Bob,
How old is the non-growing Spring Snow? Is it older and in decline or just not doing well? Are you letting the suckers grow to replace the non growing trees? If so, pick one or two, then cut the original tree down and let the suckers get going, then pick one of the suckers as the new tree and prune out the second sucker. Right now the suckers are just pulling resources from the original tree.

I lost a small Washington Hawthorne winter before last. I cut back the main trunk this spring and it's got probably 15 suckers. I need to get them culled, so thanks for the reminder!

Patience is a wonderful and necessary quality for a gardener in Colorado to have.

Barb

So my Peach and Apple tree have both been producing suckers. I've been leaving them, because both trees were having some issues. The original young peach trunk has been rather lopsided, so I thought maybe leaving the suckers might eventually balance it out - or replace the original trunk. My apple tree, if you remember my post awhile back, had what appeared to be some type of blight. I had cut off all the portions of stems that were infected, and it started putting out a bunch more leaves along all of it's branches ... and suckers. Perhaps I should cut back the suckers on it, now that the original trunk is actually looking nice (I wasn't sure it was going to make it, so that's why I left the suckers).

Marj

Make sure that the suckers are coming above the graft. A lot of times, they come from the rootstock, which isn't much help.

David,

Good point! I really don't know much about grafts and fruit trees. I just have 2 cherry and 3 apple trees so far. I bet the orchards forum could give Bob and Marge some great advice!

Barb