Suckers Beget Suckers

Q. All my trees send sucker shoots up around their base. I have a drip system and water three times a week for 20 minutes. What am I doing wrong and how can I stop this sucker growth?

A. It is a mixed bag. Sucker removal, and how often it’s done, depends on the plant, how old it is and how the suckers are removed.

            Trees that normally grow as shrubs tend to sucker a lot. Others don’t. When oleanders are grown as multi or single trunk trees, the suckers must be removed just about all its life. Mediterranean fan palms are in the same boat.

Cutting suckers off and leaving behind stubs just makes more suckers.

            Some plants produce a lot or suckers when young and rain this characteristic in as they get older. Most suckers, like weed control, stop sending up more if the suckers are removed as soon as they are seen instead of waiting until they get larger. Sucker removal must be done as soon as you see them rather than wait.

            How they are removed is also important. If you remove suckers when they are young you can hand pull them or rub them off with your hand or fingers. That’s easy. It’s  more work if you must get hand pruners and remove them by cutting. Not only that, but if you leave stubs behind new growth will come from those. When you leave stubs, figure three new shoots for everyone cut.

If you remove suckers while they are still young you can pull them off at the point where they grow from the tree and leave no stub behind. No stub means no sucker growth.

            There are sprays you can apply that decrease the suckering. They have names like “Sucker Punch”, “Sucker Stopper” but these sprays may be just a “band aid” for the problem, a temporary fix. Any time you use these follow the label direction to the letter.