Best way to kill tree stump

heren99

I need some help. I have had a fiddlewood tree cut down which was infested with lantana bug. The tree loppers have left a stump 1.75mtrs high at the highest point, lower down it has 3 other areas where branches were sprouting. The tree lopper has told me to leave it for 1 month. I am then to drill holes at least 4 holes into each trunk and inject poison into these holes to attack the roots. 2 weeks later he will come and chainsaw it to ground level.
Is this an effective way? Due to the slope and difficult access a stump grinder can not be used.

newguy18

I would have it flush cut to ground level,if you want to prevent new growth you can strip the bark off.It may have to be repeated.

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old schooler

rbtree

It's the roots that need to killed. Stripping bark off won't do that.

Drilling is fine, or if you have a chain saw, just cut a groove all the way around just inside the bark. Then pour a woody brush killer, or Round Up, into the channel. Full strength is best.

This should be done soon after the tree is cut. Even better is to apply the product while the tree is still standing, then the chemical can more easily be translocated further into the roots while the tree's circulatory system is intact.

Eric Frei

Do you mind saying who this "tree lopper/company" is?

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OutofMytree

I cannot understand why they have left a "stump" this high. It serves no purpose but it may be a harbinger of things to come. I suspect Ekka is thinking what I am thinking.

I deal with fiddlewoods on a regular basis. They are as tough as old boots and will regrow unless the stump is poisoned.

First have your "tree service company" cut the tree as it should have been done, as close to ground level as the terrain allows. Whilst they are doing this, ask them to plunge cut the stump as per the diagram below.




Apply Glyphosate (aka round-up,glypho 450,zero etc....) in DILUTE form. You will need to wait about 6 weeks and then re-apply. I find it easy to make up the solution in a bucket and simply pour over.

There are a few urban myths concerning glyphosate which I may as well deal with here. It is the least toxic herbicide on the market today. I don't recommend you gargle it, but you can safely use it in your backyard even if you have kids and/or pets. It is NOT soil residual. You would have trouble finding a trace of it in soil after 14 days even if you were a microbiologist working at Murdoch. It is a translocated, systemic cellular disruptor. In English that means in order to kill a plant it must travel around the plant first then break down the cell walls. If you apply it undiluted you simply destroy cells in close proximity to the wound but not the entire plant. Slow and steady wins the race with this particular chemical. As to how "strong" you make up the solution, just read the instructions. If there is a recommendation for stumps or woody brush use that, if not, then double whatever is recommended for weeds in paving.

I expect when you call this "tree service comapny" you will get no reply or a long list of excuses as to why it can't be done. I hope I am wrong but this smells like a cowboy job to me. If, for whatever reason, they dont come back then you need to somehow cut the "stump" down your self. Plunge cuts are dangerous to do unless you are trained and experienced. In the event you do this yourself just drill holes in the stump in the same locations I showed above. You cant drill too many and they need to be at least 4 inches deep.

Good luck with this.

Oh and is there a chance of a photo or 2???

Attached Thumbnails

 

newguy18

Yes it does,everytime you strip the bark off the stump it depletes the energy thats left and after 2-3 times doing it,depending on the vigor of the tree.Obviously you've never read the fundamentals of general treework.

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old schooler

rbtree

Actually, I first read it when you were still in diapers.

It isn't the stump that's a problem so much as the roots with many trees, like all of the genus populus. Stripping bark off won't do a dang bit of good for that...and would be a pain in the arse for an ALAP'd stump. Scoring the cambium of the stump, and any exposed roots, then applying glycophosphate is SOP. That chemical works adequately, and the newer product is more eco-friendly...unlike Tordon, the professional product. I got a gallon of that back in '88 or so, kept it in an enclosed metal compartment inside the step of my walk-in tool boxes. A tiny bit spilled, couldn't stand the smell, got rid of the container when it was empty...A few years later, the smell was still there. Haven't used Tordon since....but it is the strongest, most effective product.

Urban Treecare NZ

In New Zealand we have a quality product called Vigilant. It comes in a bottle with a brush and is appled to the cambium on a thick layer around the stump. is very efficent and cost effective.

Vigilant Gel Update

Q.Q.

