We had few young trees planted 1-2years ago and they were growing beautifully. Sadly in the spring some goats made up their way to our land and chewed up the trees :( Some of the tree's trunks were completely chewed off, therefore the trees slowly dried up on the top, but from the bottom new branches have grown. Will these trees ever give fruit from these new shoots, shall we keep them? Or do we have to plant new trees? Pictures attached are of an apple tree.
Most apples and pears are grown on grafted root stock from the same genus which is stronger and more disease resistant than the desirable fruit tree. So, if the upper part dies, growth coming from the base is usually that grafted stock. I had two young apple trees and a pear that were badly damaged by deer. They started sprouting from the grafts but I had to pull them.
Thanks for your quick reply! Im quite new to gardening, so learning about grafted trees is still new to me... Im still not sure I understand if these trees will ever give fruit...?
You can usually see the grafted scion (the fruiting part) several inches above ground level to check if your tree is grafted. The fact that the main tree is dead but there is new growth at the base indicates a graft. Most fruit trees purchased from nurseries here are not seed grown though I have grown several peach trees from seed. Here is an explanation of rootstocks from Washington State University...
"Most rootstocks will produce edible fruit if left to grow naturally, but the fruit is usually small and poorly flavored.
The variety selected for the scion imparts the fruit characteristics such as size, color, and quality factors. The variety selected for the rootstock determines tree size, precocity, some disease resistance (such as fireblight) and even cold hardiness. And like the fruiting varieties, rootstocks also undergo breeding and selection for their desired characteristics. Whilst most scientific attention has focused on developing rootstocks for apple trees, rootstocks are also important for growing pears, plums and cherries."
So if the quality of the fruit and size of the tree are important you should consider replanting.
