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giant weeds in privacy hedge. what do we do?

last year

Hi! We just bought a new home and there is a line of trees separating our house from the neighbor and there are giant weeds growing all under and between the trees all the way
out the top. I have no idea what to do from here?

They seem too big to pull, I'm guessing if I sprayed a weed killer it would kill the trees, but also once the weeds are gone there won't be much privacy because the weeds have cleared out the bottoms of the trees.

Thanks in advance :/

Featured Answer

gardengal48 (PNW Z8/9)

last year

The photos are from too far away to be able to determine what weeds you might be dealing with.....if in fact they are weeds and not just natural woodsy undergrowth.

You could start now if you like but I'd be inclined to wait until all that bare woody stuff leafs out and you can see what you are actually dealing with. If you need to be rid of it, cut everything back almost to ground level and then paint (not spray) the exposed stems with a brush killer like triclopyr. Waiting until the plants are in active growth is also the best application time for any herbicides as well.

You may need a couple of repeat applications to get complete removal. And manually remove whatever herbaceous weeds you come across as they appear. After a good rain or watering the area well will make them easier to pull or remove. But unless you mulch heavily or replant with desirable woodland undergrowth species, the weedy stuff will eventually come back.

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Comments (6)

laceyvail 6A, WV
last year
Or you could just ignore it all and plant largish shrubs in front of the trees for more privacy if privacy is your main concern.
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krnuttle
last year
last modified: last year
I would wait a month and see what blooms. Then I would put a brush cutting blade on my trimmer and cut out any thing you do not want to keep. (It is hard to tell how thick they are but you may get by with a string trimmer and a pair of loppers.) Using a rake or hoe pull as much as you can and forget the rest. The part remaining in the tree will rot and fall down quickly, and in the mean time will nearly be invisible.

NOTE: Wear gloves and long sleeve shirt, no shorts. When finished take a shower and double soap. There could be poison ivy, poison oak, other plants that are poisonous or you are allergic to.

Also watch for snakes.
floral_uk z.8/9 SW UK
last year
If you could post close ups we could probably id a lot of them even now, before they leaf out.
Sigrid
last year
First, you want to make sure the weeds aren't poison ivy, which can be a huge vine, if you let it. That said, it's probably Asian bittersweet. It will eventually choke your trees, if you let it. Just chop it down. You'll have to chop the shoots on a regular basis for a few years, but eventually, it will die. For something that well established, weed killer probably won't work. You'd still need to apply it regularly.

Then plant a pretty shade-tolerant shrub. Like Mt. Laurel.
pricklypearcactus
last year
I would wait until they fill out leaves to determine whether they are actually weeds or just a rustic shrubbery planting. They may actually look nice when it's not winter. If they look nice, they may just need some pruning or maybe you'll decide that you really don't like them and want something different. My own personal experience is that most things that you want to eliminate will need to be physically dug out if you want them gone. I'm sure someone more knowledgeable than me will have better tool suggestions. But I like a hand hoe to dig out unwanted weeds or plants, especially if they're well established.

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