How to Transplant Hawthorn Suckers

Suckers need extra water for the first few weeks.

Hawthorn trees are relatively hardy, able to survive with only occasional water and partial sun. In late spring and early summer, most hawthorn varieties blossom with pink, red, yellow or white flowers, adding color to your yard. If you already have a healthy hawthorn tree, you can grow new trees from sucker cuttings. With sucker transplantation, hawthorn propagation is faster, because you don't need to germinate and grow finicky seedlings.

Things You'll Need

• Trowel
• Pruning shears
• Knife
• Hormone rooting agent
• Watering can

Instructions

1. Dig a 6-inch hole around a small stem shooting up near your hawthorn tree's base. "Suckers" are simply root offshoots that grow to the surface and sprout leaves.

2. Clip the root sucker so the entire stem is about 6- to 8-inches long. Hawthorn trees do not have surface roots, so digging several feet to the sucker's base is very difficult and not necessary unless you want to fully prevent future sucker regrowth.

3. Slice a 1-inch long slit at the base of the hawthorn sucker, penetrating the sucker's outer bark. This provides more surface area for new roots to emerge.

4. Dip the base of the hawthorn sucker in a hormone rooting agent. Hormone rooting powders and gels lead to more successful rooting, though rooting can occur without artificial rooting agents if you don't want to use any chemicals in your garden.

5. Dig a 4- to 5-inch hole in any moist garden soil. Hawthorn trees can survive in relatively dry soil, but the soil should be soft and wet to the touch for more successful rooting.

6. Plant the hawthorn sucker, ensuring about half of the stalk is underground.

7. Water as necessary to ensure moist soil. Roots and new buds will form within two to three weeks, then you only need to water when the soil is visibly dry and cracking.

8. Cut back new flower buds during the first season of growth to ensure healthier long-term flower production. In its early life, resources are better spent on branch and leaf bud growth. Excising the first-season's flowers will preserves the plant's vital nutrients.

References

• "Trees and Shrubs: What to Grow and How to Grow It"; Keith Rushforth; 2005
• "American Horticultural Society Great Plant Guide"; Tracie Lee; 2001