Removing the emerging basal shoots from the plum is a certain difficulty. It is also not easy to get rid of an already mature tree on suburban area. In this case, it is necessary to use special chemistry that will destroy the root system of the tree.
Your plum is constantly forming numerous basal shoots that impair nutrition, you need to cut off all the shoots and provide the tree with quality care. This article also describes ways to get rid of a plum tree.
Many summer residents when growing plums on their personal plot are faced with the need to remove the shoots of this tree. Such abundant shoots can significantly impair fruiting performance, so it is recommended to remove it regularly. In this article we will tell you how you can get rid of plums and its overgrowth in their summer cottage.
Reasons for the formation of shoots on the plum
- If the root system is damaged;
- The presence of serious injuries to the tree. For example, in case of damage to the bark or severe felling of the crown;
- In case of problems with the survival of the grafted cuttings.
Plum, with the help of shoots, is trying to save its life, and therefore there is an active formation of basal shoots. That is why the fact of the appearance of such shoots should alert you. Perhaps your tree is infested with insect pests or is suffering from improper fertilization.
Why is it necessary to remove overgrowth?
Many gardeners are wondering if they should remove the growth, because after a few years the sprouts that appear will grow into a full-fledged tree, and you can get additional yield from them. However, in reality, such shoots not only spoil the aesthetics of the garden, but also gradually take away nutrients at the main tree. As a result, its productivity decreases, and if you start the appearance of shoots and do not get rid of it for a long time, you can even lose your mother tree. That is why regularly remove such basal shoots. You need to analyze what caused their appearance and try to ensure the drain optimal conditions for growth.
Prevention of the appearance of basal shoots of plums
Let's tell you about effective ways prevention of overgrowth. Holding on like this is enough simple rules plum care, you can avoid or minimize the likelihood of such shoots.
Experienced summer residents it is recommended not to dig up the soil near the tree trunk, but to slightly loosen the ground. This will avoid mechanical damage to the bark. When watering, strong water pressure should be avoided, which can damage the bark or wash the roots out of the ground, damaging them mechanically.
When grafting, you should use high-quality rootstocks and closely monitor the condition of the tree. In the event that there are signs of rootstock rejection, it should be removed and the cut site treated with special preparations or ordinary slaked lime. At mechanical damage branches or when carrying out spring pruning, do not forget to treat the cut site with a solution of slaked lime.
Removing plum shoots
There are several ways to get rid of plum overgrowth:
- felling;
- Insulation;
Cutting down such basal shoots is the easiest way to get rid of overgrowth. However, there are certain nuances that must be taken into account when carrying out this procedure. First of all, we note that such cutting is performed with a pruner. Do not use a knife or ordinary scissors, this will harm the mother tree and weaken the plum.
When removing such processes, you should dig them up to the root system of the tree and cut them off at the root. If you simply cut off the sprouts near the ground, this will only increase the formation of such weedy shoots. After removing the overgrowth, be sure to fill the dug hole with earth and lightly tamp it.
Isolation is quite interesting and effective method getting rid of false shoots of plums. You need to draw a circle around the plum with a radius of half a meter. We leave the outlined circle, and cover the entire remaining space near the plum with cardboard or newspaper, carefully spill it with water and trample it with our feet. We cover the resulting earthen porridge with a film and roofing material. From above it is also recommended to pour a layer of sand or fertile earth. Subsequently, on the covered land will appear lawn grass and flowers, and the shoots will be prevented from germinating by film and roofing material.
Getting rid of a mature tree
Quite often, summer residents need to get rid of an already mature tree. Despite the seeming simplicity of such work, it is difficult to do it yourself without knowing all the subtleties. We will tell you in more detail how to get rid of an adult plum.
It is possible to remove the tree with the help of chemistry. This method is efficient and relatively simple. For chemical plum removal, you will need the following tools and chemicals:
- Drill;
- Saw.
Arboricidal or herbicidal preparation.
Solution container.
Polyethylene film.
Experts recommend using arboricidal preparations to remove plums that do not cause any harm to the ecosystem. If it is difficult to purchase such preparations, it is necessary to purchase medium-acting herbicides.
The sequence of actions is as follows:
The tree is cut down to chest level.
