Natty_Dread wrote:
"Dwight Sipler" wrote in message
...

"Arsenio Oloroso Jr." wrote:

I've got this silver maple sapling growing in my yard that I want to get

rid

of. A number of years ago, a former neighbor who once owned a christmas
tree farm in Wisconsin told me about a common chemical compound he used

to

kill unwanted trees. I've since forgotten the name of that compound.

Can

anyone here jar my memory?

The procedure, he said, is to cut a gash into the trunk of the tree,

smear

it with this chemical and then cover the gash by tying a rag soaked in
vegetable oil around the trunk. In a few weeks, the tree dies.

I used this method once a long while ago, and it was very effective.

Any leads are much appreciated.
Arsenio



A saw is quicker -- no waiting. You are going to have to use it anyway
on the dead tree, so why not skip the initial step.

If the sapling is less than 1" caliper, a pair of hand clippers will do
the job.


But how do you kill the roots so it stops growing? I have this problem
right now as well -- when I bought my house, a maple seedling very close to
the foundation had grown to about five feet tall and about six inches around
at the base. We've cut it to the ground twice, but it keeps growing back.
I think it's probably too much for Roundup to handle at its current size --
any ideas?




Paint the freshly cut stump with either full strength "Brush-B-Gon" [active
ingredient is tryclopyr] or concentrated 2,4-D (generally mixed with a
little diesel oil when doing a bunch of stumps). If you have some 41% or
stronger Roundup already you can paint it with that instead, full strength.

Sometimes takes 2 applications to kill a really vigorous sapling.

Best regards,
Bob