Stump sprouting by species: what the Forest Service records for 24 common trees

This page reports what the named source says. It is not advice about any tree. A stump that sends up shoots is one thing the sources describe, and the Forest Service records it species by species. The wider options for removing a stump are on stump removal options, and the species pages on this site, such as black walnut, cover other traits.

Where the information comes from

The Fire Effects Information System, run by the USDA Forest Service, publishes one review per plant species. Each review has a section on vegetative regeneration or vegetative reproduction, and another on the plant's response to fire. Those sections describe how forest trees sprout after cutting, damage or fire. They were written for forest managers. They record results from forest stands and studies, not from a single yard tree, and they do not predict what one stump will do.

Some reviews give size or age figures and others give a plain statement. The table repeats each review in plain words. Where the text of a review does not mention root suckers the cell says so. Some reviews also carry a fire-regeneration category label that names root sprouts or suckers, as the bur oak, slippery elm, basswood, sycamore, honeylocust and redwood reviews do. The table does not count that label as a statement about sprouting after cutting.

What the Forest Service records for 24 trees

Tree and review	Stump or root collar sprouting	Root sprouts and suckers
White oak, FEIS species review	Vigorous sprouting from the stump or root crown is commonly observed. Sprouting generally decreases with stem diameter. The page quotes stump-sprouting likelihood by diameter at breast height: 80 percent for 2 to 5 inches, 50 percent for 6 to 11, 15 percent for 12 to 16, 0 for over 16.	Root suckers not stated. Root stools of callus tissue with dormant buds form after repeated fire or browsing.
Northern red oak, FEIS species review	Commonly sprouts vigorously after fire or mechanical injury. Young oaks sprout more readily than older ones, yet trees up to 22 inches in diameter have produced sprouts.	Root sprouting also occurs.
Bur oak, FEIS species review	Ability to sprout after aboveground damage is called well established. Potential appears to decrease with age. Pole-size or smaller stems sprout vigorously after cutting or burning.	Not stated.
Red maple, FEIS species review	Sprouts vigorously from the stump, root crown or root suckers. Buds at the base of stems commonly sprout 2 to 6 weeks after the stem is cut.	Root suckers named. One cited author reports sprouting is generally confined to the root collar.
Sugar maple, FEIS species review	A prolific sprouter in the northern part of its range, less vigorous at the southern edge. Stump sprouting is moderately common.	Root sprouting is moderately common.
Boxelder, FEIS species review	Sprouts from the exposed roots, root crown or stump after top-killing mechanical damage. Sprouts from stumps over 20 inches in diameter in one South Carolina study were dying or losing vigor 7 years after harvest.	Root sprouts formed after Great Plains shelterbelt trees died back to the ground.
American elm, FEIS species review	Reproduces fairly vigorously by stump sprouts from small trees. Large trees 150 to 250 years old seldom sprout after cutting.	Replacement by root suckering suggested in undisturbed Minnesota bottomlands.
Slippery elm, FEIS species review	Sprouts readily from the stump or root crown.	Seedlings produce sprouts from rhizomes.
Black walnut, FEIS species review	Small trees usually sprout from the stump when cut. Shoots high on older stumps often decay, and shoots from the root crown are generally free from defect. Sprouting is more erratic from trees 30 years and older after fire.	Not stated.
Shagbark hickory, FEIS species review	Typically sprouts prolifically after cutting or fire. Trees up to 8 to 10 inches in diameter typically sprout from the stump, and stump sprouting declines as diameter increases.	Root suckering increases as diameter increases.
Sweetgum, FEIS species review	Capable of sprouting until about 50 years old. Sprouts often reach 4.5 feet in one growing season, against 3 to 5 years for seedlings.	Not stated. Sprouts come from the stump or root crown.
Black cherry, FEIS species review	Sprouts vigorously from the stump after cutting or fire. Stump sprouting frequency remains high, probably over 90 percent, for trees up to about 60 years.	Not stated.
Paper birch, FEIS species review	Sprouts after cutting or fire, usually from the stump base or root collar. Sprouted from 80 to 90 percent of 40 to 50 year old trees within a year of cutting, against 40 to 50 percent of 100 to 125 year old trees.	Not stated.
American basswood, FEIS species review	Most reproduction originates as stump sprouts. Almost all trees 4 inches or less in diameter sprout, and more than 50 percent of sawlog-size trees. The number of sprouts declines with age and size.	Not stated.
White ash, FEIS species review	Resprouts from the root crown after logging or fire. Sprouting ability decreases with age.	Not stated.
American sycamore, FEIS species review	A high percentage of stumps sprout regardless of stump size or time of harvest. Dormant-season cuts produce larger and heavier sprout clumps.	Not stated.
Common hackberry, FEIS species review	Sprouts from the root crown after top-kill. Sprouting is much more likely for seedlings and small trees. The page says no report gives the ages or sizes at which sprouting falls off.	Root-sprout saplings described in a Quebec stand.
Black willow, FEIS species review	Root stocks of very young trees sprout prolifically.	Not stated.
Honeylocust, FEIS species review	Sprouts after top-kill by fire. In one prescribed-fire study, many trees under 10 feet were top-killed and sprouted the following year.	Not stated.
Eastern cottonwood, FEIS species review	Sprouts from the roots and bole after top-kill or damage, but the response is weak. The page says authors disagree on bole sprouting after cutting. Sprouting ability declines with age.	Suckers arise from buds in undisturbed roots after the aboveground parts die or are injured.
Black locust, FEIS species review	Commonly sprouts from the stump. Sprouting is considered more common than reproduction by seed.	Commonly sprouts from roots. Root sprouting usually begins at 4 to 5 years of age and increases in full sun and sandy soils.
Tree-of-heaven, FEIS species review	Young trees cut to the root crown before the bark thickens often sprout from the root crown and roots.	Sprouting is its most common method of regeneration. Root sprouts may appear 50 to 90 feet from the parent stem, and death or injury of the main stem usually results in prolific root sprouting.
Western hemlock, FEIS species review	Seedlings that die back to the soil surface commonly sprout from buds near the root collar. Sprouting does not occur from the base of larger saplings.	No sprouting from the roots.
Redwood, FEIS species review	Can sprout from the root crown or stump. Stump sprouts are generally less vigorous than root-crown sprouts and are very susceptible to windthrow. Sprouting capacity decreases with size and age.	Not stated.

A tree with no sprouting statement

The review for eastern white pine contains no statement about sprouting from the stump, the root collar or the roots. It is left out of the table for that reason, and the page makes no claim about whether it sprouts.

How to read the table

Words such as vigorous, prolific and weak are the Forest Service reviews' own wording of results reported by the authors they cite. Ages and diameters belong to the stands in those studies. Several reviews describe sprouting after fire or top-kill rather than after a saw cut, and the table says where that is the case. The reviews do not cover what to apply to a stump, and this page leaves herbicides, drilling and burning out.

Who to call

USDA Forest Service urban and community forestry: the federal programme page for city and community trees
ISA Find an Arborist: finding and verifying individuals who hold an ISA credential
Hiring an arborist: what the trade bodies say to look for