In the resulting cut, not far from the bark, it is necessary to make several holes as large as possible in size with a drill.
Cooking chemical solution in a consistency designed to remove weeds. Pour the prepared solution of chemicals into the holes made. The cut must be covered with a film or a piece of plastic.
We wait a week, after which we drill a few more holes in the saw cut and again fill in a new freshly prepared portion of the chemical. If necessary, this procedure is repeated after 10 days.
Basal shoots should begin to die off, after which you can begin to remove the rest of the tree. You should not immediately uproot the stump, as viable roots may remain in the ground. Such a living root will give growth, which will also have to be constantly removed.
Mechanical tree removal
Many summer residents mistakenly believe that you can remove a plum simply by cutting it off at the root. However, remaining in the ground root system will quickly gain strength and begin to actively produce ground basal shoots. Therefore, you will have to act according to the following algorithm:
The trunk is removed in a standard way. Moreover, the height of the cut can be chosen arbitrarily. We do not recommend that you try to immediately uproot the remaining stump. This will complicate the subsequent removal of the roots remaining in the ground. After the trunk is cut down, it is necessary to leave the stump for several months, which is necessary for the appearance of overgrowth. So you can determine the location of viable roots in the ground and, having dug them out, remove them mechanically. You can also simply remove the growth that has appeared by digging the sprouts to the very root. Then we cover the sections with garden pitch or oil paint. A similar procedure must be carried out several times, after which the root system remaining in the ground will cease to produce new shoots.
You can weaken the root system of a sawn plum by scalding the stump with boiling water. Just remember that you should not add salt or other chemicals to the water. This will invariably upset the chemical balance of the soil.
Conclusion
Removing the shoots and the plum tree itself is not difficult. Having done all the work correctly, you can completely get rid of the basal shoots that appear on the mother tree, and the root system of the sawn tree will weaken and will not produce new shoots.
In late autumn, the root shoots that appeared over the summer in some fruit trees are clearly visible. Now is the time to break up with her. Young, not lignified shoots can be easily broken at the very base.
But it is worth delaying with the implementation of this work - and you will have to cut the growth with a pruner or even cut it out. Experts emphasize that its appearance is a symptom of the tree's troubles and is caused by serious reasons.
In some trees, the root system, as you know, is superficial, and therefore, when digging the trunk circles, it can be injured. In such cases, root offspring are formed at the sites of wounds from adnexal buds.
To avoid this, it is recommended to replace the digging of the earth under such types of trees with loosening with a rake or mulching. Sometimes the roots are exposed because they are planted high or watering is done under high water pressure.
To eliminate this, it is better to sprinkle the roots with earth. The reason for the appearance of overgrowth breaks of branches from the stem, severe damage to the bark and other mechanical wounds of the tree may appear. If the stock and scion do not fit together, growth also occurs. This is usually accompanied by a thickening of the scion over the grafting site, premature yellowing leaves, weak annual growths or their absence, a decrease in winter hardiness. Such trees are short-lived.
The root growth that grew up near them, it is recommended to use it for vaccinations, but at the same time observing a related sign, i.e. graft, for example, on an apple tree only an apple tree. Sometimes two or three years come after winter damage to the bark and cambium, until the question arises of where the dark ulcers on the trunk and branches came from, as well as deep cracks in the bark and its detachment from the wood.
Meanwhile, weakened trees are gradually affected by diseases. Their outer root part begins to dry out, and shoots sprout from the roots. In such cases, experts recommend cutting down a dying tree at ground level. The shoot itself can be used as a rootstock for regrafting with another, already more winter-hardy variety.
Root shoots on plum, cherry, apple tree.
A lot of root shoots form near the plum. We have to cut it down, but it's of little use. How to get rid of overgrowth?
During the growing season, a lot of shoots are often formed not only in plums, but also in cherries. Of course, it is necessary to remove it, but it should be done correctly. If you cut down the grown root growth at a horizontal level, you will not be able to get rid of it. On the contrary, it is possible to cause vigorous activity of coppice development.
A proven way to get rid of root shoots is to dig up the shoots to the place where they leave the main root and cut them off. After that, it is necessary to cover the root again with soil.
