Many sprouts and suckers all over yard from flowering crabapple tree that was cut down 2-3 years ago. - Ask Extension
I had the tree cut down 2-3 years ago leaving a stump about 2 ft high. The stump has grown suckers and also new plants all over the yard. What mig...
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Many sprouts and suckers all over yard from flowering crabapple tree that was cut down 2-3 years ago. #808629
Asked August 29, 2022, 6:10 PM EDT
I had the tree cut down 2-3 years ago leaving a stump about 2 ft high. The stump has grown suckers and also new plants all over the yard. What might happen if I let them (that are fairly close to the stump) just grow where they are? Also there are some new ones quite a distance from the stump...too close to the house to let grow up. If not a good idea, what is the best way to stop all that growth?
https://photos.app.goo.gl/pJTpwpxKCZ9aH7hHA
Hope this link works
Tolland County Connecticut
Expert Response
Hi, I can't really tell from the picture what kind of tree this is but I have never seen a crabapple tree send up shoots like that except at the base of the trunk, not in areas some distance away from the trunk. I know aspens have been known to form large colonies. At any rate, if you leave them be, you'll have a small stand of trees. Each will be capable of growing to full size. You can bring a sample of the tree to the UConn Master Gardeners at the Tolland Agricultural Center on Hyde Ave if you want the plant properly identified.
This is a flowering crabapple tree that has been here since we moved here in 1960. It's always bloomed beautifully and had miniature crabapples (they were red) about 1/2 to 1" diameter. I used to make jelly from them. As it was getting rotten in some places on the trunk we had it cut down a couple of years ago. It never had the shoots in the grass like that until after it was cut down. Here is a picture from the Readers Digest Gardening Guide.
HI - I still have never know crabapples to sucker. It would be interesting to know what cultivar your tree was but there are so many, it would be hard to determine. Unfortunately, as trees age, especially those in the apple family, they do get diseases and other problems. I still think you should bring a sample of those suckers to the Master Gardeners for a positive ID.
