it is an endemic problem with crabs...

i dont have many cherry.. but the few i do... never had them ...

it is an issue of the understock growing more aggressively than the graft ...

if these were recommended by the city ... i am mystified by the decision ...

i have about 8 crabs.. not a single one.. does NOT have suckers .. its a nightmare ... every other year i must mess with them ... just about the time i am ready to chainsaw them all ... they bloom and make me forget my anger. .. lol

ken

How sad that inappropriate trees were planted/approved by the city in the treelawn.

Dan

Snip them at ground level and be done with it. No more, no less.

Is it the city's job? Sure. Bet it takes longer to call and complain than it does to snip them off the trees in front of your place.

Alternative is you could always raise your taxes enough for the city to hire more trimmers and more call takers.

Sometimes trunk damage will cause a tree to produce suckers. It is a survival mechanism for some trees.

Very likely a genetic thing......trees that are members of the Rosaceae family - cherries, flowering plums, apples, crab apples - tend to produce root suckers very easily. In my area, it is not at all uncommon to see cherry shoots appearing at some distance from the mother plant.

There is chemcial sucker retardant you can apply but they are just as easily removed manually, either by mowing or with pruners.

If any roots are near the surface and get damaged, e.g. by mowing too low, that can encourage suckers. I have always understood it is best to pull them off rather than cut but that is only what I've read and heard. I haven't tested the theory.

As flora_uk said, I've also understood that its best to yank suckers off instead of cutting them. By yanking them out, buds at the base are much more likely to be removed as well, decreasing the chance of regrowth. However, I've never had one of my own to test that practice on.

It does seem like some of the yards with the most suckers are where trunks have been damaged by weed trimmers and roots nicked by close cutting bumpy lawns. I'll watch more and see if it is only the crab apples that sucker. Maybe the others don't.

I don't think people around here figure the city has anything to say about what goes in the curb strip and they plant whatever they see at the big box garden center....seems like it is usually some spring flowering ornamental. Yup, Ken, there have been several springs that I returned home from work with the sun finally shining after several days of rain or overcast skies and been awed by the beauty of hundreds of flowering trees along the street. Breath taking for a week or two. We don't have any in our strip so I enjoy the neighbors and don't comment on the suckers or lack there of.

Now I'm curious if the city actually does have any rules about the curb strip. While I imagine Ken would cheer if I cut down the maples in mine, the city might not.