In article , Victoria
Clare writes
At the bottom of my garden is a deciduous tree, or rather,now, trees, as
whatever it is has an extreme tendency to sucker - not just near the
trunk but even up from the roots many feet away from the parent.

It's got undistinguished knobbly brown bark, a couple of trunks up to
about 3 in diameter, and medium-sized green leaves that look a little
like small apple leaves, but rather smaller and finer.

A pure guess, but it's not one of the wild cherries, is it?

The twigs tend to die back in winter, leaving a mass of brittle
deadwood, but this is not much of a problem for the tree, as it produces
many fast-growing shoots in spring and summer, and the snapped-off
deadwood stumps leave a scratchy feel almost as if the trunk had thorns.

The young shoots are flushed reddish, and quite delicate. The tallest
of the thicket is about 15 feet tall.

Apart from suckering like nobody's business, the trunks and thicker
stems hopefully put out small knobbly yellow roots at intervals. The
growth habit is more upright than that of an apple, and the twigs are a
lot finer.

I noticed today that some of it has put out some apple-like flowers,
though the flowers are not grouped in clumps, but single white or pale
pink dotted thinly among the top stems.

(The apple trees in my garden are not yet in bloom, to give a basis for
comparison in terms of timing, though an apricot and nectarine are in
full flower.)

Can anyone guess what it could be? And do I want to keep it?

(At the moment I'm thinking 'no, it's ugly - but on the other hand, how
on earth can I remove it? The suckering stems cover an area of perhaps
20 square feet, also inhabited by apple trees I'd like to keep, so
digging it up is not an option. I could perhaps fell the large bits and
use stump poison, but I'm not sure how well this would work on this
extremely vigorous plant which sprouts roots and suckers so
enthusiastically. I can't just mow off the suckers, because the ground
is too steep, and very uneven. )

Someone tell me it is rare and precious and I don't need to think about
removing it ;-)

Victoria Clare

--
Kay Easton

Edward's earthworm page:
http://www.scarboro.demon.co.uk/edward/index.htm

In article ,
Victoria Clare writes:
|
| Can anyone guess what it could be? And do I want to keep it?

When you say apple-like flowers, have you checked closely enough
to be sure that it is one of the Rosacea? If not, it would be
worth posting a precise botanical description, using some serious
plant book for guidance.

The precise leaf growth and shape would also be critical.

Yes, it baffles me.


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

"Victoria Clare" wrote in message .217...
At the bottom of my garden is a deciduous tree, or rather,now, trees, as
whatever it is has an extreme tendency to sucker - not just near the
trunk but even up from the roots many feet away from the parent.

It's got undistinguished knobbly brown bark, a couple of trunks up to
about 3 in diameter, and medium-sized green leaves that look a little
like small apple leaves, but rather smaller and finer.

The twigs tend to die back in winter, leaving a mass of brittle
deadwood, but this is not much of a problem for the tree, as it produces
many fast-growing shoots in spring and summer, and the snapped-off
deadwood stumps leave a scratchy feel almost as if the trunk had thorns.

The young shoots are flushed reddish, and quite delicate. The tallest
of the thicket is about 15 feet tall.

Apart from suckering like nobody's business, the trunks and thicker
stems hopefully put out small knobbly yellow roots at intervals. The
growth habit is more upright than that of an apple, and the twigs are a
lot finer.

I noticed today that some of it has put out some apple-like flowers,
though the flowers are not grouped in clumps, but single white or pale
pink dotted thinly among the top stems.

(The apple trees in my garden are not yet in bloom, to give a basis for
comparison in terms of timing, though an apricot and nectarine are in
full flower.)

Can anyone guess what it could be? And do I want to keep it?

(At the moment I'm thinking 'no, it's ugly - but on the other hand, how
on earth can I remove it? The suckering stems cover an area of perhaps
20 square feet, also inhabited by apple trees I'd like to keep, so
digging it up is not an option. I could perhaps fell the large bits and
use stump poison, but I'm not sure how well this would work on this
extremely vigorous plant which sprouts roots and suckers so
enthusiastically. I can't just mow off the suckers, because the ground
is too steep, and very uneven. )

Sounds rather like some of the things that were used as rootstocks for Apricots/Peaches etc here years ago. As you have
already anticipated - not at all easy to get without.

Rod

"Rod" wrote in
:

Sounds rather like some of the things that were used as rootstocks for
Apricots/Peaches etc here years ago. As you have already anticipated -
not at all easy to get without.

Aaargh - that sounds all too likely. The apple trees nearby must be 20
years old at the least and the tree (s) are on the north side of a stone
wall, which I'd have thought unpromising for apricots or peaches.


Nick suggested I post more botanical detail, so here it is:

Flower colour is white. Flower is about 2cm across, with 5 petals, 5
sepals, and lots of separate stamens. The flowers are on stalks about
7mm long.