How to get rid of plum overgrowth is a question that arises for many summer cottage owners. Growth - wild shoots that grow from the root of a tree. These root shoots are growing rapidly. They are able to occupy a huge area of the personal plot in a short period of time.
Causes of plum shoots
The plum tree is its own root, so it gives much more basal processes than plants grown on seed rootstocks. Plum shoots grow rapidly, sometimes it forms impenetrable jungle. Before you fight with plum, you need to find out why it arose.
Important! Plum with the help of shoots tries to survive, for this reason it actively forms shoots. Perhaps the plum is affected by pests (aphids, caterpillars, silkworms, codling moths, sawflies, etc.) or it is sick from improperly applied fertilizers. Therefore, the growth should alert the summer resident.
The main causes of basal processes include:
- Bare root.
- Injured root system.
- Tight bandage in the grafting area.
- Mismatch between rootstock and scion.
- Plum pruning.
Note! Root rot due to heat or drought will also lead to the development of wild shoots.
Why remove overgrowth
Many gardeners do not understand why to destroy plum shoots, because after a few years it will turn into a full-fledged crop that will give an additional crop. However, you need to get rid of the plum for many reasons. Overgrowth not only spoils beautiful view garden, but also takes nutrients from the plum itself. And all because they have a common root.
Above-ground shoots feed during the growing season, absorbing a significant number of vital substances. This leads to the fact that the growth worsens the nutrition of the tree, and also reduces the yield. In addition, if you start the growth of the drain, then it will be very difficult to get rid of it. That is why it is necessary to systematically deal with wild plum shoots.
On a note! Slivnyak, which appeared from its own root fruit tree successfully used for reproduction. And the shoots that appeared from the grafted game or on the bole must be systematically removed.
How to deal with plum shoots
Below are four ways to destroy the basal processes, as well as their pros and cons:
- Cutting a plum with a saw. Easy to use method. However, the effect is not long-term.
- Cutting down. A more complicated way than cutting. But it will help to forget about the problem associated with growth for a long time.
- Chemical processing. Acts quickly and efficiently. Minus: it is forbidden to use chemicals if there are fruit-bearing plants near the plum.
- Insulation. Destroys overgrowth for short term. Disadvantage: the shelter is not very aesthetically pleasing.
So, the shoots need to be trimmed regularly. This action is taken either in early spring or late autumn. But the problem is that frozen soil and unmelted snow often prevent gardeners from getting rid of root shoots at their base (on a horizontally located root system). Experienced summer residents advise getting rid of the drain with a saw. Do not use scissors or a knife to cut the growth, as the drain may be injured and weaken.
Often, summer residents are forced to use pruners to get rid of thickets of wild above-ground shoots. Cutting of shoots is carried out at the level of the surface layer of the soil. But this method is not good enough. If pruning was carried out in the spring, then the protruding stumps from the cut shoots thicken and after a few months several plum bushes form.
It is possible to correctly remove the wild shoots of plum by cutting down. Wild shoots are dug up to the maternal root, and then cut off to the very base (if you just cut off the sprouted shoots, this will increase their formation). After cleaning the plant from the drain, the resulting pit is sprinkled with earth, and then rammed.
An effective method that helps to permanently remove plum shoots is not to get rid of it completely, leaving a small protruding process. This stump must be treated with herbicide twice per season. The procedure allows you to completely get rid of the basal processes after two years. Other effective drugs: Glyphos, Tornado, Hurricane, Roundup. These compounds destroy different kinds vegetation.
Advice! The growth is processed in two ways: by spraying or lubricating with a brush. It is advisable to perform the procedure in November, when all cultures nearby from the plum are removed. It is recommended to choose a day with calm weather.
Insulation also effectively rids the plum of overgrowth. To perform the procedure, draw a circle around the tree, the radius of which is 0.5 m. Cover the remaining area outside the circle with newspapers. Then pour plenty of water, and then trample down with your feet. Cover everything with foil and roofing material. Pour sand over the structure (fertile soil is possible). After a while, flowers and grass will sprout on the covered soil. The growth of the drain will be prevented by roofing material with a film.
