Marc, t'was I who said that. Basically, you have a huge window of time to perform this, beginning now, and extending right through winter. Also, I wouldn't say full-strength Roundup, but rather, a 40% to 50% mixture of concentrate and water. Please note: That's pro-grade stuff. If you're using homeowner's type, maybe it would have to be full strength, I'm not sure. Or....and this can be even more efficacious for some species...a triclopyr-based herbicide like Garlon. Be advised, just as there are numerous generic equivalents to Roundup, ie Glyophosate-based herbicide, there are now many generic versions of Garlon also available. One that comes to mind-there are more-is Tahoe brand herbicide. Just be aware-some of the Garlon-type formulations are designed to be mixed with fuel oil, hort. oil, or another oil-based carrier, which can be messier but can also work better if you're doing the work in sub-freezing temps. And you don't need to paint the whole stump, just the thin ring of conductive tissues just within the bark. As a practical matter, if you coat the cut surface with your mixture, you'll be good to go.

Most of us that do lots of this type of work like to add a small amount of blue dye to the tank mix. You might think you'll remember where you've been and what you've done, but it can quickly become confusing, so the dye really helps. Just be aware, these spray mix dyes are extremely concentrated.....a little goes a long way.

So you've got from right now until perhaps late Feb. to get this job done!

+oM

Great tip about the blue dye! I do have a couple of "small groves", so that'll help for sure. I'll be using the normal Lowe's Roundup concentrate at full strength, as that's what's available here.

Not looking forward to this process though, as you can imagine! lol

Thanks for the response!

Marc

Shouldn't be too bad a job. Felling the Trees of Heaven may be interesting if they're near your house or other buildings, power lines, etc. But the herbicide application is easy as pie, once you've gotten together the tools and equip. you need. One final word-if you do source some of the blue dye, do yourself a favor and wear old junky clothes. That stuff seems to get all over the place with the greatest of ease! It will wash out, but it can take a while, depending on what it has gotten on.

+oM

Hello again "wisconsitom".

Another question for you if you don't mind. I have a wooded area behind my house that I plan on hiring someone to bring equipment in and clear out all of the under brush/small trees for me.

Among the under brush and small trees of course are many "trees of heaven". I was planning on at some point before the leaves fall(which is when I was going to hire the company)... cutting and painting all of the trees of heaven, BEFORE the guy comes in to clear out the underbrush.

I wonder if it would be easier on me if I just allowed him to go ahead and "take out" the trees of heaven along with everything else,... then as the trees of heaven "come back" in the spring,(which I'm sure they will), I could immediately attack them with the full concentrate roundup.

This would save me a massive amount of time, as I already have plenty of TOH's to cut and paint on two other sides of my property.

Is my thinking flawed? Would I just be encouraging MORE TOH's to come back in the spring? I was thinking that even IF more comes back, they would be little babies, and I could then easily spot them and spray them, thus killing them all, hopefully.

Your thoughts?

Marc

Yes, I think it reasonable. One key aspect of cut/treat is that as little time as possible pass between the cutting and the treating. Another potential trouble spot is your (or anyone's) ability to ID the cut stem after the top has been removed. Not impossible of course, but it can be more difficult than a guy thinks it will be.

If you don't mind my asking, what is/are your goals for that wooded area? What I'm getting at is, in most woods, including those with invasive species present, there will still be a number of "good" tree saplings in the mix. Do you not want that regeneration for some reason? I know we all like the cleared-out look, but it is precisely those small individuals which will, of course, make up the future forest. Just curious, as maybe I can help make suggestions which will lead to better outcomes, depending on what outcomes are desired.

Of course I support getting rid of the TOH in there.

+oM

Actually, they'll likely not be any tree o heaven stumps left after the company has finished. All of the existing TOH's in this area are smallish, with trunks no larger than 2-4 inches across, at the most. Since I know that the TOH's will "sprout back up" in the spring...that's when I was planning on treating the babies,...by spotting the recognizable leaves as the sprout.

The area I'm referring to will be a future picnic/outside patio type area, ...and there is a small river that runs further behind where I'll be clearing out. There are many mature trees that I plan on leaving, for sure.

I just figured it'd be easier to treat the baby TOH's as they return, rather than cutting and treating now. That way, I'll let the heavy machinery do the heavy work, so to speak. Also, I've read that as long as I consistantly keep after the little TOH's, their root system will eventually die out.

Marc

Yes, by merely cutting down all top growth-for any plant type really-you are in effect causing it to waste energy re-growing new top growth, depleting stored food reserves in its roots, while not allowing any new foliage to form and begin making new food. So yes, repeated cutting will work, as will spraying the TOH sprouts with a foliar spray of herbicide, which is a more dilute solution than is that used for cut/treat.

Good luck!

+oM

Awesome, I belive that's what I'll do then. I'll still cut and paint all the larger ones though. Ugh,... the battle begins. I'll likely have to continue keeping an eye out for babies forever though, as I've noticed a couple of very large TOH's just beyond where my property line is, so I'll have to let them be.

Thanks again,
Marc

You could go through the woods and mark all the "Tree of Heaven" with paint near the base so you recognize them...then come by and use herbicide on any you see that are big enough to leave a stump.

I to would recommend you make a point of leaving a few "good" saplings...trees get old and die, you really do need "understudy" trees".

I haven't given it much though as far as leaving some "good" saplings. I've seen some baby of what appears to be a type of cedar around the perimeter that look healthy and robust,... so hopefully they'll be some deeper in as well. I'm sure there must be others that would qualify as "keepers" as well. Thanks for pointing that out.

Marc