Hi I have a 15yr old Bay Tree in a raised garden bed (with other herbs)..for the past few years it has been sending out shoots at ground level and I have been cutting them at or just below soil level...This enhances the growth however, and the number of "suckers" has become a problem as they branch from the previous cut area... HELP!! what do I do to reduce /stop this occuring? Or is it time to remove the tree ( which looks fabulous as I have topiaried it) and replace with a lemon tree???
There is not a lot you can do about suckering, especially once you have stimulated it by trimming. As to what to do . . well thats your aesthetic choice really. it sounds like the Bay Tree is approaching or at its best, so it might just be worth hanging on to it for now. Unless of course you are just fed up with trimming the suckers in which case its 'hello lemon tree time'.