Shoots?

You can't stop suckers. There is a product on the market that has to be reapplied every 3-4-6 months or so that is advertised to stop suckers, but I have no experience with this consumer good. Perhaps someone who has purchased the product can chime in.

Dan

OK, I checked out the Sucker Stopper, or whatever it's called. They say: Sucker-Stopper RTU is made from the plant growth regulator napthaleneacetate (NAA).
Hmmmmmmm, I wonder if napthaleneacetate is a common item.
Also, I wonder if there is some sort of 'natural' old-fashioned way to stop these shooters/suckers.

It's, IIRC, an ethyl-NAA compound and it is the ethyl that hooks on to the NAA that makes the inhibitor. So you can't just go to the nursery and purchase a rooting hormone and call it good. You have to consume the product.

There is no such thing as a 'shooter' in botany/hort. The 'old fashioned' way to eliminate them is to use your pruners.

Dan

"There is no such thing as a 'shooter' in botany/hort."

Ahh, but Dan, that's where you are wrong. Just go over to the Fruit and Orchards Forum and mention squirrels. The shooters will come out of the woodwork! (-;

When I read the title of this thread, I thought it was going to be about taking drastic action against hunters! I could just see the sparks beginning to fly. lol

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Chuck,

I'd recommend pulling the suckers if possible. Pulling is supposed to stimulate less regrowth compared to cutting the suckers off. There are a number of chemicals on the market that are supposed to reduce suckering, but I have no first hand experience with any of them. The "sealer" solution definitely won't work. In many cases, if you are diligent with sucker removal, the tree will eventually get the message and reduce its sucker production. I have no experience though with suckers from a Brazilian Pepper Tree. The nursery where you bought the tree might have more experience with it than many Gardenwebbers.

I'd recommend pulling out the entire tree.
Brazillian pepper is a major pest species.

It's also in the same family as poison ivy and can cause a skin rash if you come in contact with it.
The berries are poisonous.

It's so bad that in florida, they even made cultivating the tree illegal.

Their habit is such that it will take over and become a thicket of multistemmed plants. Do yourself a favor and just replace it.

Just go over to the Fruit and Orchards Forum and mention squirrels. The shooters will come out of the woodwork!

:o)

There are two schools in sucker control, sucka. Brandon is in the pulling, and I'm in the cutting school, as I think the additional flesh tearing from pulling creates greater surface area for infection. Just my 2¢.

Schinus terebinthifolius likes to reproduce - as implied above with the litter and the suckers. But at least you have pepper for cooking!

Dan