Watershoots on Rowan... leave or trim?

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DanielCoffey

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Watershoots on Rowan... leave or trim?
« on: June 01, 2018, 22:15 »
We have a Rowan on our property that didn't produce berries last year. It was surrounded by a heavily matted shrub that was sucking up all the water (some sort of thing that has grass-like leaves about a foot long and puts up a few stalks with bright orange flowers running up them). I pulled up the matted dead stuff and cleared around the Rowan for a couple of feet and mulched it heavily.

In the late autumn, the Scottish Power treecare contractors arrived and looked at it. Since it was right under a powerline they gave it a hard haircut to about 10 feet in height, reducing it by about a third.

This spring it has thrown up a clump of watershoots at its base and I wondered if I should leave them or trim them off?

Still no sign of flowers on it at all but even its wildgrowing neighbours only have a few flowers so far.
Rowan.jpg

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mrs bouquet

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Re: Watershoots on Rowan... leave or trim?
« Reply #1 on: June 02, 2018, 11:21 »
That's a good 'photo.  Personally I would cut them off.  You need the strength going back up into the tree.
It feels threatened at the moment so it is sending up the suckers, and it is possible that the base caught a bit of damage recently, and that would also encourage base growth.  Once it has recovered from shock, I am sure it will perform nicely for you again.  So go and give it a hug, and speak to it nicely.  :D Good luck, Mrs Bouquet
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DanielCoffey

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Re: Watershoots on Rowan... leave or trim?
« Reply #2 on: June 02, 2018, 12:47 »
Oh it will get more than a hug! It is effectively in intensive care.

Having cleared the base, it has been watered during our current heatwave up here in Scotland, has had two full wheelbarrows of part-composted wood chippings all to itself and recently the turfed-out remains of a large pot of compost from a plant that didn't survive the winter.

It does have surface roots running along the ground and those are now mostly covered under a shallow layer of chippings.

It is doing well enough for an abandoned tree - I dealt with crossed branches that I could reach when we moved in last year and then it got the Scottish Power military buzz cut last October. Saws by Silky, no less!

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sunshineband

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Re: Watershoots on Rowan... leave or trim?
« Reply #3 on: June 02, 2018, 15:12 »
Taking those sucker shoots off is a good idea, even better if you are able to tear them away rather than cut them, as this also removes the growing point, effectively preventing a further shoot growing there
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John

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Re: Watershoots on Rowan... leave or trim?
« Reply #4 on: June 03, 2018, 00:20 »
I'd take them off too. I heard it called panic growth by an arboriculturalist who also worked for Scottish Power giving Welsh trees buzz cuts. :)
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