We have several crape myrtles and they never grew so many suckers until past few years after a previous arborist recommended some sort of fertilization? Stopped that treatment after noticing all these suckers that we never had and cuz I don’t have the time to be clearing them lol. They used to just be on the tree but now growing near the foundation and moving the gutter! I know the cuts look bad but need help/advice on how to get rid of the roots. Sucker punch ? Brush killer? Can the roots be digged out ? Also had another arborist clean up every tree a few months ago but all the shoots grew back quickly and they said they can only trim the growth by the gutter and cannot fully remove it. Beautiful blooms but I’m so tired lol Thanks in advance!
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Need help with crape myrtle suckers
- Thread starter Shells601
- Start date
Ive dealt with crape myrtle suckers before, and unfortunately they can be pretty persistent once they get established. Id be careful with using a strong brush killer, especially with the tree so close to the foundation and gutter. You dont want to damage the main tree or have the herbicide move through the root system.
If the suckers are coming from roots close to the surface, digging them out can help, but youll want to remove as much of the root connection as possible. Simply cutting the shoots off at ground level usually just encourages them to come back. For the ones right near the foundation, Id probably have an arborist or landscaper carefully expose the area first so they can determine how the roots are growing before cutting anything.
Also, excessive fertilization particularly high nitrogen can encourage a lot of vigorous new growth, so stopping the fertilizer treatment may have been a good call if the timing lined up with when the suckering started.
Since theyre already moving the gutter, Id definitely get someone to look at those roots sooner rather than later. The tree is beautiful, but I completely understand being tired of playing sucker whack-a-mole every few weeks!
If the suckers are coming from roots close to the surface, digging them out can help, but youll want to remove as much of the root connection as possible. Simply cutting the shoots off at ground level usually just encourages them to come back. For the ones right near the foundation, Id probably have an arborist or landscaper carefully expose the area first so they can determine how the roots are growing before cutting anything.
Also, excessive fertilization particularly high nitrogen can encourage a lot of vigorous new growth, so stopping the fertilizer treatment may have been a good call if the timing lined up with when the suckering started.
Since theyre already moving the gutter, Id definitely get someone to look at those roots sooner rather than later. The tree is beautiful, but I completely understand being tired of playing sucker whack-a-mole every few weeks!