Cherry – Sprouting Roots

Q: Underneath our large flowering cherry lots of shoots sprout up from exposed roots. How can we control these long term? I’ve heard you can stop it by spraying the cut off roots with diesel fuel.

A: No diesel! You’ll damage the roots beyond repair. It’s difficult to stop the sprouts but you could try applying a sprout inhibitor (Bonide Sucker Punch, etc). Otherwise you’ll just have to cut the sprouts at ground level each year.