In article ,
kay wrote:


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.

Thanks. My understanding is that most Amelanchiers are propagated
by either seed or layering, anyway.


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.