Professional Landscaping; Let’s Talk Tree Suckers

Trees are your community’s largest asset and as such require consistent maintenance and upkeep by a professional landscaping company to ensure they remain an asset rather than becoming a liability! With that being said, a major part of that upkeep is the prevention and/or removal of tree suckers- a common ailment to trees that if left unaddressed can lead to tree death.

Tree suckers are small sprouts that a tree produces as a result to a variety of causes such as injury, pest infestation, drought, open wounds, and more! Trees produce these suckers as a way to continue their own lineage in the case that the main tree dies from one or many of these causes and as a way of multiplying the chance of sprout survival.

So what is the issue with allowing tree suckers? The issue with tree suckers is that these sprouts often take nutrients and water from the main tree and the older branches. Tree suckers are extremely fast growing and therefore sap away the energy of the tree and absorb a lot of the needed nutrients. If suckers are left to grow, the can become even more established and give the tree an overgrown and messy look that is more difficult to address.

The best way to address tree suckers is to prevent them. Prevention includes:

  • Keeping your trees in good health with regular maintenance and regular pruning as needed
  • Ensuring your trees are getting enough water to their root systems, increasing water in the warmer months
  • Avoiding over pruning so as not to cause injury to the tree

If you can not prevent tree suckers, removal of them is advised right away! Using a professional landscaping company, such as ELS Maintenance, for this removal is a great idea to ensure that they are removed correctly without causing more injury or stress to the tree.