Suckers, Watersprouts, and Stump Management

Recently, a group of friends on a site I visit were discussing "Suckers", the volunteer plants that grow up around another plant looking like straight little clones of the parent tree.  The questions which were asked were good and led me to do a little research on the subject for my friends. 

Suckers are whippy plants which grow up from the ground around a tree and which are the same apparent variety as the tree.  In trees such as crabapple and ornamental plum trees these vigorous volunteers look like a sure way to get free extra plants.  Unfortunately, the plants generated spontaneously like this are the offspring of the rootstock plant and not generally of the grafted variety which is what everyone wants.  Nearly all ornamental and bearing fruit trees produce suckers, and in nearly all cases they are not true to variety. 

Suckers also show up in other ornamental plants, particularly roses.  Again, nearly all rose varieties are grafted, and plants growing up from below the graft are the rootstock variety and not the one you paid a heap of money for.  The exceptions to the grafting process are some types of hardy shrub roses which are grown on their own rootstock.  Another "Sucker To Avoid" is on tomato plants.  Suckers grow as stems appearing between the primary leaf and stem of a tomato plant.  Because these suckers do not product flowers they are often pinched off of home garden tomatoes so  that the plant can put that energy into growing more tomatoes for your summer table. 

Another problem child in ornamental and fruit bearing trees is the watersprout.  These are very fast growing branches which sprout from existing branches on trees.  As illustrated above, they tend to grow straight up and very fast and in come cases can overwhelm the fruit bearing branches and reduce the vigor and productivity of the tree.  A very good site on these problem plants is maintained by TLC for Trees.  You can get there by clicking on their name.

Suckers and watersprouts can be easily pruned out by hand.  Another way to stop suckers is a product called "Sucker Stopper" (I'm not making that up!) which is applied to the area where suckers are formed early in the spring.  According the the manufacturer it prevents suckering.  I'm not endorsing the product because I know nothing about it, but I'll do some more digging and let you know. 

The third type of problem child related to suckering is the STUMP THAT WILL NOT DIE!   Usually this is the stump of a vigorously growing tree such as willow, poplar or aspen which insists on sprouting even though you have cut it down.  These suckers grow quickly and can be a real blade ruiner for your mower.  Products such as Glyphosate (Roundup) and Triclopyr (Brush Killer) can be painted directly on the fresh cut stumps of these trees to prevent the growth of suckers.  It's always important to read and follow the manufacturer's instructions carefully especially when you are applying a concentrated weed killer in an area where other plants may be. 

Comments

[Gardening Seeds]

Thank you very much for the information I really appreciate it!!

[Kenneth Friend]

I have had good luck at removing suckers by spraying them with Round Up (comes in different versions – don’t know which I have used). I remove the little suckers after they die. Those suckers don’t come back. Eventually, new ones appear but not very quickly. It never seems to harm the tree.

[Mike]

I saw a small bit of information on sucker stopper and would like some more information of any kind to stop these things from taking over my trees and shrubs.

Thank you for your tine and knowledge.

Sincerely,
Mike Latham