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Killing a tree root

Posted: October 11th, 2021, 3:55 pm
by brightncheerful
A couple of years ago, a neighbour had a large tree in their garden removed which was good for them and good for us (more light for us and no more picking up leaves). However, the tree contractor omitted to remove a root that grows under the fence and into our garden. Chances are the contractor wasn't aware of it or more likely couldn't be bothered.

Yesterday i found that in addition to the main root two new ones have sprung up in our garden, of which one abuts a lavender bush.

I'd like to dig up the main root but it is so far wedged under the fence that getting rid of it completely I doubt it so i shall have to use a poison. Does anyone have a recommendations for what poison to use?

Whilst I'm at it, I want to poison the other two roots but my concern is that the one next to the lavender bush root is so close that the poison could also kill the lavender. Does anyone have any suggestions on how to avoid that? i don't want to relocate the lavender, it is at least 20 years old (I planted it from tiny) and probably wouldn't survive a relocation.


tia
Bnc

Re: Killing a tree root

Posted: October 11th, 2021, 4:06 pm
by ReformedCharacter
brightncheerful wrote:A couple of years ago, a neighbour had a large tree in their garden removed which was good for them and good for us (more light for us and no more picking up leaves). However, the tree contractor omitted to remove a root that grows under the fence and into our garden. Chances are the contractor wasn't aware of it or more likely couldn't be bothered.

Yesterday i found that in addition to the main root two new ones have sprung up in our garden, of which one abuts a lavender bush.

I'd like to dig up the main root but it is so far wedged under the fence that getting rid of it completely I doubt it so i shall have to use a poison. Does anyone have a recommendations for what poison to use?

Whilst I'm at it, I want to poison the other two roots but my concern is that the one next to the lavender bush root is so close that the poison could also kill the lavender. Does anyone have any suggestions on how to avoid that? i don't want to relocate the lavender, it is at least 20 years old (I planted it from tiny) and probably wouldn't survive a relocation.


tia
Bnc


Drill or cut a hole in the main root. Fill the hole with a strong solution of a Glyphosate based weedkiller and plug or cover the hole.

RC

Re: Killing a tree root

Posted: October 11th, 2021, 4:55 pm
by brightncheerful
Thank you.

I have never used a Glyphosate-based weedkiller. How is it applied? Pour from a bottle or watering can or spray? or was? if watering can how do I clean the can afterward to ensure it's all gone?

Also what protective clothing (gloves? mask? etc) should I wear when undoing the container and using it?

Re: Killing a tree root

Posted: October 11th, 2021, 5:07 pm
by fisher
brightncheerful wrote:Thank you.

I have never used a Glyphosate-based weedkiller. How is it applied? Pour from a bottle or watering can or spray? or was? if watering can how do I clean the can afterward to ensure it's all gone?

Also what protective clothing (gloves? mask? etc) should I wear when undoing the container and using it?


I have killed a number of tree roots in my garden using Glyphosate. You typically buy it in 1L bottles. Roundup is one make of it but there are other less expensive ones that are just as good. I have bought 5L containers of it from ebay.

You typically pour it in a garden sprayer and dilute it when killing weeds with it. For killing a tree stump I typically drill a number of holes in the stump and fill them with undiluted Glyphosate using a small jug, (like the sort you get to fill your iron with water). I do it on a dry day, and then usually reapply it over a few more days. The number of applications I do depends on the size of the original tree.

I always use rubber gloves when working with it.

Re: Killing a tree root

Posted: October 11th, 2021, 5:13 pm
by ReformedCharacter
brightncheerful wrote:Thank you.

I have never used a Glyphosate-based weedkiller. How is it applied? Pour from a bottle or watering can or spray? or was? if watering can how do I clean the can afterward to ensure it's all gone?

Also what protective clothing (gloves? mask? etc) should I wear when undoing the container and using it?

There's usually a dilution guide on the container, personally I'd go for the strongest solution given. I'd suggest mixing it in a disposable bottle and then tipping it into the hole. Although there has been some mention of Glyphosate as a possible carcinogen it is not particularly toxic to mammals but is toxic to marine life IIRC. Wear gloves and don't do it on a windy day if there is any chance it might get blown onto you. You might leave any left-overs in the bottle for re-use at a later date. When you have finished with it rinse the bottle out with plenty of water. TBH since Glyphosate needs to be translocated within the plant\tree you might find it more useful to use during the warmer months when the tree is likely to be trying to grow at it's quickest but since - at least here - the soil temperatures are still fairly high, you might find an application now and once again in the Spring to be most effective.

RC

Re: Killing a tree root

Posted: October 11th, 2021, 5:26 pm
by mc2fool
Our tree surgeon uses "Ecoplugs" to kill stumps of freshly felled trees. They're basically just glyphosate encapsulated in a plastic plug that are pushed into holes drilled into the stump. Clean and easy, and no messing around with liquids, jugs, etc.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QYeTcb2zRlM
https://www.forestresearch.gov.uk/research/the-use-of-ecoplugs-for-woody-weed-control/

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/264981205135 (Not a recommendation, just the first one I found. Shop around!!

Re: Killing a tree root

Posted: October 11th, 2021, 5:46 pm
by scrumpyjack
We've always used SBK mixed with a little oil and then poured/ applied with a paint brush into a number of holes drilled in the root. But no doubt the above suggestions are fine.

