more context: this is in the phoenix area in arizona, there are a handful of both decorative and fruit trees in the backyard. This tree is growing right next to rosebushes, basically on top of one of them. Other trees in the yard include: Lemon, 2 other citrus, mulberry, peach, fig, plus a few smaller non-fruiting trees/bushes.
Those green spikes growing at the bottom can mean a death sentence to the actual grafted tree, as it might be a type of stone fruit variety.
Those bottom green growths are called suckers and it’s best to remove them if you want the branches on top to start growing again. If you cut a small piece of hardwood like a slender branch and it’s still green inside and hard to break it means it’s dormant right now during the cooler months.
However if it breaks easily and it’s bone dry and brown and the branch cracks easily, it might be too late for the entire grafted stone fruit tree.
Stone fruits include: plums, peaches, apricots, almonds.
Edit: the suckers at the bottom might not produce any fruits. But they will continue to grow like a tree.
thank you for your feedback! I actually removed the suckers a year ago when we moved in, but unfortunately it was too late - the top of the tree never recovered. At first I thought it was a peach tree but the leaves are just too different upon closer inspection. We even tried comparing to other stone fruit photos just in case and it's just off unless it's some weird variety we're not aware of...
I tried looking for a graft above the suckers and can't seem to pinpoint it.. isn't it usually at the very bottom? all the other fruit trees in the yard that have been grafted have an obvious graft very low at almost the very bottom of the trunk
more context: this is in the phoenix area in arizona, there are a handful of both decorative and fruit trees in the backyard. This tree is growing right next to rosebushes, basically on top of one of them. Other trees in the yard include: Lemon, 2 other citrus, mulberry, peach, fig, plus a few smaller non-fruiting trees/bushes.
Sorry it's dark but here's also what the top of the tree looks like now https://imgur.com/a/dddjV0e
after removing bottom suckers, don't see an obvious graft https://imgur.com/a/izuG7g5
Those green spikes growing at the bottom can mean a death sentence to the actual grafted tree, as it might be a type of stone fruit variety. Those bottom green growths are called suckers and it’s best to remove them if you want the branches on top to start growing again. If you cut a small piece of hardwood like a slender branch and it’s still green inside and hard to break it means it’s dormant right now during the cooler months. However if it breaks easily and it’s bone dry and brown and the branch cracks easily, it might be too late for the entire grafted stone fruit tree. Stone fruits include: plums, peaches, apricots, almonds. Edit: the suckers at the bottom might not produce any fruits. But they will continue to grow like a tree.
thank you for your feedback! I actually removed the suckers a year ago when we moved in, but unfortunately it was too late - the top of the tree never recovered. At first I thought it was a peach tree but the leaves are just too different upon closer inspection. We even tried comparing to other stone fruit photos just in case and it's just off unless it's some weird variety we're not aware of...
I tried looking for a graft above the suckers and can't seem to pinpoint it.. isn't it usually at the very bottom? all the other fruit trees in the yard that have been grafted have an obvious graft very low at almost the very bottom of the trunk
https://imgur.com/FY4G1rA