On Sun, 20 May 2007 14:50:40 GMT, Ron Hardin
wrote:
This year, in Central Ohio, there was a hefty high temperature period
and then a pretty severe freeze, which caught some large Autumn Olive
bushes in bloom.
As expected, the bloom ended for the year, but unexpectedly there
are no leaves, or maybe a couple dozen on a bush that normally has
thousands, on any of the bushes.
Do freezes at the wrong time kill off Autumn Olive completely?
snip
Oh how I wish it was that easy to kill them off. I've tried
digging them out, but if you miss just one little shred of
root they'll be back. They just sneer back when whacked off
flush to the ground with any type of mowing device. The
rabbits can girdle them completely, not the slightest
challenge, suckers push up and they don't miss a beat.
I have spots in our yard that I dug out 5-6 years ago and
get mowed regularly. During the summer drought last year
when I didn't mow for over 3 weeks they still pushed out
suckers that reached about 10 inches in height.
In research done in the past I read that cutting them off
actually invigorates their growth:
"Since burning and cutting stimulate resprouting, herbicide
treatment may be necessary to eradicate large patches. One
method of application is to cut the plant off at the main
stem and paint the herbicide on the stump. Glyphosate is
effective and commonly used. Kurz (pers. comm.) and Nyboer
(pers. comm.) recommended a 10-20% dilution for painting on
stumps. Foliar applications may be adequate for small
patches; the recommended dilution of glyphosate in this case
is a 1-2% solution. Kurz (pers. comm.) stated that the best
time for herbicide application is in late August or
September when the plant is actively translocating materials
to the roots."
This is for Russian Olive, but they can be treated pretty
much the same:
"Once Russian-olive is allowed to become established in
unwanted areas, it is difficult to control and almost
impossible to eradicate because of its habit of forming root
shoots and suckers. Efforts at control have included mowing
of seedlings and sprouts, cutting or girdling of stems,
burning and herbicide application. Perhaps the most
effective method of eliminating a tree is to cut the trunk
or stem and apply an herbicide to the cut surfaces. Repeated
aerial application of 2, 4-D and 2, 4, 5-T have been used in
Nebraska as a means of controlling large trees. Application
of herbicide in this manner may be required over at least a
two year period (Bovey 1965)."
Don't fret Autumn Olives fragility, they are the most
tenacious tree/shrub I know off...
For more info see:
http://tncweeds.ucdavis.edu/esadocs/...ts/elaeumb.pdf
http://www.hort.uconn.edu/cipwg/art_...x12autumn.html
--
Leon Fisk
Grand Rapids MI/Zone 5b
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