Euonymus Tree

(Question)

My neighbour has a enonymus tree. I believe it is a enonymus planted grafted onto another tree. The tree is constantly sending up shoots from the bottom of the tree and also from roots away from the original tree. How is the best way to control the shoots/sprouts?

(Answer)

You are correct in guessing that the original root stock is sending up shoots. This is very common in grafted standards (as this shape is called). And the solution is very basic. Any time you see a shoot appearing, remove it with a sharp shovel.

Otherwise, as is happening in the photo, those unwanted root stock trees will take over your neighbour’s grafted plant.

Now that they have let those shoots get so tall, this will be a big job. Cut the shoots down to a manageable height before using the sharp shovel to get rid of them. If your neighbour doesn’t have a sharp shovel and needs to buy one, they should look for one that is advertised as a root cutter.

Once the existing sprouts have been removed, since the root stock in this case seems to be very aggressive, your neighbour will have to keep checking for new shoots regularly and deal with them while they are still small.

And just a warning that the surgery needed in this case, where so many shoots have been allowed to grow so large, may be very hard on the base root system, so that the health of the euonymus standard itself may be compromised as a result.

July 2, 2021