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Zeus · #13 04-13-2010, 10:14 AM

Emmerich -

Those are commonly referred to as 'suckers' and they are essentially a form of vegetative reproduction. The tree will naturally produce shoots from its roots, as well as the base of the trunk, and these can become new trees. Certain species will use this form of reproduction predominantly, and you can have an entire forest essentially created from a single parent tree.

Ironically, by cutting the stump, you may have actually stimulated the growth rate of the suckers - especially those that grow from the base of the trunk. The root system has a lot of stored energy and it can produce a remarkable amount of sucker growth even without leaves producing energy for it. The tree is simply responding to environmental conditions and is trying to survive.

In a mature forest stand, competition for light within the canopy can be limited and hence vegetative reproduction can be an important competition advantage for a tree in terms of being able to produce a competitive, viable offspring. The sucker has the benefit of drawing from an existing and healthy, established root system. They will generally grow quite quickly.

In contrast, a seedling will have a much smaller and underdeveloped root system in comparison - and it will not likely be able to withstand stresses as well as the sucker.

So...long story short, to get rid of them you need to remove as much of the pre-existing root mass of your live oak as possible. The stump and the trailing roots. My knowledge of southern species like the live oak is limited, but I am guessing many of the further roots will be within the top 12" of your soil, so you should be able to remove many of them.

A lot of work though...good luck!