Tordon is good,but I hate to tell you it still is not the best.If you want to to kill the stump,every other tree thats roots even come close it,and the grass as well, than the best stuff is Velpar.
Not many people use it as it is too aggressive, and I tend to aggree.Tordon is a good choice though for stuff like this.
Another product I have used is also Access,this has to be mixed deisel.With this product all you have to do is spray around the base of any tree,300-400cm high and presto it dies just like a tordoned tree.

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rick

In my woody weed control guide (it was my bible when running a cattle grazing property) it says that stem injection, basal bark spray and granular herbicides are preferable to cut stump application on stumps that are sporting regrowth.
These are all Dow products, as we used to buy $16,000 a year in herbicide off them
None of them are cheap, but they work.
Glypho is good on smaller woody weeds, eg. cut stump African Boxthorn, not sure how it would go on larger stumps, and FWIW, we always used it neat in that application due to the much smaller translocation area involved compared to a foliar spary.

Injection

Tordon

Pellets

Graslan
Tordon pellets

Basal bark

Access
Garlon 600
Starane

Cut stump application

Access
Garlon 600
Tordon
Starane

newguy18

Poisons are okay,i perfer stripping bark[which has worked for me many times].Also by poisoning this stump,could we be affecting other trees in the vicinity.

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rbtree

Normally only if there's another tree of the same genus nearby. I believe it is rare for root grafting to occur cross genus....same goes for translocation of herbicide.

rick, i know that glycophosphate is not labeled for woody stump kill effectiveness, but it's worked for us for 20 years.

rick

Thanks RB.
Handy to know.

Eric Frei

I use it too all the time but mix it stronger.

Some persistent trees like ficus, umbrella, chinese elm (Celtis chinensis) might shoot still.

The key I find is getting that poison on the stump fast. I have the blower with me, make the last cut, then blow it clean and spray or glug a heap on.

If you wait too long then not so good.

And that's why my BS radar went off when the tree lopper bloke leaves a big stump and wants to come back. Hope he does but sheesh, even then, mate .... you're running around and wasting a lot of time coz you could just slice it off at ground, blow and spray, DONE!

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Victor Lindsay

30- 60 sec after a fresh cut, apply garlon or round up straight I remove unwanted veg all the time, this is the best way. never fails.

TrevMcRev

Agreed, time is of the essence when poisoning cut stumps. Tyloses begins quickly on active trees, plugging up surface cells and reducing uptake.

Jeff Darby

Very true, cut, grove in a small trough just inside the bark, apply poison. If your not going to treat it strait away leave it high enough so you can cut to GL later, Then treat straight away.

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Eric Frei

Round up label attached, see page 13 for trees and stumps.

Attached Files

ROUNDUP HERBICIDE_24107669.pdf (208.9 KB, 2234 views)

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Tilia

on the less tougher stuff i have used the 2 stroke fuel before.

dov

Occasionally I to get a "could you possibly poison it or something" at the end of a job, so I usually plunge cut the stump and pour two-stroke on it. I've had a look at some of the stumps months later and never seen one sprout, even Eucs. Never tried it on anything more than 10'' in diameter though... Only ever done it when the customer catches me off guard as I don't like to carry poison long term in the wagon with me...

tcher48

Just about two years ago we cut down a flowering crab that never should have been planted where it was. It came with the house. Not our fault. Anyway, we left it standing a bit to put a birdbath on it. It's in the yard where our dogs have their yard space. The first year, things were fine. There were a few sprouts coming off of the trunk which popped off easily. This year though, holy cow! It's shooting up runners everywhere. I was wondering what would be the best way to kill the roots and whatnot taking into consideration that I have three small dogs running around in the same area. Drilling and then putting Round-Up in the holes? Salt?

Thanks for any help.

Eric Frei

Straight round up onto fresh cuts, so cut the suckers then swab them. Only the sap wood is conductive so pouring poison on the heartwood is a waste.

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Brent Ferris

I think the better way is just dig out the stump with as many roots as possible, and then there is no harm to the dogs,

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liss

We frill huge camphor laurels and pepper trees (schinus) all the time using a 50:50 glyphosate in a 2lt spray bottle, applied within 30 sec of cut.
works well