It is a juniper. Likely one of the Pfitzer junipers.

tj

its obviously a monster.. and with no insult to the root mass ... whatever you do to it.. it will be back with a vengeance in a few years ... as to how fast that happens.. depends where you are .. always include big city name ... it about the length of the growing season compared to dormancy ...

and as a conifer.. there are special pruning rules ..

to be very candid ... do what wifey says ... and have her take note... you are putting one in the bank.. this is not a hill to die on .. my best guess if you insist .... is that you hack the living beegeebees out of it.. and in a year or two.. you are digging it out anyway... because you are embarrassed by the result.. and on top of that.. she will then be either really pissed or already told you and your bush to get out .. lol ..

in the 50s and 60s.. these were commonly planted a foot from the foundation in the new surburbias ... and us kids in the 70s had to dig them all out.. if we wanted to continue to live at home.. obviously those cute little plants didnt stay cute and little over the decades ... personally i have a hate on for them. due to all the digging ... lol

just be done with it ....

ken

ps: perhaps insist on being allowed to buy the replacement ... that might be a win win for both of you ... and if allowed that right .... after you dig it out.. give us some pix.. IN A NEW POST ..... and more base info.. and let us help you find a replacement ... include the conifer forum also ...

Thanks folks.

Now that I'm actually thinking about removing it, it's going to be harder than it looks. I'm my have to enlist my neighbors monster backhoe.

Could I just chainsaw it off at the ground and paint the stump with undiluted roundup or will it still come back? I've been trying to get rid of a Yucca for 20 years...

BTW, I'm 25 miles N.E. of Philadelphia.

If you want to go the chemical route, roundup won’t work well; it’s more for brushy stuff.

You need something for woody growth instead. Tordon works great for me here in Missouri, but be warned that Tordon is a residual - effects of it will remain in that spot for up to 3 years. In other words, nothing will grow there for a while. (My hubby was an agbusiness professional for 40+ years as a Certified Crop Advisor licensed by the state to sell large volumes of all ag chemicals.)

And I agree that it needs to be gone and yes you’ll need a backhoe.

It is unlikely a juniper will resprout from a stump.

tj

Junipers will not regrow from a stump so you can skip the herbicides. But it can take some serious effort to remove the stump and attached roots. If you have a suitable vehicle and access, yanking them out with a chain and tow hitch is a common removal method.

Thanks.

I guess my little Tacoma 4x4 will be getting a workout soon!

just cut it flush to the ground.. and be done with it ... if you can but it level.. you can put a cement statue on it ... lol .. calvin peeing or somesuch .... bet wifey will like that .. lol ...

if its close .... you dont want to screw up the paved driveway beyond with some errant root ... this is probably at least a 40 year old tree ... it probably has a good sized root mass ...

im sure you want to go all tooltime on it ... but that might not be the best decision.. often it didnt work out for him either.. lol ...

you can replant anywhere you can dig a decent hole.. not far from the stump ..

btw.. another way of explaining it is that it does not have dormant buds that will trigger when the stump is cut that low ... unlike most other trees which will rebud maniacally if the stump isnt treated/killed ... unlike shrubs.. and trees.. many conifers are like that ....

ken

ps: contrary to the above.. round up is labeled as a stump killer undiluted ... [last time i looked at a label anyway...] .... you just apply it full strength to the cambium layer .. is not a diluted spray thing ... and you actually need very little

https://duckduckgo.com/?t=ffcm&q=cambium+layer&iax=images&ia=images

Ken, I love the peeing Calvin idea!

You say it must be at least 40 years old. The truth is, my wife and I bought it in a 5 gal. pot not more than 15 years ago. It REALLY must love our soil! The thing's out of control.

Thanks!