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Hoosierguy86

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Posted Reply with quote  #1 
Is it a best practice to pull a potential sucker off before potting a cutting or is it OK to leave it to form a sucker/new plant? The roots were only growing at the bottom of this cutting. There were none growing so that it could be split in two pieces. 

rps20140214_090029_717.jpg 

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Scott N. Indiana 5b/6a
GeneDaniels

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Posted Reply with quote  #2 
I've never done this with small cuttings, but with larger plants you wound the sucker's bark and then mound up soil around that wound and let it root for 6 weeks. Then remove it. Perhaps this would work with the cutting. It certainly cannot hurt.
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Zone 7b (Central Arkansas) Seven trees in the ground: Hardy Chicago, Celeste(?), LSU gold, Italian Black, Southern Brown Turkey(?), Strawberry Verte, and Unk yellow.  Trees in pots: VdB, CdD, and Sicilian?
bullet08

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Posted Reply with quote  #3 
i'm not sure what the exact definition of sucker is. but that one is just another branch coming off the cutting. normally, i leave them alone to see which one will grow faster. once i know which one will grow better and if there is no issue, i'll clip the other one to make single trunk tree form. 

on grown tree with sucker coming off the root ball somewhere, i cut them off as soon as i see them. they do take energy off the main tree. i used to leave them to grow for cuttings, but realized that they take more energy then the main tree and grow much faster. 
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Pete
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strudeldog

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Posted Reply with quote  #4 
Scott,

Like Pete I am sure  that is another bud from the cutting.  I like multi-trunked trees so I leave them, but watch careful for mold on that young foliage in constant contact with the growing media.
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Phil N.GA. Zone 7 Looking for: De La Reina, Del La Senyora, Martinenca Rimada, Parfum De Cafards, Ponte Tresa,  Sangue Dulce, Emalyn's Purple, and on and on
FrozenJoe

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Posted Reply with quote  #5 
Leave it.  The more growth you can get out of that cutting the better.
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Joe
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Hoosierguy86

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Posted Reply with quote  #6 
Thank you for all the feedback. It is another bud from the cutting but I figured since it is under the soil it will potentially develop roots and function as a "sucker"

Pete - I never thought to let it grow and prune the less dominant for a single stem. That's a pretty good idea for tree form.

Strudeldog - does it look familiar? It was growing at your house a couple months ago. Haha. Thank you for the cuttings. They are thriving with spectacular root growth and the buds have already broken out!

I will probably focus more on bush growth due to my cold climate region. 

Thanks again!
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Scott N. Indiana 5b/6a
strudeldog

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Posted Reply with quote  #7 
Scott,

Great to see, sounds like you have them off to a great start.
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Phil N.GA. Zone 7 Looking for: De La Reina, Del La Senyora, Martinenca Rimada, Parfum De Cafards, Ponte Tresa,  Sangue Dulce, Emalyn's Purple, and on and on
jdsfrance

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Posted Reply with quote  #8 
Hi Hoosierguy86,
Don't cut it !
Let it grow until next year. You'll tare them apart then and you'll have two trees for the price of one.
It is handy especially if you count on having die back .

I myself bought a small fig tree, 15 cm in height bushy still - 1 main stem and 4 weaker stems.
I now have 3 trees a big one and two small - I messed up the 2 other trees I had made.
But the choice is your :)
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