thinning the sugarbush

[mntapper]

while thinning my sugarbush i noticed some of my maples have small saplings (2"-6") growing out of the base should i cut these off the main tree or will it hurt the main tree?

[stagecoach maples]

cut them they are suckers and they are no good

[allgreenmaple]

Yep, they call them suckers or watersprouts. As said above, trim em off.

[Maple Hobo]

The deer clear most of the shoots out for us...
We have the issue of trying to keep them from eating the new trees we try to transplant.