Managing Suckers on Grafted Citrus Trees

If your Marsh grapefruit or Bartlett pear is sending up growth from below the graft union, that's rootstock—not the variety you bought. Here's why it matters and what to do.

Why Suckers Are a Problem

Grafted trees combine a desirable scion (fruit variety) with a hardy rootstock. Growth from below the graft is rootstock tissue—it will produce inferior fruit (often sour, seedy, or inedible) and can outcompete the scion, eventually killing it.

Action Plan

• Remove suckers immediately: Cut cleanly at the base, flush with the trunk. Do not leave stubs.
• Check regularly: Suckers can appear anytime, especially after stress (freeze, drought, pruning).
• If the scion is dead: (e.g., grapefruit killed back to rootstock) the tree will not produce quality fruit. Replace it.

Pear Tree Specifics

The sucker on your Bartlett pear is likely from the rootstock (often quince or a hardy pear species). Remove it the same way. Allowing it to grow will yield small, gritty, poor-quality pears.

Prevention Tips

• Plant with the graft union 2–3 inches above soil level.
• Avoid damaging the trunk—wounds trigger sucker growth.
• Mulch properly; don't pile mulch against the trunk.

Vigilant sucker removal keeps your tree true to type and productive for decades.