Please help! Poplar stump and its roots causing havoc
 

My partner and I have recently purchased and moved into a house which three Poplar large trees at the bottom of the garden just inside the boundry fence, which backs onto a neighbours garden.

After discussion with neighbours the trees were chopped down to stump level to stop them creating shade in our, and everyone elses, gardens. After a couple of weeks shoots sprouted all over our lawn (like a foot high forest in our garden). Neighbours on both sides, and at the back, (and apparently even further afield) also have these shoots all over their lawns, and also roots are disturbing patios and shed bases!

As a young couple in our first house we have a massive list of jobs on our list that cost money which we are short of - we are happy to mow our shoots over.

We have drilled holes in the stumps and poured diesel in and are waiting for effect...apart from this I think our options with regard to getting rid of the roots are going to cost us according to a quote from a tree surgeon!!

How much of getting rid of our roots, and our roots in neighbours garden, is our responsibility considering the stumps are actually on our land? Will we foot the bill? We were not aware of the trouble the trees would cause when we purchased the property.

Thanks in advance, any advice would be helpful.

Please help! Poplar stump and its roots causing havoc
 

In article ,
says...

My partner and I have recently purchased and moved into a house which
three Poplar large trees at the bottom of the garden just inside the
boundry fence, which backs onto a neighbours garden.

After discussion with neighbours the trees were chopped down to stump
level to stop them creating shade in our, and everyone elses, gardens.
After a couple of weeks shoots sprouted all over our lawn (like a foot
high forest in our garden). Neighbours on both sides, and at the back,
(and apparently even further afield) also have these shoots all over
their lawns, and also roots are disturbing patios and shed bases!

As a young couple in our first house we have a massive list of jobs on
our list that cost money which we are short of - we are happy to mow our
shoots over.

We have drilled holes in the stumps and poured diesel in and are waiting
for effect...apart from this I think our options with regard to getting
rid of the roots are going to cost us according to a quote from a tree
surgeon!!

How much of getting rid of our roots, and our roots in neighbours
garden, is our responsibility considering the stumps are actually on our
land? Will we foot the bill? We were not aware of the trouble the trees
would cause when we purchased the property.

Thanks in advance, any advice would be helpful.




--
ellison

I not sure of the legal position re the roots but, if you want to kill
them off gets some Glysophate type weedkiller and apple to the leaves on
the shoots, as many as you can, be carefull not to get it on too much
else.

If you can get at them all then regular mowing will also weaken and
eventually kill them but will take much longer
Any attempt to dig the roots out before killing them will likely make the
problem worse as they will respond by sending up even more suckers.
--
Charlie Pridham, Gardening in Cornwall
www.roselandhouse.co.uk
Holders of national collections of Clematis viticella cultivars and
Lapageria rosea

Please help! Poplar stump and its roots causing havoc
 

On 18 Aug, 15:53, ellison wrote:
My partner and I have recently purchased and moved into a house which
three Poplar large trees at the bottom of the garden just inside the
boundry fence, which backs onto a neighbours garden.

After discussion with neighbours the trees were chopped down to stump
level to stop them creating shade in our, and everyone elses, gardens.
After a couple of weeks shoots sprouted all over our lawn (like a foot
high forest in our garden). Neighbours on both sides, and at the back,
(and apparently even further afield) also have these shoots all over
their lawns, and also roots are disturbing patios and shed bases!

As a young couple in our first house we have a massive list of jobs on
our list that cost money which we are short of - we are happy to mow our
shoots over.

We have drilled holes in the stumps and poured diesel in and are waiting
for effect...apart from this I think our options with regard to getting
rid of the roots are going to cost us according to a quote from a tree
surgeon!!

How much of getting rid of our roots, and our roots in neighbours
garden, is our responsibility considering the stumps are actually on our
land? Will we foot the bill? We were not aware of the trouble the trees
would cause when we purchased the property.

Thanks in advance, any advice would be helpful.

--
ellison

Dig the stumps out if you're short of money. I have dug out stumps on
many occasions. Hard work but it can be done. You won't get all the
roots, you will need an axe to cut them off. If you're an idle git,
get a mini digger in. Still leaves the problem of what to do with the
stump. If you have space, get the mini digger man to dig a big hole
and bury them. Otherwise you may be able to transport them to he
recycle centre. You may need to be surreptitious when you get here.
Spy out beforehand.
Or start a bonfire site, it may take several sessions to get rid of
them but in the end they can be burned up however big they are.
You'll need to leave them dry out for a few months, cover them up to
help this.
Diesel is a poor way to kill a stump. undiluted roundup is better, put
on right after its been cut down. If you want you could make fresh
cuts or drill deepr holes & use it even now, you need to get onto
fresh sappy wood.
I don't believe the roots in your neighbours property are your
responsibility, they will just rot away in a couple of years.
If the shoots are still growing in the lawn just keep mowing them
off. You could dab Roundup on the cut off stalks, it will finish
them off. DON'T get it on the grass. Or use "Pastor" (from farm
supply place) which doesn't affect grass.

