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Removing highly invasive tree?

14 years ago

Hi,

I just bought a house in Philadelphia that has a large paper mulberry tree in the backyard, as well as several of the same tree in the yards and lots surrounding the backyard. The trees are pretty much growing as weeds, with smaller ones shooting up all over the place. Several of the adjacent yards and lots are vacant, completely overgrown with these trees. I'd like to remove the large one in my backyard, but I've heard that it can be very difficult to stop these trees from growing back, particularly if the whole root system is connected. Any tips? We were thinking of cutting the tree ourselves and using a root removing tool (don't know what it's called!) to pull up as much as we can.

I'm new to this forum, so please let me know if I should be posting this somewhere else! Thanks!

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Comments (6)

ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
14 years ago
hey af ....

you are in the right place ....

i can not speak to your ability to do the job safely ...

just under the bark of any tree ... is a green layer.. the cambian ... to this area.. as soon as cut.. you apply 100% roundup or stump killer .... and that will eventually dissuade the tree from living ... you need no more than a bead on that layer... waste not.. want not ....

you may have to do this for a year or two.. re-cutting any sprouts.. and reapplying the roundup ...

as to how this will affect the trees on the other lots.. i will leave it to others ... i do not know if they are seedlings... or all connected ...

do you have an legal ability to go on the other properties.. and cut and kill those stumps???

good luck

ken

ps: are you talking about grinding the stump... or getting a backhoe and ripping up the whole yard ....????
bushhog936
14 years ago
Mullberry's sucker heavily so you'll be fighting that thing for years. Good luck, apply a herbicide to the new sprouts as they appear.
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perennialfan273
14 years ago
Actually, we have mulberries on my property and they don't seem to sucker that much. We get a few suckers every year but it's not insane like it is with some other trees.
alabamatreehugger 8b SW Alabama
14 years ago
I pulled up a young White Mulberry once with a tractor, that root must have been 25ft long.
terrene
14 years ago
For the trees/saplings you cut, you can apply full strength triclopyr to the cut stump immediately after cutting. If the stump is more than a couple inches, it's only necessary to apply herbicide to the perimeter of the stump. I usualy use a small squeeze bottle with concentrated Brush-be-gone or other herbicide for woody plants.

You can also use a basal bark application of herbicide by coating the stems with the triclopyr. You can read more about that here.

I have a root-pulling tool called the Weed Wrench. I bought the 2nd largest size, that pulls up to 2 inches. For really tough plants like Glossy Buckthorn or Norway maple, it works better up to 1 inch. Not sure how it would work with the white mulberry, but if they are extremely difficult to pull and have an extensive network of roots, it might be easier to cut and use small application of herbicide.
arbordave (SE MI)
14 years ago
You said "paper mulberry" (Broussonetia papyrifera), rather than "white mulberry" (Morus alba). Both species are considered invasive, see link for more info on paper mulberry. As the other posters have said, repeat treatments of re-growth will be needed. Be careful with triclopyr if there are desirable plants in the vicinity.

Here is a link that might be useful: invasive paper mulberry

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