why????

if you are afraid of space constraints ... how about you dig up and pot two .. and root them for summer ....

and then in late summer.. dig up the big one.. get rid of it.. a replant a babe in fall ...

kinda like rejuvenation pruning to the max.. lol ...

i suspect .. i dont have time to google it all .. that you bought a plant with GIANT potential.. and it is very happy.. and working its way to its potential ... and now it is filling the space too fast ...

if so.. either start another small one.. or move on with life.. and get rid of it.. and find something a little less vigorous for the given space ...

did i even come close to the bulls eye???

otherwise.. i dont know how you change its will to live life.. as it wants to live life.. which means throwing suckers.. and covering ground ...

ken

Thanks Ken, I considered all those scenarios. I decided I just want to remove the suckers.

Has anyone ever done this and know what I might expect? i.e. how deep are they? I'll probably just have to get out my tools and see whats there.

Definition of gardening: Giving Mother Nature a hand to do it the way I want it to be, not her.

With my Shasta, they aren't really suckers, but branches that tip rooted. I didn't notice them until the baby plants were about two feet tall. So once I get rid of them, I'm not expecting regrowth.

Given the growth habit of the beast, it might be you are really dealing with the same issue.

in my sand.. if a lilac pops up 2 to 3 feet a year.. this time of year.. when the soil is soft.. i can grab the sucker.. and nearly pull it out back a foot or two toward the main plant ..

and that is where i cut them..

and if they have roots.. and i want more.. i pot them in moist media.. and put the pot on the north side of the house.. until fall planting time ... when the pot is near full of roots ....

any suckering shrub is near bullteproof .. if you wish to root some for friends or enemies..

ken

I don't recall seeing a tip rooted, but sometimes I am so spacey, I may have disconnected it in a previous year and promised myself to come back and get the offset and forgot about it. I gave them a tug this spring and they were not tugg-able.

friends and enemies ha ha ha...

It took this plant several years to finally bloom, so it does have potential to be a real spring beauty. Plus a mild winter this year can only help.