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No. Most of the time, suckers are only a sign that the tree is experiencing stress. However, they can also be the canary in the coal mine, letting you know that something else is stressing your tree. If you have lots of suckers on your tree, calling in an arborist or a tree care expert is always a good call to determine the cause and develop a solution that de-stresses your tree.

Tree removal can be quite expensive, especially for larger projects, but you can use the following tips to help keep costs down:

• Do the yard cleanup afterward yourself

• Choose to leave the logs on your property and split them yourself

• Opt to leave the stump in the ground and tackle stump grinding yourself

• Pull permits for tree removal, if necessary, to avoid fines

• Pay to have multiple trees removed at once

• Remove tree in the late winter or early spring during off-season

Completely topping a plum tree is a risky business. Cut too much, and you’ll kill your tree. That said, you do need to trim the top of your tree to encourage bushy growth, maintain your tree’s vase shape, and limit size. 

A plum tree's central leader (or trunk) should never extend more than 3 feet above the highest branch. When you first plant your tree, cut the central leader so it’s 2 to 3 feet tall. As it grows, cut it back 12 to 20 inches until it reaches its desired height. Never prune more than one-third of the new growth.

Most plum trees are pruned into a vase or open wine glass shape. They’ll have a shorter central leader (the trunk) that supports three to four main branches. Of course, this isn't always the case. If you have a European plum tree, you can grow it in a pyramid shape. Let the central leader extend the length of the tree and prune smaller branches to create the pyramid.