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Old 22-02-2014, 09:47 AM
kay kay is offline
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First recorded activity by GardenBanter: Apr 2010
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Nick Maclaren[_3_] View Post
I have bought an Amelanchier laevis "Snowflakes", which has been
shrubified quite low down leaving exposed dead sapwood. That
is a bit annoying, as I would have preferred it to be left as a
single-stemmed plant. But my real questions are how deeply to
plant it and where it will reshoot from if it needs to.

I doubt that covering the dead sapwood is a good idea, but is it
likely to reshoot from the roots if it falls apart there? I know
that it can grow as either a tree or a shrub (as is common among
the woody Rosaceae), but no more than that. In other words, is
it more like an apple or a plum?
This doesn't answer your question but indicates the toughness of amelanchiers. Mine (species unknown) when about 2ft high had its main stem snapped by a toddler on a runaway trike. A secondary stem took over and is now a fine trunk about 3in dia. The snapped trunk sent out a few more shoots which are thinner but full height - I could turn it into a tree by taking these out but prefer not to.

Interestingly, the two halves, while looking identical, are slightly out of synch in both flowering and leaf colouring in the autumn. I don't think it's that the rootstock has shooted - the two halves are identical in everything except timing.
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