NDR HOW TO KILL YOUNG TREE SAPLINGS

william gaynor

Active member
This site seems to be the expert on things pertaining to wood. So my question is how do I get rid of young saplings. Most of them are soft maple and red buds. I have tried numerous bush killers with limited success, The best approach is to dig out the roots but it is very time consuming and destroys the beds. If i cut them they only come back next year bigger and stronger.
 
Get a brush killer with triclopyr in it as a primary ingredient. The big box stores will have it. If applied according to the label under good growth conditions (weather) to the foliage it will kill them. Alternatively, you can snip and coat the cut stem with triclopyr if you have few enough (use a sponge or brush applicator, check online for dose). No need to grub out the saplings. As with any pesticide, read the label for safety instructions.
 
William,
It sounds like these are in an established flower bed? That will limit your options. They are easiest to kill right after they germinate. Decapitation with a weedeater will do it. Once they become established you will need to kill them with a herbicide or pull them up by the roots. Just mowing them off will not kill them.
The problem is compounded by the fact that the seeds will continue to germinate over a number of years, even if more don't blow into your beds. My neighbor had several red buds. They have been gone for a couple of years. I have a fresh crop of seedlings this year. Most will germinate in the spring. But, a few will germinate all summer long.
Roundup will kill them. If they are a year or two old and have a woody stem it may take multiple applications to kill them. I am not sure if preen herbicide will kill germinating seeds. It can be used on perennial beds. It will not kill established seedlings. They are more than likely going to always be a problem.
Tom
 
Did a land job once for my company and we were cleaning up pipeline crossings and they gave us a liquid chemical to use.

We would use a weedeater with a skill saw blade attached and cut them off at the ground then take a drillwith bit and drill a hole in the stump and poor the stuff on it feeling the hole and covering the stump completely, the liquid was a blue color ccan't remember the name right off hand.

The trees never grow back, but down side is nothing grow there for a few years lol.
 
We use basal oil which I'm pretty sure is triclopyr. we have it in a green thumb sprayer for woody plants. I got a new job that does a lot of aquatic and terrestrial invasive plant management. I get to play with a lot of cool equipment too, spent the rainy day putting new tracks and bogey wheels on a positrac.



Get a brush killer with triclopyr in it as a primary ingredient. The big box stores will have it. If applied according to the label under good growth conditions (weather) to the foliage it will kill them. Alternatively, you can snip and coat the cut stem with triclopyr if you have few enough (use a sponge or brush applicator, check online for dose). No need to grub out the saplings. As with any pesticide, read the label for safety instructions.
 
Did a land job once for my company and we were cleaning up pipeline crossings and they gave us a liquid chemical to use.

We would use a weedeater with a skill saw blade attached and cut them off at the ground then take a drillwith bit and drill a hole in the stump and poor the stuff on it feeling the hole and covering the stump completely, the liquid was a blue color ccan't remember the name right off hand.

The trees never grow back, but down side is nothing grow there for a few years lol.

Blue stuff that kills the ground would be Arsenal (imazapyr active ingredient). It's powerful stuff.
 
Drilling a couple holes and filling them with Roundup works very well. One other point, trees and other tough weeds like Bermuda are much easier to kill in the fall as plants are pulling nutrients down into the roots for the winter than in the spring when they are pushing nutrients out for new growth.
 
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