What are water sprouts and suckers on trees?
Written by, Advanced Master Gardener Michael O’Brien
Suckers – Photo by Michael O’Brien
Both water sprouts and suckers are, for the most part, undesirable growth. Not all trees grow sprouts and suckers. Many fruit trees, ornamentals and grafted tress will be susceptible to this type of growth. Water sprouts are buds on branches that start growing straight up and their growth rate is quite vigorous. Suckers can grow from the base of the trunk, they can also grow from roots that are close to the surface. Sometimes when a tree is grafted new shoots will develop below the graft point. That area below the graft point is called the stock and the part above the stock is what is called the scion. Many times the stock will grow suckers. These suckers are a different variety of the species then the scion. The scion is the desired tree. When suckers grow on the stock they can drain the energy and nutrients from the desired tree. If these suckers are allowed to continue to grow they will produce a different variety tree and the scion could die.
So what causes a tree to produce these types of growth? For the most part it is stress. If a tree has suffered an injury or the tree was pruned really hard, or a lack of water or nutrients, or the tree has gotten old, are some of the reasons why this happens. In situations where the tree has gotten old or sickly, the tree creates these types of growth in an attempt to create a new tree.
If water sprouts aren’t dealt with they can cause serious damage to a tree. They can, in a very short time, turn a structured tree into a bushy tree that has lost its structure. Water sprouts as well as suckers can drain the energy out of a tree which is creating even more stress. The result can be a tree that no longer produces fruit or the new growth shades out the fruit bearing limbs. Water sprouts if they aren’t dealt with can produce large limbs. These large limbs that are growing on branches create enough weight to cause the branch to break. This would create more stress on the tree as well as opening the opportunity for disease to develop.
There is a way to work with water sprouts so they can help a tree to grow. If a tree has gotten old and it is no longer producing fruit, the tree will have limbs that are old and heavy, limbs have broken or the tree has a poor shape to it. This is where water sprouts can help. An old tree can be trimmed back so that water sprouts become the new branch. A broken limb can be trimmed letting the water sprout to become a new branch. For a tree that has a poor shape, trimming can be done using the water sprouts to create a new shape. By using this type of technique new life can be created from a tree that was stressed out.
The most important point here is if a tree is developing water sprouts or suckers, look over the tree to see what may be causing the stress and make the changes that are necessary.
https://hyg.ipm.illinois.edu/article.php?id=993
https://extension.unh.edu/blog/2021/02/can-water-sprouts-suckers-be-prevented-trees
https://extension.umd.edu/resource/water-sprouts-or-suckers-trees#:~:text=Water%20sprouts%20are%20vigorous%2C%20usually,results%20in%20more%20sprout%20production.
https://content.ces.ncsu.edu/grafting-and-budding-nursery-crop-plants