At several point around the foundation of my house, I have small sapling trees of an unidentified species that have persisted in coming back even after several years of cutting them off at ground level as soon as I notice any hint of greenery on them. I was hoping that by never giving them a chance to leaf out then eventually they would starve off but that doesn’t seem to be happening anytime soon.
I have concrete slabs butting tight up against the foundation and these weed trees are persistent in trying grow up through the tiny gap between them. Brute force digging them out isn’t an option I relish. Cutting them off at ground level seems ineffective. Glyphosates don’t seem to have any effect. What’s my best option?
I haven’t tried them, but there are stump-killers you can get at any hardware store or nursery. A DIY remedy seems to be: Drill a one-inch diameter hole, pack it with salt, seal with candle wax.
Stronger brush killers may do it, like Brush-B-Gon. Glyphosates are supposed to kill trees too but don’t seem to be that effective. If it’s a plant that can develop bark the stuff in Brush-B-Gon works better IME. It’s certainly effective on Poison Ivy where glyphosate has proven useless.
If they are still around in the fall, I’ve had good success with glyphosate using this method. The fall timing is important because that’s when sap is returning to the roots of the plant. Make a fresh cut across the stump and soak that sucker with glyphosate. Come back a couple of days later and make another cut (you can just cut right below where you made the first cut) and soak it with glyphosate. Repeat three or four times. I killed honeysuckle that way and it’s damn near impossible to get rid of.
Also, I can’t speak highly enough of the Puller Bear.
I learned this from an old man, have done exactly this several times. It was very easy and very effective.
Cut them flat across, as close to the ground as you can. Drill a hole into the stalk, maybe more than one based on the size of the tree! Just a reg drill bit will do. Fill the hole(s) with gasoline, it’s probably less than a teaspoonful! Refill with gas two or three times the day you do it.
That’s it. The plant WILL die. And NOT be reborn. Also, it’s so little gas it really won’t affect anything growing near by.
If it’s a substantial stump, by next season you will be able to lift large chunks of it out with ease.
My mom used Tordon RTU made by Dow AgroSciences. I have the bottle with just a little left in it for my use.
The label says-
Specialty Herbicide– For controlling unwanted trees via cut surface treatments in and non-cropland areas such as fencrows, roadsides, and rights-of-way.
She would cut the tree/bush and had a small paint brush she would dab Tordon on the cut surface.
I like Ortho Brush B Gone. It kills those little elms among the tiger lilies that you’ve been trimming for 10 years, so they have a Huge, robust root system. You have to be careful when applying, but it does the job you’re asking about.
I disagree. If they’ve been cut back more than once and returned, the roots will have to be killed. Otherwise those roots could be headed toward the foundation, or a water pipe.
OP, has it ever gotten tall enough for out o see the leaves? What did they look like?
Are there that many of these sapling sprouts that it’s too much of a pain to snip them back once or twice a year? They’ll give up eventually.*
I would not try to poison the soil with salt, gasoline or other non-approved herbicides.
*my worst foundation planting pest was a hardy yucca (Y. glauca) which I dug out, but which kept returning for several years from tiny root remnants. It eventually died before I had to resort to herbicides or napalm.
Yeah I was just going to say this. If you think “little saplings” can’t be hardy you haven’t met a maple sapling.
I’ve got several in my backyard bed, one growing from the base of my grapevine. Not wanting to use any chemicals or even salt so close to my grapevine (I mean it’s IN my grapevine…) I decided this year to spray the stumps with Flex Seal. Maybe choking them off from all sunlight will do the trick.
Works on either, i have used it for small saplings, you only need a single drill hole, is all.
I use the same technique for soft stalk perennial weeds as well. I just poke a hole with a nail instead of a drill. So much easier than digging up roots etc. Works every time!
Good luck with that! I have crabapple trees that are trying to come back 10 years+ after I pulled them up by the roots–I thought. You might want to have a professional grind down the roots.