Thank you Mark. Yes, chopping it in conjuction with digging it up seems to be good advice - it's just that I'm always nervous about completely defoliating ANY plant and I wasn't certain if the plant needed to establish itself "in captivity" before giving it the axe. Thanks too for the link. I'm going to print it out and have a good read with my morning coffee break! My plan is to dig it up tomorrow. Cheers! Franz-Erik

Edy, Some people chop the cherry tree down to the stump and pour saw dust over it and a bunch of new shoots come up with roots and that how you can create a bunch of rootstocks for future grafting.The process called stooling. I think you can cut the new cherry tree a little above the graft and that portion will send a new shoot for you to train it into a bonsai if you desire. Tony

Sister lives in a townhouse... mini-backyard that doesn't get a lot of sun. BUT she has a great friend nearby with a BIG back yard. She lets my sister plant a garden, do all the dirty work and they share the results. One summer, had zukes up to their knees!! My sister shredded/grated a bunch, then measured out and froze in amounts just right for a loaf of zuke bread... in zip bags and stored flat. When she decided to bakes, would just put shredded zukes in a container of room temp water... for maybe 20-25 minutes... and it was ready to go.

Here it is, Linda, with my changes--I had to change out the 1/2 C milk and 1/2 C half-and-half or light cream (you need it to equal 1 C of milk/cream/half-and-half) because I called my DH from the store and asked if we had any milk and he said, yes, we have about a quart. I don't know what he was looking at, but we had no milk!) I improvised using what I had on hand. The original recipe calls for 1/2 C milk and 1/2 C half-and-half or light cream. ... so do ya think it needs to be refrigerated? 2 C granulated sugar 1/2 C cream 1/4 C half-and-half 1/4 C water 1 T corn syrup,, the clear kind 1/2 tsp salt 1 T butter 1 tsp vanilla 10 drops cherry extract one 8 oz jar cherries, drained, dried, chopped 1/2 tsp butter, melted--or more as needed Candy thermometer Line a loaf pan with foil, and have the foil extend out over the edges. The recipe uses a 5-3/4x3x2-inch loaf pan but I don't have one that small, so I used the one I had which is a standard size. Butter the sides & bottom of the loaf pan, and the sides of a 2-quart saucepan. In the saucepan combine the sugar, "milk stuff", corn syrup and salt. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until sugar dissolves and mixture comes to a boil. Clip a candy thermometer to sides of pan. Continue boiling steadily, stirring occasionally (I stirred often), until thermometer registers 235 degrees F, about 20 minutes. Once you get to 235 degrees, emove saucepan from heat. Add butter and vanilla but do not stir. Cool, without stirring, to 170 degrees F (today was chilly and this cooling part only took me about 8 to 10 minutes). Take the thermometer out of the saucepan. Beat mixture vigorously by hand with a wooden spoon for 5 minutes. Add the cherries and the cherry extract. Beat mixture vigorously for 1 minute more. Pour into prepared pan, spreading evenly. Let stand until firm. Use foil to lift fudge from pan; remove foil. Eat and think of Sooz and Linda who love cherries!