Tropicals & Tender Perennials: Suckers and branches, Leave 'em or cut 'em?, 1 by lily13

lily13 wrote:
Surely, these questions have been asked and answered before, but I will ask anyway.

Many of you seem to cut away everything except the top branches. Is there a reason for this? Are the little suckers at the base of some Brugs similar to the suckers on a rose? Should they be cut, and what effect would this have on the rest of the plant? Is there a particular time of the year to cut these, or can they be cut anytime without damage to the mother plant? Is there a down side to leaving them on?

Two of my Brugs have some really large branches very close to the ground level. Should I cut them, or leave them?

I am sending a couple of pictures. Sorry they are so blurry, it was late and getting dark.

Sheral