Said It Here

Branches growing below a tree graft line

Trees frequently sprout substantial or tiny branches from their base below the graft. These lower branches end up lying in the grass, where they sustain damage and make routine lawn care difficult. You need to cut them off, though it can be hard to figure out exactly when to prune or how to prevent them from growing in the first place.

Overview
People affected2 accounts across 1 forum
Workarounds found5 items attempted
Community agreement5 total upvotes

What people tried

Every workaround mentioned in the threads below. We haven’t tested any of them — and nobody here is claiming they worked.

5 items+ Contribute

Found another way around this?

Share your steps and trade-offs so fellow engineers don't have to reinvent the wheel. No account required.

  1. 1
    Tying the branches up so they do not drag in the grass.
    Did this help you?
  2. 2
    Tying the tree to a pole to encourage trunk formation.
    Did this help you?
  3. 3
    Digging the tree up and replanting it in a hidden area of the garden.
    Did this help you?
  4. 4
    Cutting them off the tree annually
    Did this help you?
  5. 5
    Painting a sucker prevention product on the cut ends
    Did this help you?
Tried another approach not listed above?+ Share your workaround ↑

In their words

Unedited, grouped by where they were said, most upvoted first within each place, each linked to the thread it came from.

r/gardening2 people · November 2026

“This tree has what look like tiny tree branches growing from the base, which I'd like to remove.”source ↗

“didn't know if there was a way to prevent them from growing in the first place?”source ↗

pbj_sandy · r/gardening · 3 upvotes

“It did flower... into the grass! I've since had to tie up the branches as they were lying in the grass all the time, getting damaged and making lawn care difficult.”source ↗

“I have 2, substantial branches coming from below the graft!”source ↗

“When should I cut off the branches growing from before the graft line?”source ↗

barbelljools · r/gardening · 2 upvotes

Where this came up

r/gardeninggardeningpruningtree careyard maintenance

People with this problem also raised