Suckers...remove or leave on newly collected trees.?

On most of my newly collected trees, most will shoot suckers near the base.

The way I see it, leaves are leaves and they don't really "rob" the plant of nutrients, rather they contribute to the plant in general and help it recover. That said, I want the tree to channel all its energy where I want it but not sure what is the best practice. Remove or let them be for a year?

Of course the ones I want to use as sacrificial branches to help build the trunk girth stays.

Not knowing where else the tree will sprout, I also fear that removing them might endanger the plant's survival. Your thoughts?

My suggestion would almost always be "Leave it alone for the first year."

Poink88 wrote:On most of my newly collected trees, most will shoot suckers near the base.

The way I see it, leaves are leaves and they don't really "rob" the plant of nutrients, rather they contribute to the plant in general and help it recover. That said, I want the tree to channel all its energy where I want it but not sure what is the best practice. Remove or let them be for a year?

Of course the ones I want to use as sacrificial branches to help build the trunk girth stays.

Not knowing where else the tree will sprout, I also fear that removing them might endanger the plant's survival. Your thoughts?

For me it depends on the apparent strength of the tree. With a little experience you'll know what constitutes strong recovery for a given species. If it's strong I'll begin removing suckers before they get out of hand. This keeps the energy going where I want it, higher up in the tree. If the tree is weak I let everything grow for the first year (or two if need be).

One exception to this rule is for removal of large branches/secondary trunks near the base. Anything that grows above or below these cuts I leave, to prevent the roots dying in that area. I actually make it a practice never to cut below the branch collar; doing that is just asking for trouble.

Zach

i guess it depends on the the species and the way the tree reacts to potting.

i collect mainly wild olives and i always remove suckers (from the very beginning) as they absorb energy from the tree.

stavros wrote:i guess it depends on the the species and the way the tree reacts to potting.

i collect mainly wild olives and i always remove suckers (from the very beginning) as they absorb energy from the tree.

Similar to what I do with Chinese privet, which is a cousin to the olive. It wants to be a bush, I don't want it to.

Zach

If a leafless, newly collected tree first starts sprouts from its base, I try to remove them immediately. If it also sprouts elsewhere on the tree, I'm not as concerned, but I'll keep and eye on the upper -- important -- part of the tree.

But remember, newly collected trees, especially largish ones, can make sprouts from internal, stored up energy in the trunk and branch remnants for more than a year -- depending on the species. So, sometimes sprouts are meaningless to the ultimate survival of the tree.

Dario
I usually leave them on for the first season. Now if they are getting to thick or dominate I will take out the terminal buds on the sprout, or remove it completely. Letting them go for a while and then taking them out will leave a scar which can make the trunk more interesting. Another advantage is the extra growth will give you more design options when you start to style the piece.

Some body once told me for every inch of new growth on top, there will be reciprocal root growth on the bottom. So if you need feeder roots more is better.

Mitch

Hmmm, I am not alone!
(But my problem is at opposite side)
Some of my sticks that I collected this year only sprouts from top of the tree
I prunned many of them at early spring as I want some branches from sides, but they still insist on sprouting at the top
Is it better or worse?
Now I let them grow so that I can use them for threadgrafting in next year if I cannot obtain side branches during this year.