I originally thought the flowers appeared singly, but a more thorough
inspection shows they are in small clumps of 2 or 3, with only one
flower fully in bloom at the moment.

The stigma is on a style about the same length as the stamens. Anthers
and stigma are yellow, and the area immediately around the ovary is a
darkish yellow-brown.

The merged base of the sepals forms a cup around the ovary. The stamens
and petals are attached to the cup.

So far the tree has produced no fruit that I have noticed.

Leaves are ovate-elliptical and very slightly toothed (barely visibly),
with very fine hairs on the backs. They are spaced alternately along
the shoots. Shoot buds and flower buds are also spaced alternately.

Some of the leaves have rounded tips and some are more pointed - so not
a lot of help there. Veins are visible in the leaves, which are fine
and tear easily with no waxy coating.

Hope this may help me find out more!

Victoria

In article ,
Victoria Clare wrote:
"Rod" wrote in
:

Sounds rather like some of the things that were used as rootstocks for
Apricots/Peaches etc here years ago. As you have already anticipated -
not at all easy to get without.

Aaargh - that sounds all too likely. The apple trees nearby must be 20
years old at the least and the tree (s) are on the north side of a stone
wall, which I'd have thought unpromising for apricots or peaches.

Hmm. Well, I am a mediocre botanist, but it matches P. cerasifera
(cherry-plum) fairly well, so some sort of plum rootstock seems all
too likely. As you say, probably not for apricot or peach, but it
could be for a plum or cherry.


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

"Nick Maclaren" wrote in message
...
In article ,
Victoria Clare wrote:
"Rod" wrote in
:

Sounds rather like some of the things that were used as rootstocks for
Apricots/Peaches etc here years ago. As you have already anticipated -
not at all easy to get without.

Aaargh - that sounds all too likely. The apple trees nearby must be 20
years old at the least and the tree (s) are on the north side of a stone
wall, which I'd have thought unpromising for apricots or peaches.

Hmm. Well, I am a mediocre botanist, but it matches P. cerasifera
(cherry-plum) fairly well, so some sort of plum rootstock seems all
too likely. As you say, probably not for apricot or peach, but it
could be for a plum or cherry.

That makes some sense - Cherry Plums were sometimes planted in such a
position. We had one in one garden I worked in -made some v. nice jam.

Rod

Sounds like a job for a stump grinder along with Root Out


"Rod" wrote in message
...

"Nick Maclaren" wrote in message
...
In article ,
Victoria Clare wrote:
"Rod" wrote in
:

Sounds rather like some of the things that were used as rootstocks
for
Apricots/Peaches etc here years ago. As you have already
anticipated -
not at all easy to get without.

Aaargh - that sounds all too likely. The apple trees nearby must be 20
years old at the least and the tree (s) are on the north side of a
stone
wall, which I'd have thought unpromising for apricots or peaches.

Hmm. Well, I am a mediocre botanist, but it matches P. cerasifera
(cherry-plum) fairly well, so some sort of plum rootstock seems all
too likely. As you say, probably not for apricot or peach, but it
could be for a plum or cherry.

That makes some sense - Cherry Plums were sometimes planted in such a
position. We had one in one garden I worked in -made some v. nice jam.

Rod

"Rod" wrote in news:b6smo0$8nfuj$1@ID-
104411.news.dfncis.de:

Hmm. Well, I am a mediocre botanist, but it matches P. cerasifera
(cherry-plum) fairly well, so some sort of plum rootstock seems all
too likely. As you say, probably not for apricot or peach, but it
could be for a plum or cherry.

That makes some sense - Cherry Plums were sometimes planted in such a
position. We had one in one garden I worked in -made some v. nice jam.


Hmm thanks.

I have had a quick look for pics of Cherry Plums, but all the photos seem
to be of much nicer trees than mine (typical!)

I have now put some pics of the tree at http://www.shirwell.org.uk/garden/
if that might help confirm the diagnosis.

If it is/they are cherry plums, can I prune them to produce better trees
with more flowers?

I have been pruning the old apples round there, and they are flower-budding
like fury this year for the first time since we moved in.


Victoria

"bnd777" wrote in news:b6sq99$nt0$2
@hercules.btinternet.com:

Sounds like a job for a stump grinder along with Root Out


Yes I could get the stumps out, but I am not sure if even Root Out would
work on such a large area of root. I have used it on willows before, and
although it eventually worked, sort of, I found it tended to kill the main
plant but not necessarily the semi-detached root networks of suckers (which
are the real problem).

If I can get it to produce better blossom and perhaps some fruit, I think I
can live with it. It is right at the far end of the garden, so it has a
way to go before it starts attacking the house!

I have started underplanting it with ramsons, bluebells and wood anemones,
and if I think of it as 'cherry plum woodland' it becomes less
objectionable.

Victoria