There are some herbicides that don't 'linger' in the soil, but ALL must be used according to their labeled instructions. Glyphosates (RoundUp) is quite effective on grasses and you can plant behind it once the 'offenders' are dead. Somebody else may have an idea on a broadleaf herbicide that breaks down like the glyphosates.

Large vines, limbs, etc can take a long time to break down. You may want to clear out the area first and then prepare the soil. The vines are a pain in the 'kiester' (PITK?) around your tiller tines.

There will be some wonderful recommendations for shade trees here. Lou and I will recommend Montezuma cypress and Shantung maples (you MUST visit MetroMaples in south Arlington before making a purchase - its stunning)

Here's a link that may be most useful for the crape myrtle selection.
J.D.

Here is a link that might be useful: crape myrtle trails

I've got a similar area to deal with, although thank goodness it is still shaded with healthy live oaks. Tilling might help remove the more shallow rooted things, but for the woody growth and deep rooted stuff you will probably have to use something systemic that will kill the whole plant. And then you will have to wait until the plant dies, so it's not all that quick. Of course if there is nothing in the area that you care to save/protect, then something more radical that would really turn the soil up by going deep (like a disker or bulldozer, etc.) might eliminate most of the deeper stuff. I'm no expert (why not talk to one...a landscaper?), but that seems like the only way.

I've got to be especially careful so as not to harm my oaks.
I am going to use a poison that I normally use on mesquite trees which is a combination of diesel and Remedy (bought at feed stores). Diesel by itself often does the trick on woody growth. You can mix it and put it in a sprayer or pour some in a container and use a cheap paint brush to 'paint' it onto the woody growth. If you choose the spray method that is not meant to suggest that you just spray a broad area. Either way you do it, you must do each plant individually being careful not get it anywhere else BUT on the plant. And with this method you must paint/spray it all the way around the woody stem, not just on one side of it. Encircling the plant's main trunk this way insures that the penetration is even and completely goes to the plant's core and is eventually absorded by the roots. What I will do is cut each woody growth down to a stub and then paint the stub right away while the 'cut wound' is still open. And needless to say, one must wear appropriate protection (gloves, long sleeves/pants, mask) when working with this toxic stuff.

The Crape Myrtles sound lovely but won't provide much shade, if that is one of your criteria. I planted a red oak about 10 years ago (it was just 4ft at the time), and now it's at least 20 feet tall and turns a lovely red in the fall. You might also look into other kinds of oaks or you might consider a gingko tree or two. Once established they are not susceptible to disease, are long lived and turn a beautiful golden yellow. I'm not sure where you live, but if water is not an issue then cypress might be pretty too. You might consider planting some that are evergreen and some that are deciduous. What I enjoy about the live oaks is that they stay green all winter until the early spring, and then quickly shed their leaves just as other decidous plants that have been leafless all winter are sprouting new growth.
Some people plant deciduous trees purposely on the northwest side of their homes so that the sun will be able to warm the house in the cold of winter, while providing much needed shade in the warmer months.

Good luck with your project, and hope you will share your process so we can all learn with you.

Miami is a good tall variety. I've had several for years and find that it's tough and is tolerant of about any conditions and blooms well.

Here's a chart describing many varieties:

http://www.fanicknursery.com/Downloads/Crape%20Myrtle%20ver10%20%2095%20WEB.pdf

You'll see Miami pictured here:

Here is a link that might be useful: Pictures and particulars of Crape Myrtle Varieties

Anytime you want to get rid of something, I would definitely not till. Especially something like a briar that is already hard to kill. You don't want to chop it up into hundreds of pieces...which will all root into a new plant! You'll just make the problem worse. It will suck, but the only way to get rid of it is to pull it all out. Hire someone if you have to, but pull it up. And know you may have to do it again in a year. There's just no quick and easy method to weed.

The super tall crepes that you are looking for are these varieties: Dallas Red, Dynamite, Red Rocket, Raspberry Sundae, Special Red, Watermelon Red, Arapaho, Carolina Beauty.

You can see photos and stats on these crepes and others at this link:

Here is a link that might be useful: Crepe Myrtle Varieties

Couldn't find this post over the weekend. I've read lots of good information on this site, but posting here and finding your posts a day later is difficult.

Anyways... since I missed all of the advise - I ended up tilling this weekend, not having seen MadenTheShade's advice. I did however, rake up most all of the loose pieces, so the ground is nice and loose and the only remnants of the briars are the pieces sticking up that the tiller did not pull. I then sprayed some brush killer on the area to kill those. I also sprayed the oak stump which should help kill the little suckers that it wants to keep sprouting.

I need to read the directions on the killer to see how long to wait before replanting, but I plan to keep the briars in check by mowing the area around the crape myrtles going forward, in hopes that grass and frequent mowing will finish off any stragglers.

Justin, one way I use to find post my posts is to do a search for my screen name. Or to find another's post you can do a search for their screen name, or the subject line, or by name of plant, or just a word, city name, etc., that you remember is contained in the post. The search box is at the bottom of the opening page of the site. Hope this helps. Happy gardening!

OR.... just look for your name in the posts....that should tell you that you posted it originally.

Thanks for the tips on finding your posts.

I read the instructions and went ahead and planted the crape myrtles. I found the Dynamite crape myrtles locally and they were really inexpensive considering the amount of plant you're getting! I planted them in holes about twice the size of teh root ball and as fortune would have it, we're getting nice showers today which should help give them a drink.

Thanks for the advice again and I can't wait for these crapes to get settled and start shooting up! The taller the better and I don't plan on doing any pruning to the tops, as I would like to keep them tree-shaped. With the hot summers we get, they should do well from what I've read!