What to do about this sycamore tree?

Annemos

Yes, Brimble. Please arrange with your neighbour to have this taken out, while it is still small. 


One next to me was not taken out and it subsided my Bungalow. So I had to go through a horrible Insurance Claim.  (Mine was a Council Norway Maple, which is similar to a Sycamore). 

They are both rather fast growing Trees and the seeds also become a nuisance. Nearby surfaces also start to move as the roots grow. 

I agree with Maman, that this is likely to have been a seed that has sprouted......

My tree was eventually cut down by the Council during Covid. We were all locked down and I then went round pulling up by hand all the small seedlets that were sprouting. There were hundeds of them. If they are not pulled out quickly, the little roots can become very firm and they are then much more difficult to take out. 

Since my awful experience, I now notice these small Trees growing near many Sycamore Trees or Norway Maples. And they soon grow to be the size of yours, if they are left in place. I always feel like saying to the people nearby.... please don't let it grow! 


Your Tree, I would say, is too small and young to cause any problem with excess water, if it is removed.....

As a rule of thumb, that is an issue on Clay Soil, if a Tree is taken down which is older than the property. (That is called Heave. The opposite to Subsidence.) 


Wishing you the best with your neighbour, to quickly get this "nuisance" resolved. 

Brimble

Thanks to everyone for their kind words of advice. Seems like this part of MSE forum is full of nice people too, which is a pleasant change - certainly way better than some of the sub-forums... 

My neighbour said he was fine for me to have a go at it, so I've cut the tree down to about waist height for now, but I need to get rid of the two sycamore saplings in front of it before I can cut it right down to the ground. Problem is, those saplings are damn hard work to dig out! So I'm wondering, if I cut them back as far as I can, cover them completely with a dark cover so they can't get any sun, then repeat every few weeks, will they eventually die (or at least weaken enough to pull out more easily)?

Farway

Brimble said:

Thanks to everyone for their kind words of advice. Seems like this part of MSE forum is full of nice people too, which is a pleasant change - certainly way better than some of the sub-forums... 

My neighbour said he was fine for me to have a go at it, so I've cut the tree down to about waist height for now, but I need to get rid of the two sycamore saplings in front of it before I can cut it right down to the ground. Problem is, those saplings are damn hard work to dig out! So I'm wondering, if I cut them back as far as I can, cover them completely with a dark cover so they can't get any sun, then repeat every few weeks, will they eventually die (or at least weaken enough to pull out more easily)?

Thanks for the compliments about folk around here, must be the dirt under our finger nails keeping us on even keel

I'd take the easy option with the two saplings

Cut down to similar waist height. Leave at this height, eventually you can use the trunk as a good lever to waggle around and remove roots.

Paint bare tops with stump killer

Sit back and wait a year or so, keep painting with brushwood killer

Any fresh growth, either from base or trunk, give it a nice refreshing spray with systemic strong weedkiller, like Roundup [any glyphosate based]. Not the instant stuff, you want the long term systemic stuff.

You could just leave them once dead, they will eventually just come away at the roots in a couple of years

twopenny

Sheesh blushing

😊

What Farway said +1

Sycamore doesn't give in easily.

I chopped one back and poisoned it and it came out again. So rinse and repeat.

It actually started coming back 3yrs later   

It was at least twice that size and well established though so if you follow the instructions above you should get the better of it.

Eldi_Dos

Brimble said:

 Problem is, those saplings are damn hard work to dig out! So I'm wondering, if I cut them back as far as I can, cover them completely with a dark cover so they can't get any sun, then repeat every few weeks, will they eventually die (or at least weaken enough to pull out more easily)?

That is the plan I would go with, use a pruning saw and cut as low as you can get then cover over stumps.I find a old compost bag cut to size good for the job.Then cover with a layer of gravel or soil,if the plant cannot photosynthesis the roots will eventually die off and there will be no need to dig them out.
This way there is no need to use chemicials especially on a neighbours property.

fatbelly

I have a sycamore seedling. Fortunately it's near a fishpond, not near the house. I first noticed it 10 years ago and now attack it each year by systemic weedkiller (careful to get none into the pond) and then cutting it back. 

It's still alive and as the roots are under paving/rockery i can't get it out without major work.

For yours I would be inclined to get the V of the end of a crowbar tightly into the trunk and see if it would lever up

Eldi_Dos

fatbelly said:

I have a sycamore seedling. Fortunately it's near a fishpond, not near the house. I first noticed it 10 years ago and now attack it each year by systemic weedkiller (careful to get none into the pond) and then cutting it back. 

It's still alive and as the roots are under paving/rockery i can't get it out without major work.

For yours I would be inclined to get the V of the end of a crowbar tightly into the trunk and see if it would lever up

Yeah they can be persistent,  after 10 years of chemical warfare it may be time to try another method.
Cut it back as low as you can get and place a substantial plant pot upside down over it and weigh it down.
You could even use a Gnome with a fishing rod as a weight.

If it is not getting any light it will not have regrowth.

Brimble

Right, as a temporary fix for now, I've cut it right down, put a black bin-bag over the top, and secured it with an elastic band. I've diarised to check once a month and see what's going on underneath. I'm happy to repeat all of this annually or more often if necessary - can I assume that with little or no growth 'upwards' that will mean the roots aren't growing deeper / stronger either? (Please excuse my laughable lack of knowledge on gardening matters...)

By the way, I'm not against the crowbar idea, but I don't have one handy so might as well see if the above weakens it first anyway. 

RAS

If you can scrape the soil away from the remaining trunk, you'll find that lower down the bark becomes lighter (the root cover). At that point there are numerous small nodes which are potential regrowth. Get a knife behind the bark, which is easiest at this time of the year, and peel down to remove the nodes. 

You may not get them all in one go, but concentrate on those closest to the wall.

As Farway suggested belt and braces includes drilling multiple holes in the stump, or even at an angle as low down as possible once the root band is exposed and inserting brushwood killer. Use a syringe or repurpose a small funnel.

Eldi_Dos

Brimble said:

Right, as a temporary fix for now, I've cut it right down, put a black bin-bag over the top, and secured it with an elastic band. I've diarised to check once a month and see what's going on underneath. I'm happy to repeat all of this annually or more often if necessary - can I assume that with little or no growth 'upwards' that will mean the roots aren't growing deeper / stronger either? (Please excuse my laughable lack of knowledge on gardening matters...)

By the way, I'm not against the crowbar idea, but I don't have one handy so might as well see if the above weakens it first anyway. 

If you leave the bag on for a couple of months and then take off what you may find is sprouting type growth, rather like you would get on potatoes that have been kept in the dark (chitting).
Just put on a pair of gloves and rub them off and replace bag.They are a good sign as it means the plant is expending it's food stores  and will help hasten the demise of the rooting system.