Stolon vs. Sucker — What's the Difference?

Also called runners, they are crucial for the propagation of certain plants.

While often removed, can be used for propagation if they match the desired plant characteristics.

Horizontal stems that grow above the ground or just below the surface, producing new plants at their tips.

Shoots that grow from the base of a tree or plant or from its roots, often considered undesirable.

Part of the plant that can help stabilize soil and prevent erosion by spreading horizontally.

Can be a sign of stress or damage to a plant, leading to unwanted growth.

Can be used deliberately in gardening and farming to propagate certain species.

In grafted plants, suckers can revert to the characteristics of the rootstock, which may not be desired.

In biology, stolons (from Latin stolō, genitive stolōnis – "branch"), also known as runners, are horizontal connections between organisms. They may be part of the organism, or of its skeleton; typically, animal stolons are external skeletons.

Must be managed or pruned to prevent them from sapping resources from the main plant.

(Botany) A long thin stem that usually grows horizontally along the ground and produces roots and shoots at widely spaced nodes, as in a strawberry plant. Also called runner.

One that sucks, especially an unweaned domestic animal.

(Zoology) A stemlike structure of certain colonial organisms from which new individuals arise by budding.

One who is easily deceived; a dupe.

(botany) A shoot that grows along the ground and produces roots at its nodes; a runner.

One that is indiscriminately attracted to something specified

(zoology) A structure formed by some colonial organisms from which offspring are produced by budding, found in bryozoans, pterobranchs, some corals, and other invertebrates.

An unspecified thing. Used as a generalized term of reference, often as an intensive

(mycology) A hypha that acts as a runner, connecting sporangiophores.

A person. Used as a generalized term of reference, often as an intensive

A trailing branch which is disposed to take root at the end or at the joints; a stole.

A lollipop.

An extension of the integument of the body, or of the body wall, from which buds are developed, giving rise to new zooids, and thus forming a compound animal in which the zooids usually remain united by the stolons. Such stolons are often present in Anthozoa, Hydroidea, Bryozoa, and social ascidians. See Illust. under Scyphistoma.

A piston or piston valve, as in a suction pump or syringe.

A horizontal branch from the base of plant that produces new plants from buds at its tips

A tube or pipe, such as a siphon, through which something is sucked.

Any of numerous freshwater fishes of the family Catostomidae of North America and East Asia, having a thick-lipped mouth used for feeding by suction.

(Zoology) An organ or other structure adapted for sucking nourishment or for clinging to objects by suction.

(Botany) A secondary shoot produced from the base or roots of a woody plant that gives rise to a new plant.

To strip suckers or shoots from (plants).

(Informal) To trick; dupe

To send out suckers or shoots.

(horticulture) An undesired stem growing out of the roots or lower trunk of a shrub or tree, especially from the rootstock of a grafted plant or tree.

(by extension) A parasite; a sponger.

An organ or body part that does the sucking; especially a round structure on the bodies of some insects, frogs, and octopuses that allows them to stick to surfaces.

A thing that works by sucking something.

The embolus, or bucket, of a pump; also, the valve of a pump basket.

A pipe through which anything is drawn.

A small piece of leather, usually round, having a string attached to the center, which, when saturated with water and pressed upon a stone or other body having a smooth surface, adheres, by reason of the atmospheric pressure, with such force as to enable a considerable weight to be thus lifted by the string; formerly used by children as a plaything.

A suction cup.

An animal such as the octopus and remora, which adhere to other bodies with such organs.

(ichthyology) Any fish in the family Catostomidae of North America and eastern Asia, which have mouths modified into downward-pointing, suckerlike structures for feeding in bottom sediments.

A lollipop; a piece of candy which is sucked.

A hard drinker.

An inhabitant of Illinois.

A migrant lead miner working in the Driftless Area of northwest Illinois, southwest Wisconsin, and northeast Iowa, working in summer and leaving for winter, so named because of the similarity to the migratory patterns of the North American Catostomidae.

