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Many gardeners are faced with the problem of the formation of numerous root shoots in cherries. Often, even after uprooting a tree, young shoots stubbornly continue to break through to the light, filling the garden space. Getting rid of the cherry overgrowth on the site is quite difficult, it will take time and effort.
Why does cherry grow
The source of the formation of root shoots in cherries are horizontal roots located close to the surface of the earth. The more of them a tree has, the more intensively new shoots form on them.
Cherry root shoots reduce yields and interfere with work
There can be several reasons for the formation of a large number of root shoots. Here are the main ones.
- Features of the variety.
- Individual qualities of rootstock and scion.
- Incorrect fit. If the roots of the seedling were not properly buried when planting, they can begin to spread almost over the top.
- Strong pruning. Incorrect or excessive shortening of shoots can give impetus to increased growth of root shoots.
- Damage to the root system, stems or skeletal branches of cherries.
- Improper watering.
- Poor scion and rootstock compatibility.
Fallen berries can become another reason for excessive growth of basal processes. Cherry seeds germinate well and can become a source of a large number of growths.
How to deal with cherry overgrowth
Root growth is a big problem for gardeners. Because of this, the cherry literally "creeps" over the site, making it difficult to excavate in the immediate vicinity of the tree. In addition, growing shoots take away a significant amount of strength and nutrients from the mother plant, and this negatively affects its productivity.
The scheme of formation of root shoots, rapidly spreading over the site
Root shoots can be fought in various ways, but this struggle is far from always successful. Often, after a short period of time after removal, the number of young shoots not only does not decrease, but also increases many times over. The reason for this will be the incorrect removal of the overgrowth. A feature of cherry is its vitality, the tree perceives any mechanical impact as a threat to its life and takes retaliatory measures, releasing many young shoots. This must be taken into account, and when removing root shoots, try not to injure either the roots or the aerial part of the plant.
How to remove overgrowth of cherries in the area with chemistry
In order to remove the root shoots of cherries from the site, herbicides can be used - the same substances and compositions as for the destruction of weeds. Among such drugs, glyphosate-based formulations are the most widely used. These include Roundup, Tornado, Hurricane.
These drugs do not act selectively on vegetation. If you spray the root zone with herbicides, both weeds and young cherry growth will die.
Herbicides destroy not only cherry growth, but also other plants
Many gardeners have a negative attitude to the use of herbicides in the garden, rightly believing that the ingress of an active substance into the tissue of a tree can have negative consequences for it. In this case, there is only one way to remove cherry root shoots - mechanical.
How to uproot cherries on a plot with your own hands
If the cherries are old, dried out or affected by a disease, then you need to get rid of them. It will not be difficult to cut the ground part of the tree; this can be easily done with a hacksaw or a chainsaw. Cleaning from the stump site is much more problematic for the gardener. If not completely uprooted, root growth will continue to bother the grower even after the tree has been removed. The branched root system will continue to intensively absorb nutrients from the soil, however, due to the absence of the ground part, the plant is forced to spend them on the formation of new shoots. Hemp must be uprooted, if possible, while picking out all the remaining cherry roots from the ground.
The easiest way to uproot a tree stump is with an excavator or other heavy equipment.
The easiest way to uproot a cherry tree stump in an area is mechanical. In this case, he is simply torn out of the ground with the help of powerful equipment, for example, an excavator. If access to the site of heavy vehicles is not possible, then you will have to work with a hand tool. The stump is dug in from all sides, exposing the horizontal surface roots as far as possible. They are completely ripped out of the ground, all the rest, going deep into the depths, are chopped off with an ax. After that, the pit is covered with earth.
A large stump, if time permits, can also be removed chemically. On the cut, it is necessary to drill as many deep holes with a diameter of 8-12 mm as possible, which are filled with table salt or ammonium nitrate¸ and then closed with wax or paraffin. In 1-1.5 years, salts will completely destroy the structure of the tree, the stump will dry out. After that, you can uproot such cherries without much effort. When using ammonium nitrate, the dried stump is set on fire. The wood impregnated with ammonium nitrate smolders perfectly, and in a short time the stump completely burns out together with the roots and shoots.
You can also destroy a stump using chemical methods.
A video on how to destroy a stump from a cherry or any other tree without uprooting or chopping it down can be viewed at the link:
How to remove cherry sprouts with folk remedies
The only folk remedies that are effective against cherry overgrowth are a shovel and a hoe. If the tree regularly forms numerous root shoots, then it is better to remove such a cherry from the garden forever and replace the variety with another. A good option to limit the spread of horizontal roots is to dig in slate sheets around the cherry trunk at a distance of 0.7-0.75 m. In this case, the shoots will grow only inside this near-stem circle. Regular pruning at a height of 0.25-0.3 m gradually reduces the number of shoots, however, it may take years to completely "wean" cherries from throwing out new root shoots.
