What should I do with my apricot tree that has morphed at the trunk.

Question

Tree is 3 years old with a initial planting date of May 2016. It has not been pruned other than the pruning performed at the nursery during purchase. The reason for this is our soil is rather hard and poor and I wanted as much early growth as possible so a good root structure would develop. Size when planted was only about 18 inches. Tree is now approaching 10 feet and will need to be pruned.

As the tree grew, it sprouted some branches at the bottom. During its second summer, I realized the branches coming from the bottom grew different shaped leaves. Those branches, which appear as separate trunks do indeed come off of the main trunk right at the soil level. The tree produced a few small apricots last summer. Other than a cherry tree, it is the only fruit tree in our yard.

Temps. where we are located range from about 6 winter weeks with overnights below freezing and 6 – 8 weeks with summer days @ 100+.

Questions: Does this happen often with fruit trees? Should I remove the morphed branches/trunks at this point?

Thanks in advance for any help with this.

Answer 1

Forgot to add to my post – I do not know the variety of apricot. (& don’t know why the photos changed their orientation during upload). Tim