Each spring I discover tiny maple, magnolia and hickory saplings sprouting up in random places around my property and the ones I can yank out I do but a lot of them have gotten too established. I’ll snip them off flush and they seem to regrow each year, there’s got to be something I could put on them to stop them, right?

Any ideas?

I make a fresh cut and apply woody brush killer liberally with a rag or paint brush. I buy Rural King's store brand.

quote:

Originally posted by doublesharp:
I make a fresh cut and apply woody brush killer liberally with a rag or paint brush. I buy Rural King's store brand.

That has worked for me as well when regular strength glyphosate failed to keep them down.

Dig them out and plant elsewhere.
We do that with 150 or so a spring/summer

I was able to eliminate bamboo in a 15'x 15' area of my yard using a strong mixture of glyphosate and MSMA over 2 years. If it will get rid of Bamboo, it will certainly handle everything else. I buy glyphosate and MSMA from the Co-op. I go through 5 gallons of glyphosate and 2.5 gallons of MSMA each year.

A decent mixture of glyphosate should work just fine in your case.

Paint the stump with Triclopyr. Sold under the trade name Remedy or Crossbow. The stuff is so potent against broad leaf plants that you could probably just mix a dilution and spray the leaves of saplings. It won’t harm grasses if used according to label.

quote:

Originally posted by Jupiter:
I was able to eliminate bamboo in a 15'x 15' area of my yard using a strong mixture of glyphosate and MSMA over 2 years.

A few notes on technique would be appreciated. Cut the Spring shoots, and paint the stumps with the noxious brew? Spray foliage and stalks? Dynamite the whole patch? Clear cut, dig out the rhizomes, and backfill/grade with fresh topsoil? (I'm familiar with that last procedure, but do not currently own a backhoe.)

We eradicate them entirely. If we can't pull them or dig them out straight-away, we dig down and take a hand axe to the roots until we get the bulk of the root ball loose and take it out.

Arsenal spray (imazapyr). Do the hack and squirt method where you use a hatchet to break the bark and spray onto the blade (letting it run down into the tree). If it's a super small sapling you can spray the leaves. It kills the tree over the next couple weeks, won't come back. Pro tip: don't get crazy. Arsenal also kills EVERYTHING else it touches permanently. Wait for the leaves to turn brown and fall off, and you know it worked.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TglNG-yjabU

Tractor Supply sells a product called Tordon. Right after cutting down the tree, apply to the cambium layer (it's adjacent to the bark).

One note on use, " Treatment applications can be made at any time during the year, but do not treat maple trees during spring sap flow."

If there is nothing else around the seedling you want to save use Roundup. It goes down to the roots and kills the plant there. Round up kills everything so be careful. Wait for a sunny day so the glyphosate gets translocated to the roots.

If there is grass you want to save use Garlon (Brush B Gone) or Crossbow, which is Garlon and a 2-4D mix. They are very effective against broad leaf plants, including your rhododendrons and any other broad leaf landscaping. If there is shrubbery near by put the sprayer on a low pressure so droplets come out instead of a fog.

Are they coming up from seeds or acorns? If so, just dig them up and know that there will be new seeds next year.

quote:

Originally posted by architect:

quote:

Originally posted by Jupiter:
I was able to eliminate bamboo in a 15'x 15' area of my yard using a strong mixture of glyphosate and MSMA over 2 years.

A few notes on technique would be appreciated. Cut the Spring shoots, and paint the stumps with the noxious brew? Spray foliage and stalks? Dynamite the whole patch? Clear cut, dig out the rhizomes, and backfill/grade with fresh topsoil? (I'm familiar with that last procedure, but do not currently own a backhoe.)

I cut it all down first. This takes away much of the energy. I then treated the emerging shoots with a double strength mixture of Roundup and MSMA.
I was using 6 Oz. of Roundup per gallon. Not the Roundup you get at Home Depot but the stuff they sell at the Co-op. I would hit it 4 or 5 times during the summer.

quote:

Originally posted by sigcrazy7:
Paint the stump with Triclopyr. Sold under the trade name Remedy or Crossbow. The stuff is so potent against broad leaf plants that you could probably just mix a dilution and spray the leaves of saplings. It won’t harm grasses if used according to label.

I also use Triclopyr, diluted as a foliar spray. I put a squirt of Dawn dishwashing liquid in as a surfactant. It is the only product I have found to control Paw Paw trees which have a very waxy leaf.

https://www.domyown.com/hiyiel...yr-ester-p-4543.html