karaman wrote:
hallo,

have some old apples and an apricot tree in garden. they all throw up
shoots from the roots under the soil. moving house, would like to take
both with me to new garden.

Question:a) is it any use digging up these shoots to take with me - are
they likely to be the same as the parent - have no idea what variety
they are, so cant just go buy one. b) is it any good nurturing one of
these shoots so that it takes over from the parent when it dies? c) if
the answer is no to above, then why does the tree throw them up anyway?
and should i cut them down?

thanks

karaman

karaman,

If either of these two trees are grafted (apple maybe and apricot less
likely), these root suckers growing from the ground do not have the
characteristics of the tree above them. If not grafted, then they do.

Best way to be sure is to cut off some twigs of new growth from them
when the trees go dormant. Place them in closed plastic bags with
damp toweling and keep them in the fridge until next Spring. Then
get some apple and peach rootstock and graft them atop. If you
haven't moved by then, plant them in pots that you can take with you
to your new home.

Sherwin