Trunk Is Suckering Due To Damage

Q. My tree is sending out shoots all around the trunk about one third of its height. Is there anything I should do to help the tree?

Suckers coming from the base of the tree can mean damage higher up on the trunk. Some plants sucker more at the base than others.

A. The tree has been “girdled” around the trunk and the trunk responded by suckering just below the damaged area.

            Look closely at the trunk, just above the sprouts, you will see that the bark and "sapwood" have been removed all the way down to the dead inner core (wood). In other words, the tree trunk has been damaged beyond repair.

            When both the xylem and phloem aka, sapwood, have been removed, the top of the tree usually dies quickly. It looks like this tree did not. This means the outer phloem has been removed but some of the xylem still remains.

Suckers coming from the trunk due to trunk damage

            The xylem is mostly responsible for transporting water up the tree to the leaves, through the trunk and stems, from the roots. The phloem, on the other hand, is mostly responsible for transporting sugars and starches from the leaves and stems downward toward the roots. Starches are stored in the trunk, roots and limbs.

This tree appears to have been grafted with a sucker coming from below the graft.

            With the loss of the phloem, the tree trunk beneath this damage will no longer get any of the benefits from the green leaves. However, with some of the xylem present, water from the roots is still pushed up towards the leaves keeping the top from dying.

            If the tree does not die outright, it will die a slow death as the roots exhaust its food supply which can no longer be replenished.

            The tree is a goner and should be removed unless you like to see it die a slow death. The suckers are responding to the damage to the trunk. It is trying to grow a new canopy because it knows that it cannot support the existing large canopy. You could regrow the top from the suckers but it will look funny for a long, long time.