A person who is easily deceived, tricked or persuaded to do something; a naive or gullible person.

(informal) A person irresistibly attracted by something specified.

Any thing or object.

A person.

To strip the suckers or shoots from; to deprive of suckers.

To produce suckers; to throw up additional stems or shoots.

(intransitive) To move or attach oneself by means of suckers.

To fool someone; to take advantage of someone.

To lure someone.

One who, or that which, sucks; esp., one of the organs by which certain animals, as the octopus and remora, adhere to other bodies.

A suckling; a sucking animal.

The embolus, or bucket, of a pump; also, the valve of a pump basket.

A pipe through which anything is drawn.

A small piece of leather, usually round, having a string attached to the center, which, when saturated with water and pressed upon a stone or other body having a smooth surface, adheres, by reason of the atmospheric pressure, with such force as to enable a considerable weight to be thus lifted by the string; - used by children as a plaything.

A shoot from the roots or lower part of the stem of a plant; - so called, perhaps, from diverting nourishment from the body of the plant.

Any one of numerous species of North American fresh-water cyprinoid fishes of the family Catostomidæ; so called because the lips are protrusile. The flesh is coarse, and they are of little value as food. The most common species of the Eastern United States are the northern sucker (Catostomus Commersoni), the white sucker (C. teres), the hog sucker (C. nigricans), and the chub, or sweet sucker (Erimyzon sucetta). Some of the large Western species are called buffalo fish, red horse, black horse, and suckerel.

A parasite; a sponger. See def. 6, above.

A hard drinker; a soaker.

A greenhorn; someone easily cheated, gulled, or deceived.

A nickname applied to a native of Illinois.

Any thing or person; - usually implying annoyance or dislike; as, I went to change the blade and cut my finger on the sucker.

A person strongly attracted to something; - usually used with for; as, he's a sucker for tall blondes.

To strip off the suckers or shoots from; to deprive of suckers; as, to sucker maize.

To cheat or deceive (a gullible person); to make a sucker of (someone).

To form suckers; as, corn suckers abundantly.

A person who is gullible and easy to take advantage of

A shoot arising from a plant's roots

A drinker who sucks (as at a nipple or through a straw)

Flesh of any of numerous North American food fishes with toothless jaws

Hard candy on a stick

An organ specialized for sucking nourishment or for adhering to objects by suction

Mostly North American freshwater fishes with a thick-lipped mouth for feeding by suction; related to carps

Suckers can divert nutrients and energy from the main plant, potentially reducing its health and productivity, especially in fruit trees.

Yes, in grafted plants, suckers can revert to the characteristics of the rootstock, which might not be desirable if the rootstock has different traits than the grafted portion.

Yes, both can be used for propagation, but stolons are often more deliberately used for this purpose, while suckers are usually pruned unless they exhibit desirable traits.

Stolons are horizontal stems that propagate new plants above or just below the soil surface, while suckers are vertical shoots that arise from the root system or base of the plant.

Producing suckers can be a plant's response to stress, damage, or conditions that disturb the main stem or root system.

Suckers may be encouraged if the main stem is damaged or if the plant is being propagated for rootstock qualities.

Strawberries, certain grasses, and ground cover plants are well-known for spreading through stolons.

While most stolons grow above ground, some can grow just below the surface, depending on the plant species.

Gardeners may encourage stolon growth for propagation, especially in plants like strawberries, while they typically prune suckers to focus growth on the main plant.

Stolons help in spreading the plant over a wider area, enabling vegetative reproduction and sometimes stabilizing the soil, which contributes to the plant's survival and spread.

Sucker growth can negatively affect fruit production by drawing away resources that would otherwise go to fruit development.

If done carefully and at the right time, removing suckers can actually benefit the plant by directing nutrients and energy to the main growth areas.

Only plants that naturally produce stolons or suckers can be propagated this way, and the method depends on the specific plant's characteristics.