Help with tree sprouts

[Turnerbrt]

Hello, we have a tree in our front yard, not sure of the name but we see it all over in the Villages. Our problem is that roots are running throughout our lawn. These roots sprout out tree growths rising above the lawn. The wife is out there cutting these out almost every day, and I use the weed wacker when I cut the lawn. Can anyone give us some suggestions to kill these off or something we can use to reduce these sprouts?? Any help would be greatly appreciated!

[Pondboy]

I think you might be referring to a Crepe Myrtle. The sprouts are sometimes caused by stress on the tree. Has it been injured (excessive pruning) lately or has the environment changed ? (i.e too much water, not enough).

Either way, no good solution. Weekly cutting, or when you mow your lawn should suffice, daily seems excessive. Best not to spray any chemical on the suckers(to try and kill them) as they are still attached to the mother plant.

[Ozzello]

Your answer from the pro at Escapes Landscaping:

The #1 offender is the oak. Crepe myrtle, Wax Myrtle, Many Holly trees, all can become sucker issues.

Over pruning the tree allows more sunlight under the canopy, better for the grass, but better for the suckers as well.
It also causes the tree to grow back as much greenery as it can to balance the number of leaves to root system ratio.
So, 1st off... stop keeping that tree pruned way back and let it grow.

This is how the problem is best handled commercially & at home:
Use No-dig border in (at least) a circle around the worst of the suckers. Plant as many 1 gallon Asiatic jasmine minima (only use the green) as you can inside the circle.
Keep using the weed eater just above the jasmine on the suckers that jump up higher.
The Jasmine will fill in densely, helping slow the arrival of new suckers, and camouflaging the persistent ones as the leaves are similar.

There is no "perfect" cure, without spending a ton of $$ (removing the tree, ENTIRE stump and all roots). You can look good from curbside, but if you want to walk around the tree looking down at the ground searching out little baby suckers, they will be there.... don't be mad about the suckers, just be thankful for the shade.