Crepe Myrtle Suckers

Question

Is there anything that can be done to discourage suckers from coming up around our crepe myrtle? We live in northwest Georgia and our tree usually blooms in August. Some of the suckers are actually seedlings that we can simply pull up. The most troubling ones seem to come up direcly along the root line of the tree. By cutting them back, we seem to be encouraging more growth. Is there a product than can be applied that will not harm the plant?

Answer 1

Trees will put out suckers when they are stressed. Some trees, like grafted trees, are always under a little stress and will always put out some suckers. You can reduce the number of suckers a tree puts out be removing stress from the tree. Make sure it is well watered and fed and that there are no pests affecting the tree. To control suckers popping up away from the tree, you can cut the suckers as they come up and paint the fresh cuts with Round-up. It may take a few times but that will do it.

Here is more information: https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/ornamental/trees/tgen/tree-sucker-removal-and-tree-sucker-control.htm