This is important and I hope to add more to this post in the future.
Near the end of this first video you will see first hand how suckers can completely destroy beautiful plants.
Sometimes this is difficult for people to understand because they don’t really understand the concept of grafting.
I hope these two videos help to make this clear, why plants get suckers and why it’s important to remove them as soon as they are a tiny bud.
Hi Mike,
I have a question. I bought a Crimson Queen Japanese Maple tree last year. It was doing alright. I made the major mistake of doing Miricle Grow which I come to find out that it’s meant for plants, not trees. This year, my dog wrapped herself around the small trunk of the tree and it snapped all the way off. Also this year, (prior to the trunk breaking) I noticed that there are a lot of suckers that are growing from what appears to be from the root system. My question is since the main truck is no longer there, will one of those suckers become the main trunk? Or is it more or less a goner?
Stephanie,
I’m sure the miracle grow did no harm but what you have left are suckers from the root stock and you could train one to become a tree but it won’t look like what you had, probably rather boring and too big for the area that it’s in.
Mike:
I’ve read just about everything you’ve written about composting but haven’t seen my concern mentioned: PINE NEEDLES IN COMPOST
I add grass clippings and leaves to my compost piles along with ground up egg shells and non meat kitchen scraps including coffee grounds and orange and banana peels. My bride’s former (deceased) husband covered every patch of dirt with weed blocking plastic (which I hate but don’t have the energy to remove). We have a row of mature pine trees along one side of our corner lot. The accumulation of pine needles is prodigious every year, completely covering the mulch we paid to have placed under the trees. However, I’ve discovered the years of accumulated pine needles and mulch have produced what appears to be a bonanza of lush dark soil. My question:
Are pine needles a viable material to add to my compost? They don’t seem to do any harm to the weeds that
pop up on top of the weed retardant fabric, but will they kill any flowers or vegetables?
Mike, we’re almost 89 and not able to embark on a back yard business, but I do love to work in the yard and do a bit of landscaping. My bride had a stroke a couple of years ago and I’m her sole caregiver, so I don’t have a great deal of time to enjoy my yard activities. I read everything you publish and am very grateful for your advice. I do try to share your hard earned wisdom with a few neighbors.
As I tell my dwindling number of high school classmates, Keep on keeping on!
Rick,
I really don’t think pine needles will do any harm to your compost. Might lower the ph a tad but not enough to concern me and that’s easy enough to adjust for should you have to.
I have a question regarding Japanese maple seedlings. I found several dozen growing and the tree. Good 3-4inch and they had good roots. Can I propagate these? We live in Northern California and love Japanese maple s. Thanks and bless you for your help.
Susan
Susan,
You can transplant them or pot them, but if not dormant you have to do so without damaging any roots. They don’t do well if you try and take cuttings and root them.
Mike, I have a mango tree here in Australia, that is very stringy and not very nice. I wold like to graft on to it, a nicer variety. The trunk is about 8-10″ through. How do I go about grafting it? I do have a nice Bowen special variety to get the cutting from; but just not sure if I cut the stump off and graft the new variety on that, or is there a better way to do that? A vast difference in our climates, but I’m sure that you would know how to do it.
Thanks for all your info, I always enjoy and follow what I can, by addig a other 6 months to your seasons.
Kay,
You’d have to do a veneer graft, http://japanesemaplelovers.com/how-to-graft-japanese-maple-trees/. Give it a try, but I’d also be looking for a very small root stock that you can graft to as well and grow a really nice tree.
I have two apple trees 1 a Tokyo Rose the other a yellow delicious, they bloom about 3 to 4 weeks apart and so I don’t get good pollination. An orchard grower said to take a couple of branches off
each tree and graphed them onto each other. I live in Oregon near the mountains at 1500 foot level.
Is it too late to do this for this yesar ?
Dan,
Grafting should be done while the scion is dormant and the root stock just awakening. http://japanesemaplelovers.com/how-to-graft-japanese-maple-trees/
If you didn’t remove the suckers from a fruit tree when they were small, is it too late to do so now? Would I just cut them off close to the tree ‘s trunk?
Thanks so much!
Patricia,
I really can’t say for sure, but if it were mine, I’m sure I’d remove them. Just cut as close to the tree as possible. These days we no long use wound sealer, the plants know how to do that on their own.
Is there any way to stop fruit trees from suckering.
I have 2 elburta peaches, one never suckered while the other one sends up dozens of suckered every year
Sheryl,
You can’t stop them from suckering but when you remove the suckers you have to remove them, not just cut them down. You really have to get to the root of the tree where the suckers originate and completely remove them from that point. Simply cutting them off just creates even more suckers.
What can I do to stop weeds from coming up before I lays own tan bark or gorilla hair covering?
Dutch,
Everything you need to know about weed control is here; http://mikesbackyardnursery.com/2012/06/weed-control-facts/
Greets, MIke. I’ve purchased your Backyard Grower’s system and have yet to put it into practice. Also have purchase the “Gro Bulbs” for air layering and have plans for air layering a Flowering Crab that I “brutalized” because it was entangling in a White Pine in my property”s roadside.
I’d like to layer as many as possible of the suckers that have emerged to create transplants for bordering. As I recall, you had a page linked that detailed the procedure for time of year, etc. A bit off topic here, but would appreciate the info if you would be good enough to post.
cheers,
TooSoon Olt (TooLate Schmart)
That was quick! Thanks so much, Sharon.
