How to Get Rid of Tree Suckers & Water Sprouts

Tree shoots at the base of a tree need to be removed correctly - learn how so they don't return.
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How to Get Rid of Tree Suckers & Water Sprouts
Removing shoots at the base tree to prevent multiple trunks. Cut right back to base of the sucker or water sprout.
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All slides and videos belong to GardenFundamentals.com or are public domain images, except for the following:
Multiple trunk birch tree, Dominicus Johannes Bergsmaby : commons.wikime...

[@davidansley2881]

They sell sucker stopper which works well but it’s not cheap, I also found using a cheap black rubber mat and cutting it to fit nicely around the trunk and then putting mulch on top for a couple years works well.

[@heathercole7645]

This was great information! I have 3 matching trees that line my front yard and 1 is leaning from high wind/poor root system/etc. The leaning one looks like one of the photos you showed with all the little sucker growths taking over the bottom of the trunk. So glad to have come across your video for being able to save the other 2 from this! Great knowledge to have for pruning properly!

[@susankilpatrick2918]

Good information Robert.

[@clivehoneycomb9614]

I always find your gardening advice very helpful, thank you for this video. I'd love to hear any advice you might have on the practice of propagating tree cuttings. I have tried with several species including poplar, hazel, and several others over the past two years but each attempt has ended in failure.

[@Gardenfundamentals1]

I have videos for propagation by cuttings - just have not put them together. Most trees are very hard to root from cuttings. Try some shrubs instead.

[@karabinas]

I got so many suckers in my yard, you’d think I was at a Trump Rally.

[@Gardenfundamentals1]

:) Love that!

[@p.rlilly4662]

My yard is covered. How did you get rid of them?

[@cathybenish9871]

Hahaha

[@teriadams7398]

I'm coming to your yard. Love Trump ❤️

[@brodygasper2303]

Every time I cut mine 20 more grow near by. It's so bad it's spilling into my yard. This is on a weekly basis, not yearly. They are the most invasive things I have ever seen.

[@marlonboniface]

Hi Robert! I have a Robinia pseudoacacia ‘Purple Robe' black locust tree (about 2-3 years old, ~15 ft tall, no trees nearby) in my front yard and it has some suckers growing on near the base of the tree. I live on a busy road and the house is rather close to the road so I was actually happy when these started growing as their leaves provided more privacy between my house and the street. You mentioned that in certain cases you may want to let them grow as multi-trunked trees and I'm leaning toward this option. Do you think this would be appropriate for my specific situation or am I being foolish by letting them grow? Thank you so much in advance for your advice!

[@Gardenfundamentals1]

That only works if the new growth comes from above the graft - I think Purple Robe is grafted - but not certain.

[@jarynn8156]

If I get rid of what I am assuming is the source tree, would that make it stop? I have a cluster of these things that the previous home owner did what you said not to do. So now its a big web of little tiny trunks. I keep going back and pruning it as best I can and every year they turn back into a bush. The tree I think they are coming from isn't particularly healthy itself, so I wouldn't feel like I lost too much getting rid of it and replacing it.

[@Gardenfundamentals1]

Maybe. If you kill the mother tree and the suckers have not yet made their own roots, they will also die. But .... it is quite likely they already have roots, in which case they are likely to survive.

[@naturalhealing9970]

What if cutting them down at the root level doesn't work? Can you put tar on them? I have a grafted Dappled Willow.

[@Gardenfundamentals1]

I doubt tar does anything. Cut even deeper - even cut part of the root out to get rid of dormant buds. But some trees just keep making new dormant buds.

[@truedox]

If you cover the ground around the trunk base with weed barrier, will these be able to grow back?

[@Gardenfundamentals1]

Yes - they are not blocked by weed barrier - which is a useless product for gardens.

[@jamespatrick1116]

If I drill a hole into a sucker after cutting it, will that stop it from growing back?

[@Gardenfundamentals1]

It grows back from dormant buds located where the sucker joins the main stem/root. If you kill the buds it does not grow back.

[@ashleybudde383]

Is it the same for suckers coming from roots further away from the trunk? Do you just trim them super close to the root?

[@Gardenfundamentals1]

Dig one up and look at it. You will probably find a good sized root/runner going to the sucker. If you cut the sucker off, dormant buds along the root will grow again. I usually try to also remove a good part of the root as well as the sucker.

[@seriejohnson698]

I want to cut the bigger tree and let the smaller tree grow

[@markhenry6622]

Painful.....wish there was a magic potion to kill em.

[@jennharley1733]

They do make magic potions, but I have no idea if they actually work.