RU becomes inert on contact with the soil ...

you dont need to paint the whole stump.. just the green edge under the bark.. dont waste product ...

yes.. roots will sprout suckers.. if no killer is used ...

dig it out by hand.. making a 3 foot round hole [actually.. a foot bigger than what you are going to plant in the hole] .. paint root ends as best you can ... and let them dry for a day or two ...

then put in the new plant ... PROPER in all aspects ... planting/watering/mulching.. etc ...

you might still have to kill a sucker once in awhile.. but your JM should be well on the way in no time..

its work.. but i dont like what grinding does to the soil that is left ...

ken

How much time would you let pass between cutting and painting with RU, and then removing? Will it be easier to dig out the stump if I wait a year or so?

Thanks again!

"How much time would you let pass between cutting and painting with RU...?"

Just long enough to grab the RoundUp applicator (Ken likes PlochmanâÂÂs mustard bottles - I think he owns stock or has a PlochmanâÂÂs taste obsession. LOL).

"...and then removing? Will it be easier to dig out the stump if I wait a year or so?"

Yes it is likely that letting the stump break down a little (a year sometimes makes considerable difference) will make the job easier.

How large a tree are you removing?

How much time would you let pass between cutting and painting with RU

===>>>>> IMMEDIATELY ... you are relying on the vascular system of the stump.. to SUCK IN the killer... even minutes later.. it will start to clog and fail .... already thinking ot itself.. i have to put up some suckers fast.. to grow some leaves.. to piss this person off forever.. lol ...

remove the stump.. when you have the time.. energy or gumption to do it ... waiting a year.. will make no difference IMHO ... wood does NOT rot that fast.. especially a type of wood that lives in the ground ... aka roots ... i have stumps that are 10 years old .. and look like i cut them yesterday .. though other types rot in half the time ...

lets sum it up this way.. there is no short cut ... just get it done ASAP.. and plant your new plant.. and be happy ... [well ... happy after all the aches and pains go away .. lol] ...

ken

So no easy way, eh? Oh well, it'll be worth all the work when it's done.

One last question, is now a good time of year to do this project? Would it be better to wait until the tree leafs out?

For inquiring minds, it has a trunk with a diameter of about 1 1/2 feet, it's not very tall though because it's been topped multiple times. I recently dug in the ground (somewhat) near it for the first time and began to realize just how many roots there actually are, I was pretty surprised. I realized that this tree must go, and sooner rather than later.

Thank you very much for your helpful advice!

do it now..

but i gotta say.. i never tried to dig a foot and a half tree out.. good luck with that ... even if you completely bare rooted it.. how the heck are you going to lift it out??? .. and you arent going to put it at the curb ....

cut if flush to the ground.. then.. off a few feet.. find a spot where you can dig a 3 foot wide hole.. for the new tree.. and cover this one with mulch.. after you kill it ... you might.. in this method.. only have one large root to deal with.. and even if i found that.. i just might move the hole a foot the other way..

in other words.. bury and forget ...

your only problem here.. is your thought that the replacement has to go precisely where the other one is.. will your life end.. if its 3 feet one way or another??? you can prune it to grow off toward the stump.. if the space above ground is what you want filled.. you dont just want some straight up boring upright JM.. do you??

and no.. the RU is not going to be sucked into the roots.. and then out thru the roots to migrate thru the soil ..... to your new plant.. that simply isnt the way it works ....

i sum up this method this way: work smart.. not hard ... lol ...

ken

ps: trees bud out on stored energy.. if you wait till it has leaves.. its already storing more energy.. kinda defeating yoru purpose ..... kill it.. and if it suckers.. you are dwindling that stored energy.. basically on your way.. to starving the root masses ability to keep suckering.. NEVER let suckers get too big ... or you will lose ground ....

That sounds like wise advice, looking at the placement of the tree I've decided that 3 feet in front of the old one would be an even better spot for the japanese maple to go.

Thanks again!

Liquidambar tree? Tulip tree? Tulip Poplar?

you lost me poaky..

liquidamber is sweetgum

tulip poplar is not .. a poplar ... and not a tulip .. but Liriodendron tulipifera ..

but regardless.. to kill them.. is the same ...

BTW.. over the next decade.. as you wood in the ground rots.. ENJOY!!! the show of fungus ... i consider it a sign of the work being done.. and a FREE addition to my list of garden plants.. lol ... do not freak out.. revel in the mystery ... its just how mother earth will decompose that buried wood ...

ken

I have seen some very cool fungi on or around other old trees, there are some huge old eucalyptus stumps at my Mom's house and every year they grow fabulous mushrooms. When they first appear it looks like someone sprayed that yellow foam insulation stuff into a crack in the stump, then they slowly turn more tan colored as they grow into a cluster of shelf mushrooms. It's fascinating to watch, I can't wait to see what pops up after the liquidamber tree is gone.

Suckers will pop up for sure! We are dealing with that now. Over 100 of them!! RU doesn't make a dent in them!

Suzi

then you are not doing it right

its not a spray thing

its a snip and drip system..

ken