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I have this tree in my backyard that is has purple leaves and berries in the spring time. it is a beautiful tree and would like another one. I am constantly getting root shoots coming up thru the grass near its base, 6 inches to a few feet away. Can these be transplanted and if so how do I go about it? Thanks
[SIZE=+2].What is this tree that you have??
Do the root suckers have purple leaves too?
If you're not sure what you have, google the term[/SIZE] [SIZE=+2]"Prunus cerasifera" and see if the images you find resemeble what you have.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=+2][/SIZE]
Yes, you can dig up the shoots and transplant them, as long as you get enough root with them. I dug up a shoot from my crabapple (it was about 12 feet from the tree!) and gave it to my next-door neighbor, and it did just fine.
You can do this with most any tree or shrub that puts up "suckers". It's a great way to get free plants!
Only if you do that, the root suckers are coming from the root stock and not the cultivar you see on the parent tree. (If it's grafted and many crabs are) That's why I asked what it was and if the leaves were purple on the suckers. I don't think you'll have much success starting new trees from them anyway and if they are growing out of the base of the tree or in the immediate area of the tree, I would remove them as soon as you can.
I only read that you wanted to plant roots and missed the shoots part. Still the comment about it not being true to the parent tree is correct as most crabapples sold in nurseries are grafted and any suckers which come up are going to be from the parent stock and not the grafted variety.
Yes, that's true about the grafting. But it's great to do on shrubs and trees that are not grafted. Like my English Dogwood shrubs....that's how I got them, from digging up shoots from a bush in my MIL's yard. I've also done it with a Crepe Myrtle in my yard. And a friend gave me a sprout off of her blueberry bush.
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