Re: Killing a tree root

Posted: October 11th, 2021, 5:50 pm
by scrumpyjack
ps we had our local arborist sort out our trees about 5 years ago which involved felling about 40 of them and then using a stump grinder.
I recall an uncle in the fifties had a very large dying tree felled in his field. He then invited the Territorials to use the stump etc for explosives practice and they much enjoyed blowing it to smithereens!

Re: Killing a tree root

Posted: October 11th, 2021, 5:59 pm
by bungeejumper
scrumpyjack wrote:We've always used SBK mixed with a little oil and then poured/ applied with a paint brush into a number of holes drilled in the root.

Likewise. SBK mixed fifty-fifty with paraffin (to make it sink in deeper). As many drill holes as you've got the patience to do - five or six per square inch wouldn't be too many. And then tie a black bin liner over the stump for a few weeks so that critters don't find it. Not that I think they'd be attracted to something that smells vaguely of paraffin, but it doesn't hurt to be completely sure.

We've done everything from a 30 foot pear tree to a 15 inch thick holly tree like that, and it's never failed yet, first go. And holly is a real toughie - it's related to oak.

BJ

Re: Killing a tree root

Posted: October 11th, 2021, 6:00 pm
by swill453
In my experience killing a root is one thing, but that in no way gets rid of it. It will be years before it rots down if it's not physically removed.

Scott.

Re: Killing a tree root

Posted: October 11th, 2021, 6:09 pm
by Lootman
swill453 wrote:In my experience killing a root is one thing, but that in no way gets rid of it. It will be years before it rots down if it's not physically removed.

Yes, my tree surgeon wanted hundreds of pounds more to remove the stump and roots, rather than just cut and clear the above-ground tree. So I left the stump there. Whatever is underground does not bother me, and I have not had the problem the OP cited of the roots continuing to grow after the tree is gone (At least insofar as I know - I figure the roots just gradually die once the tree is gone).

Also, since my garden is on a steepish hill, I feel that the root system is part of the integrity of the hillside, meaning I might have problems if it suddenly went away.

Re: Killing a tree root

Posted: October 11th, 2021, 6:13 pm
by bungeejumper
scrumpyjack wrote:I recall an uncle in the fifties had a very large dying tree felled in his field. He then invited the Territorials to use the stump etc for explosives practice and they much enjoyed blowing it to smithereens!

O/T, but thanks for the memory. We wanted to remove a hundred year old laurel with colossal roots, and a friend who'd returned from Australia offered to show me the outback method of tree control. Apparently You dug around the roots, soaked the soil in petrol, then laid a petrol-soaked rope into the hole, and backfilled with soil. Then you lit the rope and ran like boggery. Your tree would go six feet into the air.

We declined politely, in favour of the SBK method. That way, at least we didn't blow our stone walls to pieces. :lol:

BJ

Re: Killing a tree root

Posted: October 15th, 2021, 11:02 am
by brightncheerful
Thanks to all.

I have enquired about Ecoplugs. The seller only supples in boxes of 100, whereas i would need no more than about 5 or at the most 10. So i contacted a garden-maintenance friend to find out if he could use the others: yes provided the use-by date would be at least 5 years. However, he suggested I use an ordinary weedkiller and has offered to do the job for me this afternoon, with a top-up in Spring if necessary.

Re: Killing a tree root

Posted: October 15th, 2021, 11:37 am
by mc2fool
brightncheerful wrote:Thanks to all.

I have enquired about Ecoplugs. The seller only supples in boxes of 100, whereas i would need no more than about 5 or at the most 10. So i contacted a garden-maintenance friend to find out if he could use the others: yes provided the use-by date would be at least 5 years. However, he suggested I use an ordinary weedkiller and has offered to do the job for me this afternoon, with a top-up in Spring if necessary.

Uh? The ebay link I posted earlier sells them in any quantity from 1 upwards, and there are others that sell them in sets of 5/10/20.

However, as RC said back at the beginning of the thread, you can do what it sounds like your friend is going to do, and just drill a hole or several, fill them with glyphosate and cover them. The plugs are just marginally more convenient. :D

Re: Killing a tree root

Posted: October 15th, 2021, 1:46 pm
by DrFfybes
You used to be able to buy "root out" - ammonium sulphamate crystals. You drill holes in the root and either dropped these in, or dissolved them and poured the solution in.

Ammonium Sulphamate was never registered in the EU for use as a weedkiller when the rules came in 2008 and so is no longer allowed to be sold or used as a weedkiller, a shame as the degradation is fairly quick, it has low toxicity to wildlife, and breakdown products are via oxidation and actually end up fertislising the soil after a couple of months.

You can however buy ammonium sulphamate as a "compost accelerator", so you can add it to compost, but not kill plants with it. If you buy it as a compst accelerator then the instructions we got also contained a sheet "for historical information" detailing how it used to be used as stump killer(!).

Paul

Re: Killing a tree root

Posted: October 16th, 2021, 11:05 am
by sg31
Thanks for that Dr F, I was just thinking about how I could accelerate my compost production.

I've got a sycamore stump next to the compost heap that keeps resprouting, I must see if I can find a way to deal with it.

Re: Killing a tree root

Posted: October 16th, 2021, 10:07 pm
by madhatter
I had ammonium sulphamate crystals from back when it was sold as a stump and brushwood killer (I think it was called DeepRoot from a company rather ironically called Growing Success) and found it effective and easy to use. Most often I used it on ash saplings which were too big to remove manually or too awkwardly sited to dig out, but it worked fine on larger stumps too. I would pour the crystals into drilled holes and cover them for a few days to prevent dilution with rain and access to animal life, and noticed that after a few days the crystals had gone into solution anyway.