if time permits, can also be removed chemically. On the saw cut, it is necessary to drill as many deep holes as possible with a diameter of 8-12 mm, which are filled with table salt or ammonium nitrate¸ and then closed with wax or paraffin. For 1-1,5 years, the salts will completely destroy the structure of the tree, the stump will dry out. After that, you can uproot such a cherry without much effort. When using ammonium nitrate, the dried stump is set on fire. The wood impregnated with ammonium nitrate smolders perfectly, and in a short time the stump completely burns out along with the roots and shoots.
You can also destroy the stump by chemical means.
A video on how to destroy a stump from a cherry or any other tree without uprooting or cutting it down can be viewed at the link:
How to remove the growth of cherries folk remedies
The only folk remedies that are effective against cherry shoots are a shovel and a chopper. If a tree regularly forms numerous root shoots, then it is better to remove such a cherry from the garden forever and replace the variety with another one. A good option to limit the spread of horizontal roots is to dig slate sheets around the cherry trunk at a distance of 0,7-0,75 m. In this case, the shoots will grow only inside this near-trunk circle. Regular pruning at a height of 0,25-0,3 m gradually reduces the number of sprouts, however, it may take years to completely “wean” the cherry from throwing out new root shoots.
Regular pruning of overgrowth gradually reduces its number.
It is noticed that any damage to the roots of the cherry provokes the rapid growth of root shoots. Therefore, as a preventive measure, it is recommended not to excavate in the root zone of the tree. During the summer heat, it is advisable to cover the trunk circle with spruce branches or straw. This will avoid cracking the soil, which can cause damage to the root system. It is noticed that frequent watering also provokes the growth of root shoots. Therefore, cherries should be watered rarely, but plentifully.
It is believed that the best way to remove cherry shoots is to dig it up to the root and carefully cut it, then cover the cut with garden pitch. However, this procedure is extremely labor intensive. Therefore, many gardeners, in an effort to get rid of cherry thickets, simply mow the young growth at ground level with a trimmer or lawn mower. You should not postpone this work until the end of the season, all shoots must be removed green until they are woody. It will be more difficult to do this later.
Mowing with a trimmer is a quick and effective way to get rid of root shoots.
When working with a trimmer when mowing the root zone, precautions must be taken. Small debris, flying pieces of earth, pebbles and pieces of wood can seriously injure a tree trunk, damage the bark on it. To prevent this from happening, you need to put on a trunk a plastic bottle cut along the length with a cut off neck and bottom. If the damage did occur, then the entire wound must be covered with garden pitch.
What cherry does not give shoots
Not all types of cherries are prone to the formation of root shoots. Varieties such as Crimson, Vladimirskaya, Lyubskaya, Minx almost do not give basal sprouts, while Malinovka, Molodezhnaya, Polevka, Shchedraya or Rastorguevka form them very intensively.
If the cherry is grafted, then its ability to shoot is determined not by the variety, but by the characteristics of the rootstock. Seed rootstocks almost do not form root shoots, as well as some clonal ones (Izmailovsky, AVCH-2). But own-rooted species are most prone to the formation of root shoots, since this is their natural way of reproduction. Moreover, young sprouts begin to appear even in young plants.
Tree care after growth removal
Any special events after the removal of root shoots are usually not carried out. This procedure does not cause any damage to cherry trees, but only if the roots were not damaged. If the cutting of the shoots was carried out directly at the root, then in this place the tears must be covered with garden pitch. Otherwise, infection or fungal spores can get into the wound.
All sections must be covered with garden pitch.
If the stem of the tree was cleaned from the young shoots, then it is also desirable to treat all sections with garden pitch.
Prevention of the appearance of overgrowth on the site
It is unlikely that it will be possible to permanently remove the root growth of cherries on the site, but it is quite possible to reduce its amount to a minimum. Here is what experienced gardeners recommend doing for this.
- Do not plant varieties that are prone to the formation of root shoots. Choose seedlings grafted onto seed stocks.
- Avoid carrying out any work with the earth in the area of uXNUMXbuXNUMXbthe roots of the cherry tree. Nothing should be planted directly in the near-trunk circle.
- Do not allow the soil to dry out in the root zone. Water rarely, but plentifully, and then mulch the trunk circle.
- Cut off emerging growth immediately, before it becomes woody.
- Avoid mechanical damage to the stem of the cherry tree and its roots.
- Pruning, especially cardinal, should not be done at once, but over several years.
- Limit the spread of horizontal roots by digging sheets of slate or other dense material (metal, plastic) around the cherry to a depth of at least 0,5 m.
- The root zone can be covered with a layer of roofing material or other dense material, such as old linoleum. Nothing will grow under it, including root shoots.
- Remove fallen berries.
- Take measures to prevent the occurrence of diseases and pests.
The better the cherry care, the less root growth will be.
Strictly speaking, any measures aimed at maintaining the health of cherries will be the prevention of the appearance of root shoots. Timely feeding and watering, caring for the near-trunk circle, treatment for diseases and pests, competent timely pruning and whitewashing of boles – all this contributes to the good condition of the trees and does not provoke them to grow new root shoots. That is why you need to take care of the health of cherries, on time and in full to carry out all the work to care for the plantations.
Conclusion
Probably every gardener dreams of completely getting rid of cherry overgrowth on the site, but not everyone succeeds. The main assistant in this matter is undoubtedly patience. Even a heavily neglected cherry orchard can be brought back to life, but it will take time and a lot of work. And in order to avoid such a situation, it is necessary to choose the right varieties and regularly care for cherries, starting from the moment the seedling is planted.