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What The Stems Sprouting At The Base Of
A Tree Mean
By ROSE OKEKE
Little stems that sprout from anywhere on your tree’s trunk are called tree suckers. They siphon nutrients and resources from your tree, and it’s essential that you prune them off.
Tree suckers usually spring up due to the root system of your tree being over-excited and overtaking the top part of the tree, resulting in suckers springing up around the base.
They’re parasites that must be removed, or they’ll weaken the tree and eventually kill it. Unfortunately, a tree that gets suckers will keep getting them, so you must keep pruning.
The ideal time to prune tree suckers is when they’re young shoots and not when they’re mature because they’re attached to the tree and removing them can harm the tree.
You can prune tree suckers anytime from early spring to early summer. Prune them the same way you’d prune dead branches — just follow the technique so as not to damage the tree.
Using sharp shears, pull on suckers high up on the trunk, and clip them as close as possible to the tree. Brush back the soil and cut lower suckers at their point of origin.
Don't ever use herbicides, as this will damage or kill the host tree. Consider correct pruning of tree suckers to be part of regular maintenance, and your tree will remain healthy.