Stopping pear root suckers

[Lee hall]

I accidentally top killed an orient pear a couple years ago. It came back from the root the next year and I thinned the suckers to one and grafted onto it. Well the graft did great and the pear has put on about 4.5' of growth since I grafted it last year. My problem is the roots just continue to sucker which makes spraying nearly impossible. I have been cutting them off below ground level ever since but the next month there seem to be twice as many. How do I stop this. Could I use plastic or cardboard to suppress the shoots? What are you guys' thoughts.

 

[BluffCountry]

I just keep cutting them back, hopefully somebody has a better solution.

 

[dipper]

Sounds like you need to add some mulch and dirt to them, and harvest some rootstock. What's that term called again... Stooling?

 

[Maya]

Lee, when you plant, make sure there are no broken off pieces of root. Sometime they send up a shoot. Also making sure trees are staked well and not swaying in the wind will help on the prevention side.

As for the ones now, keep on them, get 'em while they are small. Dig down and find the source and try an make a clean cut. Cut back to the root it is coming out of and be sure to get all of the smaller roots attached to the sucker. Try and find the source of the problem, if you just cut or pull up you may make it worse. All that being said, some are just a pain in the butt. Keep on them and don't wait 'til they get big. Spring is a great time to get on them.good luck!