Grafting a sucker

[TreeDaddy]

I have a heavy producing Fuyu persimmon tree with 2 suckers ~ 4 ft tall and 1 in diameter

If I transplant as they are i suspect they will bear the traits of the rootstock and not the grafted scion

What if i top worked them with scion from the mother tree?

perhaps transplant immediately after grafting or wait a year?

appreciate any thoughts from the grafting persimmon experts

bill

 

[MW22392]

I am no persimmon grafting expert, but I do know root suckers pretty well. A sucker sprouts from the roots of the mother plant so it’s not transplantable without severing the roots off of the mother plant. I wouldn't mess with the root system and would just cut down the suckers.

 

[PoorSand]

I haven't tried propagating persimmons. Here's what I do to propagate apple and crabapple trees from suckers. It might work for persimmons too. I don't know.

For suckers that come up from tree roots, I go around in the spring shortly after the snow melts when my sandy soil is like a slurry. I spot a sucker, push my fingers down into the soil around its trunk, and feel to see if it has roots of its own. If it does, I uncover its roots. Then I push my fingers down further until I feel the tree root. I cut off the sucker at that junction. Mostly commonly, I find that the suckers have come up where the tree root grow close to the surface of the ground. So sometimes the gap is a fraction of an inch.

For suckers that are attached to the trunk of the parent tree above ground, I mound soil around the tree trunk about 12'-18" high. Then I come back in a couple/few years and follow the above described procedure. That has worked for young suckers. It the sucker is unresponsive to that (typically because it is too old), I cut it off at the base, mound over it, and come back in a couple/few years to check it again.

 

[Telemark]

I do mostly the same a PoorSand. It can take a while for root suckers to grow properly. If I did it at home, I would probably add rooting hormone to the wounds and pot the new tree for a year in a rootmaker pot or a sand bed. If it survives and grows roots, then bench graft it next year and plant it out in its new location.

I don't have persimmon trees, but I have apples and plums from root suckers.

Grafting scion to the mother tree should be no problem. You could also try a different variety to extend your drop times. Blue Hill has a good chart for this.