Is my grafted cherry growing right?

I bought a small cherry tree in March when it was full of flowers. I planted it in the ground and it has been doing well but I'm wondering if it has a branch that shouldn't be there. It looks to me that it might be the root stock tree.



As you can see the branch has large green leaves whereas the rest of the tree has much smaller autumn red leaves, although they do look very similar in shape.

If you follow the branch down it originates just bellow/on the graft, the lowest branch on the right, the green one.



Is the branch cherry or is it a sprout from the root stock?

 

What type of cherry tree is it? An ornamental or fruiting variety?

I think cherries are generally grafted on to cherry rootstock so the although the green branch leaves look like cherry, I don't know whether it is the RIGHT cherry for your desired tree.

Its later reddening, larger leaf and proximity to the graft site are certainly suspicious.

Unless it really spoils the shape of the tree, I would be tempted to take it off now.

 

It's an ornamental cherry.

 

Hi @hoofy , I would say it's definitely a sucker so really needs to be taken off otherwise it will take all the goodness( nutrients , water etc ) out of the grafted portion of the tree.

 

So cut it off, how far from where it meets the trunk?

 

Oops, only just read this, but may I suggest that you wait until next summer to do the dirty deed (if it's not too late). It's really not a good idea to cut into any sort of cherry tree in the winter because of the danger of disease entering the wound. Especially bacterial canker and silver-leaf disease. On balance, the rootstock sucker sapping energy from the scion is the least of two evils.
If you can, wait until a longish dry spell next year, then cut the sucker 2mm (practically flush) from the graft. You'll need to watch for it sprouting again, probably lots of smaller shoots. These are easily rubbed or snipped off when they're small.

 

It even appears to be making roots from slightly above the graft and at the base of the sucker..