Regular pruning of the growth will gradually reduce the number of growths
It has been noticed that any damage to the cherry roots provokes a rapid growth of the root growth. Therefore, as a preventive measure, it is recommended not to excavate in the root zone of the tree. During the summer heat, it is advisable to cover the trunk circle with spruce branches or straw. This will avoid cracking the soil, which can cause damage to the root system. It is noticed that frequent watering also provokes the growth of root shoots. Therefore, cherries should be watered rarely, but abundantly.
It is believed that the best way to remove cherry growth is to dig it up to the root and carefully trim it, then cover the cut with garden var.However, this procedure is extremely labor intensive. Therefore, many gardeners, in an effort to get rid of the cherry thickets, simply mow the young growth at ground level with a trimmer or lawn mower. You should not postpone this work until the end of the season, all shoots should be removed with green ones, until they are lignified. It will be more difficult to do this later.
Trimmer is a quick and effective way to get rid of root growth
When using the trimmer when mowing the root zone, precautions must be taken. Small debris, pieces of earth flying off, pebbles and pieces of wood can seriously injure the trunk of a tree, damage the bark on it. To prevent this from happening, you need to put on a bole a plastic bottle cut along the length with the neck and bottom cut off. If the damage did occur, then the entire wound must be covered with garden varnish.
Which cherry does not sprout
Not all types of cherries are prone to root growth. Varieties such as Crimson, Vladimirskaya, Lyubskaya, Minx almost do not give root sprouts, while Robin, Youth, Vole, Generous or Rastorguevka form them very intensively.
If the cherry is grafted, then its ability to shoot is determined not by the variety, but by the characteristics of the stock. Seed stocks of root shoots almost do not form, as well as some clonal (Izmailovsky, AVCH-2). But self-rooted species are most prone to the formation of root shoots, since this is their natural way of reproduction. Moreover, young shoots begin to appear even in young plants.
Caring for a tree after removing overgrowth
After removal of root shoots, no special measures are usually carried out. This procedure does not cause any damage to the cherry trees, but only if the roots have not been damaged. If the shoots were cut directly at the root, then in this place of tears it is imperative to cover up with garden pitch. Otherwise, infection or fungal spores can get into the wound.
All cuts must be covered with garden var.
If the tree stem was cleared from the young growth, then it is also advisable to process all the cuts with garden varnish.
Prevention of the appearance of overgrowth on the site
It is unlikely that it will be possible to permanently remove the root growth of cherries on the site, but it is quite possible to reduce its amount to a minimum. Here's what experienced gardeners recommend doing for this.
- Do not plant varieties prone to root growth. Choose seedlings grafted onto seed stocks.
- Avoid any work on the ground in the cherry tree root zone. You should not plant anything directly in the trunk circle.
- Do not allow the soil to dry out in the root zone. Watering is rare, but abundant, and then mulch the trunk circle.
- Cut off the emerging shoots immediately, before they become woody.
- Avoid mechanical damage to the cherry tree trunk and its roots.
- Pruning, especially cardinal, should not be carried out at a time, but over several years.
- Limit the spread of horizontal roots by digging sheets of slate or other dense material (metal, plastic) around the cherry to a depth of at least 0.5 m.
- The root zone can be covered with a layer of roofing material or other dense material, for example, old linoleum. Nothing will grow under it, including root shoots.
- Remove fallen berries.
- To take measures to prevent the appearance of diseases and pests.
The better the cherry care, the less root growth will be
Strictly speaking, any measures aimed at maintaining the health of cherries will prevent the emergence of root shoots.Timely feeding and watering, caring for the near-stem circle, treatment from diseases and pests, competent timely pruning and whitewashing of boles - all this contributes to the good condition of trees and does not provoke them to the growth of new root shoots. That is why it is necessary to take care of the health of the cherry, to carry out all the work on caring for the plantings on time and in full.
Conclusion
Probably every gardener dreams of completely getting rid of the cherry overgrowth on the site, but not everyone succeeds. The main assistant in this matter is undoubtedly patience. Even a badly neglected cherry orchard can be brought back to life, but it will take time and a lot of work. And in order to avoid such a situation, it is necessary to choose the right varieties and regularly care for the cherries, starting from the moment the seedling is planted.