I also just finished ordering a set (3/4 and 1″) plus the carbide honer of Mike’s fav pruners. Being a tool nut all my life I can appreciate good quality and will let y’all know if they meet the expectations.
Thanx again.
TooSoon Olt
I have two crepe myrtles that I’m going to dig out. There are lots of beautiful c.m.’s in my area that the tops spread out like an umbrella. Mine, unfortunately just shoot straight up about 25 feet high. Thin and tall and ugly. I tried topping them but it didn’t help, they just shoot up again like flag poles the following year. When I replace them, is there a way to prune the new trees so that they won’t get too tall and the tops will spread out like an umbrella? Thanks for all your help!
Laura,
The sooner you top them at the height that you want them, the more they will fill out on top, thus spreading wider. This is an ongoing process, but it shouldn’t be that difficult to establish.
Would you please recommend a l hand pruner. You mentioned the name a few months ago.
Somehow I misplaced it. Thank you.
Mable, my pruning shear review is here: https://mikesbackyardnursery.com/2015/05/best-pruning-shears/
Mike, I have never seen this video before. I wish I had back in 2012.
You hit the nail on the head about the weeping cherry that I have in my back yard. The suckers have grown pretty high at the top of the tree.
Is there still a chance I might save it by cutting off those suckers (branches now) or will I kill the tree?
If you have a way to do this, I would sure like to see you make a video on it.
Joe,
The answer is, it depends. But the big question is, what do you have to lose. Chances are you are not going to kill the tree as long as it still has plenty of branches that you are leaving. If it were me, I’d roll the dice and take the chance. Just cut them off close to the trunk of the tree. But it’s your tree so you have to decide on whether or not to take that chance. But is the tree an asset to your yard now or a liability?
Mike, these are excellent training videos.
Although we are actually members of BYG, we enjoy these training emails sooooo much more. These get straight to the point without all the chatter of the forum.
The real value of BYG is the Buyers section. There is nowhere else that anyone can get the great deals found there.
Keep up the great work!!!
Is there a way to make an orange tree sweeter mine are on the really sour side. I fertilize them and make sure it gets plenty of water ,is it those pesky suckers which have no leaves just thorns doing it.. Don’t know if it is the variety about ready to cut it down .Any help would be greatly appreciated
I do remove those thorns are should I leave them alone
Hi Mike,
Thanks for all the helpful information. I, too, knew next to nothing about grafting. Since I did not remove the sucker two years ago and now there is a small branch is it too late to prune it off Will that damage the tree?
I have always removed the suckers from all my younger trees such as the Japanese Maple and my Weeping Cherry trees just because it looked better. I had no idea they were grafted trees. So unknowingly I helped myself in more than one way without even knowing it. I always play your videos Mike because no matter how long you’ve been around there’s always something new to learn. Thanks for all your info.
You’re welcome Bill. Sounds like you’ve been doing the right thing all along.
Thanks Mike, very educational “-)
Mike in your opinion does cow or horse manure that is composted help garden soil ?
Lucky
any kind of manure, including cow or horse manure will make an excellent compost. Horses have a pretty weak digestive system so their manure really needs to compost for a long period of time to give the weed seeds a chance to expend themselves. Something like chicken manure is really hot and should be mixed with other organic materials before being applied to a garden. If you put it directly on the garden in the fall and til it in that would be fine.
Mike I have a lace leaf, purple, weeping Japanese Maple that hangs to the ground. It is probably 2 -3 years old. There are little bitty branches coming from the larger branches. Should the be pruned off and if so, when??
Thanks
Pat
Pat,
Those branches don’t have to be pruned off unless they are suckers growing from below the graft union. If the branches that you speak of look the same as the rest of the plant they are harmless and probably just new growth. Often times suckers will be green and won’t have the cut leaf like your tree has.
Mike, I have apple trees that sucker at and below ground level. I keep cutting them off and they keep coming back. Is there any way to stop my apple trees from growing suckers?
Franny, when I have to deal with suckering trees I get really aggressive and remove the suckers at their sources with a spade. If you just cut them off at or near ground level all you are doing is suggesting to them that they should branch out. I take a spade, using it horizontally, and remove the suckers direct at their source. Best to do this when the tree is dormant, because root damage does occur.
Hey Mike,
I recently came to see your website and enjoyed your video’s and tips.
I work in a tree nursery for 3 years now and every day im exited to learn more and more. I’m 30 years old and i still need to learn much.
I’m going to start my own little maple nursery in the backyard. Its a small yard so im ging to grow them in pots.
The only thing i’m worried about is the burning sun in the summer and the freezing tempatures in the winter cause they will stay in pots all the time. Any suggestions ?
I live in Belgium where it can be very very hot in the summer and in the winter it can get below minus 18 degrees.
Wim, you can create shade easy enough in the summer and you need to cover the plants for the winter like this http://www.freeplants.com/how-to-build-a-hoop-house.htm
Hey Mike , i will take those tips with me as im building the hoop house , for in the summer i will use a shadow net for the time when they are still young plants.
thank you very much,
have a good day !
wim
Mike,
I have a grafted tree in my yard that keeps getting big suckers from the bottom of the tree. The more I trim them off the thicker they come back. Anyway to get rid of these permanently?
Chris, you have to cut them all the way back to the stem of the tree, then remove any new growth as soon as it appears in the bud stage. Most people don’t cut the suckers back far enough.
This seems somewhat self-explanatory but I guess some folks don’t know what to look for. That varitey you showed was a good example because of the stricking difference betwee the two. Great video Mike. I am always envious of your maples