It's the way they grow. Cut them off at ground level with your pruners

What Paula said. And get used to having this regular task.

Dan

in my world.. warped as it is ...

either love it for what it is.. a SUCKERING shrub ...

or get rid of it ....

you will NEVER stop a suckering shrub from suckering ... been there .. done threat .. failed .. got rid of plant ... happy .. happy ...

there are fragrant shrubs like viburnum.. that can accomplish fragrance.. without suckers ...

ken

There is this thing called a lawnmower. It actually is a very useful, multipurpose machine, once you understand what it really does. It cuts practically anything down to a few inches. There are a lot of things that really object to being cut down that short, that often. So you can use it to kill off a lot of woody weeds. It can also be used to control suckering shrubs like lilacs. This is one reason you will often see them as dots in lawn.