Chris Owens wrote in message ...
Bob Dierker wrote:

I have to remove about 2 dozen entrenched, 50-year-old barberry
bushes, and would appreciate any advice on how this should be done.
I'd like to replant in the same area, which makes me leery about
cutting them down to the roots and then applying chemicals.

Bob

Well, the very best way would be to pay someone else to do it.
Preferably with a backhoe. If you do this, emphasize that they
must remove each bush's stump and main roots intact, not just
plow them under.

If it is legal / safe, you could also try a controlled burn to
remove the bushes. Be careful with this one, underground roots
can smoulder for months!

Howsomever: You're going to want a pair of gauntlet gloves;
barberry has wicked thorns. Cut down the bushes, leaving a
12-18" stump of big branches for each one. Trench along one side
of the stumps, 3-5' out from them, digging about 18" deep.
[Using a baby backhoe to do this will save lots of sore
muscles.] Moving in toward the stumps, keep trenching out until
you are encountering significant roots. Now, you're going to
have to dig out each bush individually, working in from the
trench to make two side trenches that surround the bush. As you
are moving the dirt out from around the roots, keep trying to
rock the stump. When you have it essentially free on one side,
you can tip it back on the other side and basically peel it out
of the ground. [If you have a decent winch, you can use that to
help rock the stump and peel it out of the ground.] Once you
have all the large roots and stumps out of the ground, till the
soil thoroghally and regrade. Good luck; this is brutal work.

Chris Owens

Thanks for the sound advice. "Brutal" is right. I got a thorn in my
finger when I looked this over that blew up to the size of a small
marshmallow. I may just burn them down, and charge admission to the
smoldering ruins.

Bob