Overgrowth prevention
Plum forms shoots constantly. To minimize the likelihood of its occurrence, it is necessary to follow elementary rules. The following are the most effective methods prevention of the appearance of the drain:
- with high planting, the root system of the crop is close to the surface layer of the earth, so it can be damaged during soil cultivation. From the injured zones, the plum tree will begin to sprout rapidly;
- when irrigating, it is impossible to make a strong stream of water, so as not to expose the root system, and also not to damage it mechanically;
- when grafting, it is necessary to use a rootstock good quality. In this case, the drain must be monitored. If the stock begins to be rejected, it is required to remove it and cover the cut with slaked lime or a special preparation;
- the grafted stock and scion should be tightly tied with a special tape. With the growth of a grafted plum, the strapping often cuts into the xylem (tree tissue). As a result, the plum will give a lot of shoots in order to provide itself with another source of nutrition;
It is also not recommended to dig up the ground near the plum trunk, so as not to cause mechanical injury to the bark. It is enough to slightly loosen the soil. If you injure the plum bark or cut off the crown, then useful substances will begin to enter the root system in insufficient quantities.
How to get rid of plums on the site (from an adult)
Often summer residents need to cut down a plum. At first glance, this seems like an easy job. However, in order to get rid of the plum yourself on the site, you need to know all the nuances of this process. Below is given detailed description how to get rid of plums with your own hands.
With chemicals
The first way - the drain is removed using chemicals. The method is quite simple and effective. To get rid of an adult plum, you need to apply special chemicals that will destroy the root of the culture. To chemically get rid of a plant, you will need:
- dishes for the drug;
- arboricidal or herbicidal solution;
- polyethylene film;
- drill;
- saw.
Professionals advise using an arboricidal composition that is not harmful environment. If it is not possible to purchase this drug, then you should take a medium-acting herbicide.
Procedure steps:
- The plum is cut off at chest level.
- Do not immediately uproot the stump, because a living root can remain in the soil, which will start up new growth.
- In the resulting saw cut, not far from the bark, you need to drill several small holes. To do this, you need a large diameter drill.
- Prepare a chemical solution. Its concentration should be designed to remove weeds. Then pour the finished composition into the drilled holes.
- The cut should be closed with a film or plastic.
- After a week, drill a few additional holes and also pour freshly prepared chemical into them. If necessary, the procedure must be repeated after a decade.
The growth will begin to die off, after which it will be easy to get rid of the stump.
mechanically
Many gardeners believe that getting rid of a ripe plum in the garden is simple: just cut it to the very root. But it's not. The plum root system remaining in the soil, gaining strength, will release dense shoots.
For this reason, it is necessary to adhere to this algorithm:
- The plum is cut down in the usual way. The height of the saw cut is chosen arbitrarily.
- If you immediately get rid of the stump, then this will prevent the removal of the underground root system.
- You need to wait a few months until new shoots appear on and around the stump. This will reveal the location of viable plum roots.
- They need to be dug up and disposed of mechanically.
Another option: dig up the drain to the root and pull them out. After that, you need to cover the sections with oil-based paint or garden pitch. Continue this procedure until the growth stops growing.
Important! Pouring a stump with boiling water can weaken the root of a cut plum. However, salt should not be poured into this water, as well as any chemical preparations, as this will lead to a violation of the chemical balance of the soil.
How to dig up a plum root
For the final disposal of the old plum in the country in autumn period you should cut down the crown, and then uproot the stump. The root system of an old tree, planted in the ground, firmly holds the stump. Therefore, you will have to work hard.
An inexperienced summer resident will choose the easy way: cut the crown of the plum and leave a stump. If you have a creative approach, you can harmoniously fit it into the design of the backyard area. However, after some time, problems await the gardener. Young shoots will begin to sprout from the stump. If it is cut off or cut off, then it will grow even more intensively. How to deal with the shoots of cut plums in the garden?
Stages of work:
- Place a metal barrel without a bottom on the plum stump (the stump will sink into the cylinder).
- Throw newspapers, dried twigs of various thicknesses and other burning materials inside.
- You should stock up on additional “firewood” in advance, which will need to be constantly thrown into a kind of “firebox” until the stump burns out.
After a while, repeat the procedure 2-4 more times.
You can get rid of the stump of a plum tree by resorting to chemical way. To do this, you need to make several holes in the stump. Pour a couple of handfuls of saltpeter or urea into each recess. Tie the stump tightly with polyethylene. After a few years, the stump and its root system will become rotten. In spring, annual crops can be planted around the hemp.
