prunus suckers, gah!

[libelulle]

We have a lovely old plum tree at the bottom of the garden. But there are literally hundreds and hundreds of suckers coming up around it. As fast as we cut them down they grow back. The bottom of the garden is pretty much unusable as a result.

Does anyone have any bright ideas as to what to do that wouldn't involve killing the tree? The 'expert' advice we sought out was worse than useless ('use roundup on them, whatever you do don't dig them up' 'won't that kill the tree?' 'oh yes, good point, don't use roundup then, best idea is to dig them up'.)

TIA

Best I've heard is that you need to dig down and cut them off where they spring from the root, rather than just the top growth. Is that feasible? Might a heavy mulch - cobbles, say - discourage them? Failing that, how devoted are you to the tree?

Thanks Maud. I feared someone might ask where the tree falls in our affections! It's not a beauty, but it's the only tree in the garden since our monster sycamore had to go. The suckers cover an area of about 6x6m so cobbles would be problematic, and there are just SO many of them, so digging down doesn't sound so feasible either. I am wondering if its number is up:(