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sassy7142

update on my maples (pics) Have question too

18 years ago

OK, I took Ken's advice and took out 3 of the 4 Silver Maples. Here's the before & after pics.



There goes tree #2



Finished with the chainsaw. Time now for the chipper.

Below is a post by Don last Feb telling how to kill a tree.

Here's my question, excuse me if it's a dumb question, but I have to ask anyway..... I just had the hubby saw down 3 maple trees because their roots were intertwining with the hostas roots and choaking them to death...right? well, if I put Round Up on the tree stumps won't the Round Up find it's way to the hosta roots and kill them too?

Posted by don_r Z 5 (My Page) on Thu, Feb 1, 07 at 21:12

Essentially, Ken is right- apply Round-Up to the trunk of the tree. The key is to get enough Round-Up at a high enough concentration down to the roots to kill everything so there aren't any suckers sprouting up. You will read in the Round-Up instructions that it can be used for "Woody Brush and Trees." It says, "Apply this product when trees are actively growing and after full leaf expansion. Use the higher rate for stronger plants and/or denser areas of growth...Best results are obtained when application is made in late summer or fall after fruit formation." The Round-Up booklet also has a section titled "Cut Stump Treatments" which says, "Apply this product using suitable equipment to ensure coverage of the entire cambium...Apply a 50 to 100 percent solution of this product [Round-Up Original concentrate] to the freshly-cut surface immediately after cutting...For best results, applications should be made during periods of active growth and full leaf expansion."

If you apply a strong concentration of Round-Up and it covers enough of the cambium layer of the tree during its active growth, it will kill it. Personally, what I do is wait until fall when all of the sap is being sucked downward into the roots. I cover up all the hostas growing under the tree with a plastic drop cloth. Then I paint as much of the trunk as I can reach with Round-Up concentrate (Original, Super Concentrate, or Round-Up Ultimate,which is the strongest). You can paint the trunk with a thick coat a few times throughout the fall. Or I've had very good result simply by taking one or two old towels, soaking them in Round-Up concentrate, and wrapping them around the tree trunk. Then I take shrink wrap (such as Saran Wrap) and wrap overtop the towels to keep the Round-Up from drying out. Your tree will be as dead as a doornail next spring and then you can remove the old towels. That's how I do it. Don

Comments (11)

  • 18 years ago

    I would think by the time the Round-Up got halfway to your hosta, the tree would be D E A D. And remember, you are painting the Round-Up, not spraying. Be sure to protect your babies with a drop cloth as Don suggests.

    Char

  • 18 years ago

    if it did.. i would have a lot of dead hosta in the yard ... i spray the beds 4 to 6 times per year to kill weeds.... no impact from the weeds sucking it in

    plus all the trees i kill ...

    low pressure.. and not on the hosta ....

    my presumption is that its half life is nil ... and it is embedded in the wood.. on top of that .. it becomes inert when it hits the soil.. or so i have been told ... it has to be sprayed or applied to green tissue ....

    ken

  • 18 years ago

    I have two trees in my front yard. A crabapple and a crimson king maple. Both have planters around them built at the same time. I worked around the plants in the crabapple bed- everything was fine. Moved over to the maple bed and couldn't even get a shovel throughth roots in the bed or outside of the bed.
    Von1

  • 18 years ago

    Von1,
    I have two crimson king maples in my front yard. This year I took out my hostas underneath them, raised the bed up, and replanted. Much easier to work with now that I don't have to fight the roots. I also put down weed cloth before filling with soil and compost to keep the tree roots out.
    Jen

  • 18 years ago

    That makes me pretty sad. Those were really lovely trees. I thought that hostas would grow under anything. Don't they need the shade?
    Erin

  • 18 years ago

    Sorry Erin

    "Silver Maple" and "lovely" do NOT belong in the same sentence. Silver Maples are evil trees that will suck the water, nutrients and life blood from almost any plant that tries to grow underneath it - including grass.

    Sassy did the right thing. Be gone and good riddance!

    Alexa

  • 18 years ago

    Amen to that!!!!! Well said Alexa LOL

  • 18 years ago

    Sassy--do I spot some beautiful "water" in the background???

    jancie

  • 18 years ago

    I'm sorry...I didn't mean to sound so judgemental! You have a really beautiful garden Don. I don't know anything about Silver Maples. I have a Seiryu Maple in my yard that is absolutely gorgeous. I would definately pull out the hostas before cutting down that tree. Luckily both seem to co-exist happily. My apologies again.
    Erin

  • 18 years ago

    One of the most magnificent hosta gardens I ever say...in fact the one that got me interested in hosta other then the ordinary ones...was located at the base of, in the shade of, next to a huge ole silver maple. There was an Elegans about 7 feet away from the trunk that would bring tears to your eyes.
    Her secret was ( because the tree split in an ice storm, I say "was") mulch 6 inches deep and water water water!
    I am sorry you took down the trees.
    Linda C

  • 18 years ago

    I have a mulch pile about 3 feet high next to one of my remaining large silver maples. If you dig down about 6-8 inches in the mulch you can start pulling silver maple roots out by the 5 gallon pail full. So it went with my hostas that were planted under a now deceased silver maple in less than 2 months their total root system had been invaded and was also starting to be conquered.
    I have heard all the stories of the beautiful gardens under the silver maple before...I only know how it went for me. And yes I broadcasted both the fertilizer and the water over the whole area not just on the hostas and perennials.
    Also my Maples are huge about 50+ feet tall--not immature specimens with plenty of other room to stretch their greedy roots.
    You will never hear me mourn for a dead silver maple...I will celebrate their demise.
    Plenty of other Good Trees out there... I pull weeds also even though they are alive and green.
    Sorry If I Offended.

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