About 5-6 years ago i was forced to take down a 40-50 foot silver maple tree. Shortly afterwards, suckers started to grow near the stump of the fallen tree. I've let these grow and now I have 6 trees, about 20-25 feet tall, and 4-6 inches in diameter. Is it okay to let these grow, or with they become unstable? They appear to be very healthy and strong, with plenty of branches and leaves. They provide terrific shade for our front lawn.
Why not join the forums? The old Silver Maples were not grafted plants meaning they were either cutting grown on their own roots or they were seedlings. As far as stability, a photo or two would be nice to see but if your concern is whether these suckers will survive or not will depend more on why you had to knock down the parent tree. I had a Brown Turkey Fig knocked completely flat by a tree trimmer cutting down a 40 year old Cottonwood tree in the North neighbors yard. Obviously the tree fell in the wrong spot. The Fig tree was ruined so I cut it out but left a mound of where it once was. Now I have three large limbs that shot out that are healthier and faster growing than the original tree was. I was actually done a huge favor but did not know it until 3 years later when I once again had true fruit. The moral is, if you are happy with the growth of the suckers from the Silver Maple, then just be glad they are doing so well for you. Leave them alone if they are growing okay and are not competing with each other. Jim
