I always prune any suckers on my fruit trees. I usually don't have suckers on my peach tees, but that might be because of the type of rootstock used. Some rootstocks are more prone to suckering than others. I have pruned suckers on my plums occasionally. I could not help but notice you mentioned that the graft is several inches above the soil line. You might want to check with the place you bought your tree from and find out if that is too high above the soil line. That might be causing the suckering as well, but I am not sure. I usually plant my fruit trees with the graft one or two, maybe three inches at the most above the soil line and have real good luck with that. Some grafted trees come with a stripe painted on it to indicate the planting depth. Best of luck to you!

Todd

Thanks! :) It's about 3" above the soil line. I got it at Home Depot. I planted it where it was in the pot. I pruned off the suckers. I don't know if HD would be much help in knowing about the graft height. I have no idea what kind of rootstock it's on.

Homegardener:

Suckers normally appear from the soil at ground level. They come from the roots. If yours are sprouting at 3 inch height, they are probably adventitious buds, not root suckers. Nevertheless, prune them off. You do not want branching at such a low level.

If the graft is several inches above the soil line, and the growth is above that, you are in good shape.

Don Yellman, Great Falls, VA

Don, thanks for the response. The suckers are coming at the ground level. I did also have some sprouting at the graft, which I did also prune off.