Poplar trees are one of the most troublesome in gardens - they grow very large and have very inquisitive roots. They really should not be grown anywhere near houses. Unfortunately you didn't know that and bought a house with 3 in your garden.

I have not heard of a case of people having to pay to remove roots from neighbours' gardens. For example, some foolish people have planted the extremely invasive bamboo Sasa palmata (really ought to be banned), and I don't think their neighbours can sue them for it. In any case it is probably impractical as they probably have a huge root system. But the fact that your neighbours agreed to you cutting the trees down is a considerable protection against any complaint.

I suspect that applying stump killer to the stump won't prevent the more remote suckers, it will just prevent the reactivation of the tree in the immediate vicinity of the stump. I've had roots shoot when I cut a tree down (not a poplar), and after religiously mowing them off for three years or so they eventually stopped coming.

Please help! Poplar stump and its roots causing havoc
 

On 18/08/2010 15:53, ellison wrote:
My partner and I have recently purchased and moved into a house which
three Poplar large trees at the bottom of the garden just inside the
boundry fence, which backs onto a neighbours garden.

After discussion with neighbours the trees were chopped down to stump
level to stop them creating shade in our, and everyone elses, gardens.
After a couple of weeks shoots sprouted all over our lawn (like a foot
high forest in our garden). Neighbours on both sides, and at the back,
(and apparently even further afield) also have these shoots all over
their lawns, and also roots are disturbing patios and shed bases!

As a young couple in our first house we have a massive list of jobs on
our list that cost money which we are short of - we are happy to mow our
shoots over.

If they are in the lawn then applying a broadleaf specific weedkiller a
few days before each grass cut will hasten the tree roots demise. I
wouldn't use glyphosate over a lawn - grass is exquisitely sensitive to
the stuff and you will end up with many unwanted brown patches.

We have drilled holes in the stumps and poured diesel in and are waiting
for effect...apart from this I think our options with regard to getting
rid of the roots are going to cost us according to a quote from a tree
surgeon!!

Deisel won't do much good. You want a good hefty dose of glyphosate
and/or ammonium sulphamate previously sold as RootOut but now only
available as "compost accelerator" thanks to EU meddling. They will need
to go into fairly deep drilled holes and still sappy wood.

You would have been better off weedkilling the trees first and then when
they are at least half dead chopping them down. The tree will respond by
suckering much as it would in a forest, but if it is weakened first then
it takes less time to pack up. As you have discovered poplar tree roots
go a long way.

How much of getting rid of our roots, and our roots in neighbours
garden, is our responsibility considering the stumps are actually on our
land? Will we foot the bill? We were not aware of the trouble the trees
would cause when we purchased the property.

Given that the neighbours agreed to the idea of chopping them down I
doubt if they have any comeback on you. But it is going to be a bit
difficult when they complain about it. All you can really do is say
sorry and hope that everyone will all do their bit to stop the suckers
from having a chance to see the sun. There is a lot of stored energy in
tree roots so it may take a while.

Regards,
Martin Brown

Please help! Poplar stump and its roots causing havoc
 

"ellison" wrote in message
...

My partner and I have recently purchased and moved into a house which
three Poplar large trees at the bottom of the garden just inside the
boundry fence, which backs onto a neighbours garden.

After discussion with neighbours the trees were chopped down to stump
level to stop them creating shade in our, and everyone elses, gardens.
After a couple of weeks shoots sprouted all over our lawn (like a foot
high forest in our garden). Neighbours on both sides, and at the back,
(and apparently even further afield) also have these shoots all over
their lawns, and also roots are disturbing patios and shed bases!


I used to got a lot of those after I cut down some Poplars in our old
Norfolk garden. I just kept mowing and they went away.

Mike

Please help! Poplar stump and its roots causing havoc
 

On 2010-08-18 15:53:28 +0100, ellison
said:

[snip]

FWIW, I have the same problem without having cut down any of my
poplars. They do have very far-flung roots and the suckers will always
grow. My lawn is dotted with them at the moment and it looks worse than
usual only because I haven't had enough grass growth to warrant cutting
the lawn for the past 6-8 weeks.

Please help! Poplar stump and its roots causing havoc
 

On Fri, 20 Aug 2010 12:37:23 +0100, Stan The Man
wrote:

On 2010-08-18 15:53:28 +0100, ellison
said:

[snip]

FWIW, I have the same problem without having cut down any of my
poplars. They do have very far-flung roots and the suckers will always
grow. My lawn is dotted with them at the moment and it looks worse than
usual only because I haven't had enough grass growth to warrant cutting
the lawn for the past 6-8 weeks.

Ah well. a sumac could have been worse.


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