All throughout the year, trees can reflect the beauty of each season. Whether it be the blooming buds and leaves in spring, the cooling shade in summer, the flourishing vibrant colors of fall, or the snow covered branches in winter. The preservation of these trees which are so vital for our survival should be a top priority for all of us. Because of this, we should all learn how to best care for them.
This is why tree removal service in Palo Alto has put together this information guide regarding tree suckers. Tree suckers can be found at the base and along major branches of our trees. They can be tough to control and getting rid of them entirely can be quite the struggle, but it is vital. The growth of tree suckers can impact the health and growth of the trees they infest which makes learning to manage them so important.
Why They Grow
Just like all other organisms, trees hold a survival instinct which drives their actions, including a multitude of systems for reproduction. At this point it should be mentioned that some trees, majorly fruit trees, produce suckers themselves as their primary way of growing more plants that bear fruit.
Nevertheless, the majority of trees have other reasons for producing suckers. When outside influences, like drought, cracks in the bark, or infestations put stress on the tree, suckers oftentimes begin to pop up as the trees survival instincts kick in. They are the tree’s means of continuing its existence once the rest of it has succumbed to disease or damage.
Another reason for sucker growth is for an increase in hardiness or fruit yields as a result of being grafted. This is oftentimes done to fruit trees by taking a desirable fruit branch and grafting it onto another host tree with a longer lifespan and deeper root system. In the aftermath of this process, the host tree will shoot up suckers as means of reproduction since it cannot bear fruit the way the grafted branches can.
Why They Are Bad
Suckers have a way of, well, “sucking” the energy from the tree that sprung them, causing nutrients to be taken from fruit-bearing branches and foliage. Due to their state of youth, they are in need of more resources than other parts of the tree which becomes more and more noticeable over time when other branches lose their lusciousness. After a while, the sucker will have flourished which can cause an overgrown appearance to the tree that is hard to undo. There are other ways of looking at the problems in trees but professionals can take care of it.