Weren’t they providing the needed shade for the hosta, or is it a competition for root space? I understand why people take trees down——so many reasons from water pipe damage to the need to protect house and property from broken limbs. I had a big limb fall in my city yard this past spring. The arborists recommended taking down the tree, it’s a box elder. Impossible to get rid of and also it provides me and my neighbors with a bit of shade. So I didn’t. I know they say trees are the lungs of the earth. No criticism here....just wondering why you took them down? Good luck with your hostas, maybe you have a hosta farm......... :-)

They were definitely causing issues with root space but also hanging over into my neighbor's yard too much. Once we trimmed the offending branches they looked like mutants. The helicopters were becoming a nuisance and they are on the invasive species list in MN. Considering everything, we decided to take them down.

bet a buck ..... you will be hard pressed to even get a shovel in there ... because of the root mat ...

in the mean time.. i hope you applied stump killer as soon as the cut was made ...

ken

Haha. My husband is going to be pulling them out with a chain and car. Then we are renting a stump grinder for the roots. Will that work?

Thanks Kari for explaining so nicely. I never heard of a tree being an invasive species. I understand about neighbors, but mine don’t want my tree taken down. What’s up with the helicopters?

"Helicopters" are the seeds of the maple tree. They become weeds in the garden, they are very fertile and therefore the method that maples become invasive. Luckily they are not black and contain aliens, at least not in my backyard! lol!

Each tree can produce up to 5,000 seeds per year!

Duh! I have a Red Maple and never thought that the twirlies were what you were talking about!!! Hahaha——I was thinking “those must have been some pretty big trees to get in the way of helicopters! Hahaha..... hope Ken doesn’t see this he’ll be making fun of me forever!!