Treating brush stumps

[Wisco Shepherd]

Doing some spring clearing in a low spot on the property and cutting a lot of box elder and gooseberry type brush. I'm wanting to treat the stumps as it is a difficult area to access with any machinery and the amount of stumps would be daunting to remove by hand. What are your favorite combos? I've heard a mix of Crossbow and Diesel works well.

 

[Montanalocal]

Paint on 2,4-D full strength straight out of the jug. Make sure you cover the outer cambium green layer just under the bark

 

[EatenByLimestone]

2,4-D for the win! Wear nitrile or PVC gloves as they are impermiable. You don’t want to absorb it into your skin. It was a component in Agent Orange.

 

[Doublebogey]

When I want to kill stump I carry a battery drill with a half inch bit. