KY Coffee tree question

I have been raising some KY Cofffee trees since they were 6" tall. Most are now 3-6 feet tall. This spring I transplanted 9 to my front yard and gave 6 to my neighbour. I left 9 smaller ones for transplanting next spring. Now there are 13 trees there. They have never flowered or put out seed. My only thought was that I missed some roots and the roots have put up growth of their own. Is this possible?

Not sure what you mean by 'missed some roots'. Could you clarify?

gasrocks wins the prize! Coffeetrees for life!

Yes, not only possible but highly likely. Kentucky Coffeetree (Gymnocladus dioicus) is well known for its penchant for colonizing with additional stems arising from its root system - especially when the root system is disturbed by digging, tilling, transplanting, etc.

It can behave very much like Robinia pseudoacacia (or Sassafras) in this regard, and it is quite the survival mechanism.

Dig around or dig up one of the sprouts that you expect originated from part of the old root system of ones you transplanted, and see if there isn't simply a root running horizontally beneath the soil surface from which this plant sprung from a dormant bud.

Thanks for the info. Hmm.... what a way to get more trees.... transplant them leaving some roots......

You don't even have to transplant them.

Just severing the roots causes the reaction you've experienced. I have this situation around a parent tree here, where I added shrubs to the vicinity of a ten inch caliper resident. Plenty of new sprouts annually, if you want to try harvesting them and see what succeeds.

Note: these will all be clones of the parent seedling - meaning identical genetically. If the parent turns out to have been female, then all the root sprouts from that seedling will be female also (producing the kidney shaped seed pods). If the parent seedling was male, then all the sprouts from those roots will be male as well (meaning: no seeds).

It is likely that you could harvest leftover roots, pot them up in containers, and grow sprouts there (under control) and then plant them out whenever you are ready and wherever you choose.

A little bit of Kentucky, all over Wisconsin. I like the sound of that.

I thought I read somewhere that Ky Coffeetrees once did grow naturally in S.W. Wisconsin. I like them. Something different. Light enough shade that grass will grow under them. Few pest problems. I transplanted 9 (so far) to an open sunny area. I put them in a random pattern. Sometimes I tire of seeing straight lines of trees. Besides, I'd probably not get that straight line exactly right anyways.

You are right that KY Coffeetree's native range extends into Wisconsin - in fact, it is scattered pretty widely through the upper midwest. I've included some USDA distribution maps, which show about 14 counties in Wisconsin where it is supposed to occur.

http://plants.usda.gov/java/nameSearch?keywordquery=gymnocladus+dioicus&mode=sciname&submit.x=10&submit.y=8

http://plants.usda.gov/java/county?state_name=Wisconsin&statefips=55&symbol=GYDI

http://plants.usda.gov/java/county?state_name=Kentucky&statefips=21&symbol=GYDI

I have my own roots in Wisconsin - Mom's from Middleton (not far from you) and Dad's from Kewaunee. Spent many summers up behind the Cheese Curtain.

Thanks for that info. Map says even the county I live in may have some. I may have to go scouting. Winter might be the best time to spot them. They look so odd then. I'll bet many people think their tree has died as it loses so much for the winter. I have no idea whether I have males or females as they have not flowered yet. Looking forward to finding out.

Love the bark on those coffee trees!

Boy, the power of some good roots! I now have dozens of new trees popping up from roots, some as far away as 20 feet. Amazing part is how fast they grow. It took 7 years for my 1 foot trees to grow to 4-6 feet tall. The new ones that have come up from this spring's digging are alredy 1-3 foot tall!

As we go into fall/winter, 32 tomorrow night, I count at least 24 new, healthy trees coming up from my Spring transplanting - missed roots.

I have 2 mature Kentucky Coffee Trees (KCT). They both are producing suckers, which up to last I’ve been cutting.

About 30 feet from one of the KCTs is a long-failing Washington Hawthorn (rust, curling and dead leaves, no flowering nor fruit). Despite many efforts, including several years of applying a pre-emergent, it yearly falls into a slow death.

On a far side of the hawthorn and @ 40’ from one of the mature KCTs, 5-6 KCT suckers emerged last year. Half of the suckers are definitely 100% dependent on the parent tree, while the other half seem to be more firmly rooted into the ground, suggesting they have sent out their own roots (though I realize I won’t know for sure until I dig them up). The ones that are more firmly in the ground are the tallest, at about 4’ tall. The others are about 2’ feet tall.

My plan is to let the healthiest, tallest, more firmly rooted one be…as a move to replace the falling hawthorn. But the others I’d like to move to a 3/4 acre plot of former ag land that we plan to clear and plant native plants, including trees.

My question is if anyone has had experience doing this. I haven’t and am puzzled. Thanks for any insights you might pass on. Have a good day!