water sprouts/suckers

Hello All:
I thought I would tap the collective wisdom and experience of the group for a pesky problem I have with suckering on a two old flowering pears.  The two trees, planted together along one side of our driveway, were put in about 20 years ago with a thick layer of black plastic over the soil around them and then a thick layer of rock.  They were also underplanted with juniper tams. Bleccchhh.  Anyway, when we moved in about 5 years ago, we removed the junipers, plastic and rock, and put down a thick layer of bark mulch in their place.  However, as a consequence of their original growing conditions, the roots are very near the surface, and though they have much improved in appearance and health, I continually have to battle suckers at the base of the trees and along the one long surface root in particular.  Does anyone have ideas that really work for inhibiting this?  I have considered layering a double thickness of weed cloth along the one particularly pesky root, but wonder if my efforts will be in vain.  I don't love using chemicals, but this bed is not near anything edible, if there is some inhibitor I could use that wouldn't adversely affect the bulbs and Gaura I've begun to plant underneath.
Thanks for any advice.
Karrie Reid
Folsom Foothill Gardener
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