Stump & root sprouts—good, bad, neutral

WNC Bonsai

Omono
Messages
1,865
Reaction score
2,043
Location
Western NC
USDA Zone
7b
Ok, last winter I collected these three trees, a hornbeam, a hawthorn, and a viburnum. All are now putting out shoots and looking good. However each now has varying amounts of stump and or root sprouts pushing up strong. My initial reaction was this might be a good thing since the strong growth would contribute to the overall recovery and health of the plant. However as I think more about it I am wondering whether these stump and root sprouts are actually robbing the other developing foliage of nutrients and not really contributing to the overall health. On the hawthorn there also are a lot of sprouts around the top of the chops. I know these will lead to a thickening of the trunk at that point but I eventually plan to chop the trunks lower once some more branches develop.

So my questions are:
(1) should I leave the stump & root sprouts as they are, or clip them back, or remove them?
(2) should I leave the sprouts around the hawthorn chops as is or thin them out some?

Here are some photos to guide you answers.
 

Attachments

  • E40D75B8-559E-49D2-A964-8191C08FDA23.jpeg
    E40D75B8-559E-49D2-A964-8191C08FDA23.jpeg
    301.3 KB · Views: 15
  • C3A2FE56-FAD1-4339-BA56-342BFD5691FF.jpeg
    C3A2FE56-FAD1-4339-BA56-342BFD5691FF.jpeg
    331.2 KB · Views: 14
  • 3EEB1E86-CD40-4D8E-9B58-D92E8114D008.jpeg
    3EEB1E86-CD40-4D8E-9B58-D92E8114D008.jpeg
    161.3 KB · Views: 14
  • DF7FF3F6-D549-4504-BCD7-CDD77B19472B.jpeg
    DF7FF3F6-D549-4504-BCD7-CDD77B19472B.jpeg
    336.4 KB · Views: 14
  • E9FCDCEE-2D06-4963-9BE8-0C60C1A141FE.jpeg
    E9FCDCEE-2D06-4963-9BE8-0C60C1A141FE.jpeg
    163.3 KB · Views: 13
  • CEF75DAF-B1AE-4131-8341-64DEACD376D8.jpeg
    CEF75DAF-B1AE-4131-8341-64DEACD376D8.jpeg
    130 KB · Views: 12

Stan Kengai

Omono
Messages
1,172
Reaction score
1,330
Location
North Georgia
USDA Zone
7a
Remove all root sprouts as they provide nothing to the plant and can potentially ruin nebari and or roots. Thin shoots around cut sites. Pick 3 at most that will be keepers and protect them from damage. You can keep others as sacrifices to heal the chop. These will obviously be removed later, but be selective as far as positioning goes to maximize healing.
 

leatherback

The Treedeemer
Messages
13,934
Reaction score
26,864
Location
Northern Germany
USDA Zone
7
During the first year, I try to leave as much on there as possible. So also low sprouts. I do thin out when multiple shooots appear at one site, and reduce to just one, or where a year worth of growth can create insighlty bulges, but that is rarely an issue.

The year after collection, the tree is throwing out as much green as it can with the reserves it has to support the root development. Why would I remove that? Iwould trim and clean after leaves have dropped, before next years buts start to swell, and then direct new growth (That is for deciduous trees; Yew for instance I leave alone for 2+ years)
 
Top Bottom