Tree destruction inc roots - best way?

Laz123

Legend has it that if you remove a strip of bark all the way round the trunk the tree will die.

Rosco62

Laz123 said:

Legend has it that if you remove a strip of bark all the way round the trunk the tree will die.

Not a legend it will kill the tree

FreeBear

Rosa_Damascena said: There is one other offender lurking in there on my side of the boundary: rhus. I didn't see it last year but it was a botheration the previous 2, hence I cut it back severely. Does that not spread from the roots?

Neighbour used to have a Rhus - Darned thing kept throwing up suckers my side of the fence. Fortunately, being shallow rooted, it was easily dealt with. Once the parent tree (shrub) had been grubbed out, the suckers dried up.

I suspect you are worrying needlessly over trees sprouting up again - Your foundations will be fairly deep, and any tree that does start growing will have shallow roots for the first few years. You'll have plenty of time to kill them off before they get to a size where roots might cause damage.

With the stumps ground out, it is unlikely you will get suckers coming up.

Ganga

Of course you could always dig out the offending stump , will never grow again when in the skip at the council yard 

531063

Keep dosing it with rock salt

TELLIT01

Rosa_Damascena said:

TELLIT01 said:

With the holly you will definitely need to get as much of the stump ground away as possible.  About 8 years ago we had a number of trees removed, including a holly.  We later discovered that the holly had actually been cut to ground level and the stump covered to hide it.  Long story short, we now have a holly tree about 10 feet tall which has regrown from the stump.

     
Am I the only one who frets about roots affecting their property? No one in their right mind actually plants a holly tree, I blame the previous owners who were bird lovers.

The one in our garden was planted before we moved in and is about 80 feet from the house.  Not too worried about it damaging the house from there.

bris

You can drill into the stump and use diesel to kill it, a proven method.

Rosa_Damascena

531063 said:

Keep dosing it with rock salt

I did think about Epsom salts but I'd prefer to avoid contaminating the earth. It sounds to me like grinding the stumps away will be good enough.

A building inspector took a look today and is insisting on 1.5m deep foundations close to the offending trees - suits me fine. In fact I have been pleasantly surprised by the local building inspectors, they are very responsive.

FreeBear

Rosa_Damascena said:

531063 said:

Keep dosing it with rock salt

I did think about Epsom salts but I'd prefer to avoid contaminating the earth. It sounds to me like grinding the stumps away will be good enough.

Epsom salt (or Magnesium Sulphate) is often used to give plants a boost when they are suffering from yellowing leaves - Many houseplant feeds contain a trace of the stuff.

Chucking rock salt on the ground is a sure fire way to stop anything from growing in the area until the salt has leached away. Diesel is even worse and really shouldn't be suggested with the world waking up to environmental issues.

Stump grinding will do just fine, and has the added advantage of the chips (when rotted) providing nutrients for new plants and help retain moisture.

Fudgejudge

I’ve I’ve just ordered some Roundup stump killer for under £20 and it looks easy enough you have to leave a large enough stump that you can drill holes into and then pour the chemicals in.