Buds growing all the way down the stem of my cherry tree.......

[21again]

I bought a Stella cherry tree last year from Tesco, thought I would give it a go as it was half price.

This week everything in the garden has gone mad and the stella has new buds growing all the way down to the stem to about 1" above the compost (it is in a large pot).

Should I do anything about these?

I assume it would have a few buds growing on it but not all the way to ground level!

The Opal plum tree I have in a pot has also got a bud growing just above compost level.

EDIT:

Just been out to double check (must be mad as it's chucking it down!) and the buds on the cherry tree aren't all the way down to ground level but down to where the grafting was originally done.

However, the one on the plumb is about 3cm above the compost.

[FB.]

Should you do anything?
Personally, I would leave them.

Many fruit trees will branch all the way down to the graft and sometimes below. The natural shape of most trees is actually a giant bush; it's just that humans tend to cut off the lower branches so that we can walk (or sit) under the trees.
But in a natural state, most trees would have lower branches that almost touch the ground, often forming a cone shaped or dome shaped tree.

You could either pinch-out unwanted shoots now, or let them grow all season and select the best branches while removing the unwanted ones early next spring.
Quite a lot of those buds that are currently breaking out may become fruit spurs later in the season, so I wouldn't hurry to remove them or you may lose some or all of next years crop. If you want any of those buds to definitely become a fruit spur, prune the bud back to a length of just a couple of inches in July

................

The plum tree sounds like more of a concern. They are notorious for their rootstocks sending up suckers. The suckers will not produce the same type of fruit as the main tree. In fact, almond rootstocks will often produce plums!
Any growth from below the graft should be removed. Pinch-out shoots from below the graft (although I will often leave them for the first season after planting, to allow the tree a bit of freedom while it settles).

Shoots coming up from below ground should be removed promptly. You should scrabble down into the soil to find where the shoot comes from and break it off as far below ground as possible. If you simply snip it at ground level, you can expect three new shoots to come up next year, with the number of "suckers" increasing three-fold every year that you continue taking the lazy option. Do it properly now and you'll save a lot of problems later.

[21again]

Thanks very much FB for your helpful advice.

I went to check on those shoots on the plumb tree this morning and there were two of them, both about an inch above compost level, I snapped them off and will keep my eyes open for anymore that many appear.

Cheers.

[divvy]

Iv'e got the opposit problem , I bought a feathered maiden stella 3 years ago and being my first tree and not knowing what I was doing , rubbed all the feathers off. Now it's faned against a fence I wish I hadn't as lower branches would have been good. I am keeping the tree cut down to the top of the fence in the hope that I will get lower braches again. If anyone has any ideas how to encourage lower branches I'd be gratefull .

[FB.]

If some "dormant" buds are still present on the trunk but they refuse to sprout, you could try "nicking" and "notching" late next winter to alter the sapflow and break the inhibition of those buds by chemicals coming down in the sap from the higher buds.
Run a web search on "nicking" and "notching" for detailed info and diagrams.

In the meantime (especially if no buds remain on the trunk because you cut them all off when they sprouted), in late summer, you could attempt to graft some buds onto the trunk where you want branches to grow. These buds should then sprout next spring. Graft more than you need because some will fail.
Run a web search on "bud grafting" for detailed info and diagrams.

[divvy]

Thanks for that , if I feel brave I may try it , or both . Don't want to lose the tree though cos of my meddling .