Water Sucker or Limb?
HGFzone8
11 years ago
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rhizo_1 (North AL) zone 7
11 years agohoosierquilt USDA 10A Sunset 23 Vista CA
11 years agoRelated Discussions
Need a Water Sucker! Suggestions?
Comments (11)I highly recommend the Button Bush that Cameron mentioned. I planted one about 7 years ago in my "wet" garden. This area used to lay in water for about 6 weeks in the spring, and never completely dried out during the summer. I bought BB as a bareroot 18 inch whip from a catalog for only a few dollars. It was listed as a flood plane bush/tree. I planted it directly in the path of the main flood water. It grew quickly into a good sized dense bush which I have kept by heavy pruning to about 5 feet wide and 8 feet tall. This year I had it limbed up and thinned to 3 main trunks because it was becoming hard, even with deep pruning, to keep it out of the entry pathway. There was a short article about BB a few years ago in Fine Gardening Magazine talking about it making an elegant small tree, so I thought I would try that. I also used the thicketing Red-twig dogwoods and Itea shrubs mentioned earlier, along with a couple of Clethra Hummingbird shrubs, to add more bloom and a nice scent (Clethra), great long-lasting fall color (Itea) & winter color (Red Twig). As the area developed I added some moisture loving perennials. The whole area is now underplanted with Primula japonica, Virginia Bluebells, Trollius, Astilbe and Ostrich fern. There is still water there, but who can tell! LOL...See MoreRemoving sucker below the soil line? Crown or sucker?
Comments (4)Hi, It looks to me like the small leaves in the center of the big plant are the crown, not another sucker. Many growers don't like the self-watering pots, but my violets love them. I guess I'm lucky to buy them from a vendor that makes the pots right and they function perfectly. The catch is that you have to add extra perlite and vermiculite to the standard peat mix recipie. Peat by itself holds too much water and the roots can drown and rot in a self-watering pot. Sounds like what happened to your plant. If you change to a regular plastic pot, remove some of the older leaves, bury the "neck" and use the common 1/3 peat, 1/3 perlite, and 1/3 vermiculite mix the roots may be able to grow better. New ones will form from the neck area also, and over time the roots should anchor the plant so it isn't wobbly. It looks like your plant could benefit from a little more light too (when the leaves stand up instead of lying flat the cause is usually too little light). Good luck - I think it's great that you have a nice new baby to raise!...See MoreDwarf Cavendish Water Sucker
Comments (1)I can't really say from the picture. The banana that is visible is large enough to be "just a banana." But if it started out as a water leaf sucker that is the approximate shape the leaves would have been. The sword leaf suckers keep very narrow pointed leaves until they are 2-3' out of the ground. All depends on the exact species, current conditions, situation it was coming out of. The difference is really negligible to the home grower. The sword leaf is a more vigorous grow, so it might yield bananas sooner. But both plants will do just fine and grow to their proper size for you. The concern over destroying water leaf suckers is in the plantations where yields are affected and the weak plants represent the next crop. To those guys every single penny counts....See MoreWondering if this branch is a water sprout/sucker
Comments (15)What method do you use to water? Hand water, if it's automatic, bubbler head, sprayer, or drip irrigation? The reason I ask is because that type of fertilizer needs to be watered in to work well, and every time you water until it's used up, usually in about 4-8 weeks.(you'll need to check the label as to when to reapply. I don't remember.) So unless the whole area you spread the fertilizer is watered each time you irrigate, it won't be as effective. If it's on a dry area it won't dissolve. Don't get me wrong, it's great citrus food, you just have to be sure it's getting applied correctly. When my trees feeding gets away from me and they get a little yellow, I use a liquid food for a couple times, to quickly green them, especially in the cooler temps of winter/spring. The dry organic ferts like EB Stone Citrus food, work best in the warm soils of summer/fall. I agree with the others too, it's not a root-stock sucker, and the "water sprout" look will go away after a season or two, and it will looks like all the other branches. If it's giving you fruit, I also would leave it alone....See Morehoustontexas123
11 years agojohnmerr
11 years agorhizo_1 (North AL) zone 7
11 years agojbclem
11 years agojohnmerr
11 years agorhizo_1 (North AL) zone 7
11 years agojohnmerr
11 years agohoustontexas123
11 years agoHGFzone8
11 years ago
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hoosierquilt USDA 10A Sunset 23 Vista CA