Plum varieties without shoots
Regardless of the variety, plum trees sprout. However, they do it differently. In the horticultural sector, own-rooted types of plums were identified, which form a large number of wild shoots, for example:
- "Ochakov yellow";
- "Hungarian ordinary";
- "Italian Hungarian";
- "Local Red"
They give thick and tall shoots.
There are also own-rooted varieties of plums, which are distinguished by a low percentage of formation of basal shoots. Consider the types of plum trees without shoots, these are:
- Renkold Altana;
- "Stanley";
- Anna Shpet.
In addition, these types of plums give a rich harvest, and they are also hardy to negative impact ecosystems.
Conclusion
So, above are a lot of actionable tips on how to get rid of plum growth. Having carried out the whole process correctly, the gardener will finally eliminate the wild plum tree that appears both on a viable and on a sawn tree.
Useful video - how to deal with plum shoots:
Almost everyone has cherries and plums in their dachas or garden plots. And, really, how can one imagine a classic Russian orchard without them? They regularly bear fruit, do not require careful care, and are simply incredibly beautiful. But such trees have one insidious feature - they annually form dense thickets of small root shoots. Moreover, the older the tree, the more sprouts it will give. Want to know how to get rid of cherry growth once and for all? Then read on.
If your fruit-bearing cherry, sweet cherry or even plum is grafted, then there is no use for you from annual seedlings, because all such cherries will be wild. Otherwise, the strongest and most viable sprouts can be used to propagate the crop, but in any case, most of the cherry shoots will have to be cut down regularly. Apukhtinskaya and Vladimirskaya cherries are suitable for this method.
But there are varieties that give a huge number of root shoots, but the latter are completely unsuitable for reproduction - for example, Molodezhnaya, Rastorguevskaya or Polevka. And there are, on the contrary, varietal varieties for which the formation of root shoots is not characteristic: these are mainly bush cherries Lyubskaya, Shokoladnitsa, Crimson.
How to remove growth in the country
When everything is clear and clear in the garden, every tree is in its place, and the placement of flower beds is carefully planned, cherry shoots that appear in the most unexpected places can pretty annoy even the most patient gardener, arousing an irrepressible desire to quickly remove it. As the main measure to combat such uninvited "guests", removal by digging is most often used. And absolutely in vain!
The fact is that cherries, like all coppice crops, have a specific replacement program - in place of one shoot dug out with roots, on next year several new ones will grow. And so on ad infinitum. As a result, in a few years you run the risk of turning into a person who completely digs up his garden every spring. Of course, no one needs such a prospect.
So how then to get rid of the cherry overgrowth on the site so that the destruction of the sprouts is not systemic? Very simple: you can get rid of the root shoots by simply cutting it out with a pruner. It will be possible to bring out the cherry shoots if you cut it at a level of about 30 cm from the surface of the earth. After the sprouts are removed, this root will no longer be able to produce new shoots. Thus, in just a few years, you can completely “wean” a tree to give unnecessary shoots if you regularly destroy cherry shoots, even the smallest ones.
But this is far from the only way if you want to know how to effectively deal with cherry growth. There is another, at first time-consuming method, but very effective. In addition, it has a beneficial effect on the efficiency of fruiting. Its action is based on the fact that only those roots that are located relatively shallow - about 40 cm from the surface have the ability to sprout. Everything that lies deeper is not fraught with any danger regarding the issue under consideration.
So, in order to prevent the cherry from growing, proceed as follows: define a circle around the seedling with a diameter of about 1.5 m and dig pieces of slate around the circumference to a depth of half a meter. Such a “fence” will not allow the root system to grow in width, but, on the contrary, will send the roots deeper. True, overgrowth cannot be avoided within the circle itself, but in such a limited space it will not be difficult to remove it, and in time complete deliverance will come. Or you can cheat and cover the inner surface of the circle with a thick layer of protective mulch (using dry leaves, mowed grass or straw), then only single sprouts will break through it, and we will somehow get rid of them.
Some prefer to clean the shoots with the help of special preparations - herbicides. But before you destroy the shoots in this way, be sure to weigh all the risks, because all the shoots have a single root system with the mother plant, and your cherry does not need an extra portion of chemistry.
Preventing overgrowth
Experienced gardeners know not only how to remove, but also how to prevent the active formation of overgrowth. For example, it has been noticed that abundant and rare watering makes the process less intense. It is also useful to mulch trees, fight pests in time, and regularly carry out sanitary pruning.
The overgrowth problem is not only aesthetic, but also practical harm: if it is not dealt with, it greatly reduces the yield of cherries. And it is not surprising, because, feeding on the juices from the roots, the sprouts take precious vital energy from the tree. But this will not happen to you, since you now know how to bring out the annoying growth.
Video "How to get rid of overgrowth"
From this video you will learn how to get rid of overgrowth.
Before you start planting young trees and shrubs on an overgrown (abandoned) site, you must definitely get rid of the old growth. Trees should be removed so that in the future the growth does not appear on the site again. It is always difficult to deal with the shoots of plum, cherry, sea buckthorn, shadberry, chokeberry, bird cherry, American maple. Wild (and the American maple is constantly, it is generally some kind of alien), they give an abundance of root shoots. It is extremely difficult to destroy it by simple physical removal by cutting to a stump with a pruner or a saw. The shoots will reappear on the site from year to year, striving to grow where you don’t expect it at all.
Overgrowth remedies
There is an abundance of chemicals on the market now, using which shoots can be defeated fairly quickly. These drugs are called arboricides, with their help you can not only remove shoots, but even destroy entire trees. However, such strong chemistry can harm nature and surrounding plants, so it can only be used as a last resort.
Overgrowth herbicides
A little safer is the use of herbicides - drugs for weed control. How to use herbicides to remove overgrowth? You can just water the shoots and trees with herbicides, but there will be no sense from this - the leaves and grass around will dry up, and the next year the shoots will start growing again. Therefore, it is necessary to use herbicides to combat trees and shoots in several stages.
1. Cut down trees in autumn
I advise in the autumn, when a downward flow of substances in plants is observed, to cut down a tree at a height of about 25-30 cm, making the saw cut even.
2. Make holes in the cut
Using a drill, make vertical holes 5-10 cm deep in the saw cut. The holes need to be made larger, so choose the maximum diameter of the drill. The number of holes usually depends on the diameter of the cut: with a diameter of 12-16 cm holes, at least 6-8 pieces with a diameter of 1.5-2.5 cm are needed: with a diameter of 30-35 cm - 15-17 holes, etc. Drill holes closer to the borders of the cut, and not in its center - this way you will get into the conductive layers, and not into the wood.
3. Pour herbicide into the holes
We will pour the herbicide into the holes obtained. Glyphosate-based products, such as Roundup, are suitable. It must be diluted in a ratio of 1:3 or 1:5, and then pour the resulting solution into the holes.
4. Cover saw cut
After the herbicide has been poured into the holes, the saw cut must be covered with plastic wrap or a regular bag. Shelter saw cut is necessary so that the preparation does not lose its strength under the rays of the sun, in order to exclude its evaporation and protect it from external moisture, which can wash out the preparation or reduce its concentration. The shelter will also protect neighboring plants from the effects of the drug, because heavy rain can wash the drug out of the hole, flowing down the trunk, the herbicide will fall into the zone of vital activity of other plants.
5. Repeat procedure
After about 5-6 days, it is advisable to renew the holes: drill deeper or drill a little wider with a thicker drill, refill with the drug in the same concentration and cover with a film. If necessary, you can repeat this operation again, but usually two is enough.
6. Uproot trees in spring
After the repeated procedure, you need to leave the plants alone until spring, and in the spring, take up the uprooting of already dried and completely dead plants. When uprooting, be very careful to remove all parts of the plant's root system from the soil. Even a small part of the roots remaining in the soil can lead to the restoration of growth activity, and the shoots will reappear on the site.
Safety precautions when working with herbicides
When working with herbicide, remember to take precautions, always wear goggles, a respirator and protective gloves. After use, they must be burned, their repeated use may lead to poisoning. In case of accidental ingestion of the herbicide, immediately call a doctor and vomit; in case of contact with skin or eyes, rinse with plenty of water.