Sucker branches

Question

We had our Linden tree cut down after the top half was dying. We left the bottom 7ft. of the trunk in the ground. The sucker branches have grown into a beautiful bush all around the trunk and we would like it to stay that way every year. My question is, if we cut the sucker branches off this fall, will they grow back as beautiful next year or should we leave the branches alone? Thank you for any info on this.

Answer 1

I would leave them alone. Typically when a tree grows back from the roots like this, it will grow in a bush form forever. Yours will likely do the same. You can encourage more bushiness by trimming the top a bit and this will force the branches to grow outward even more.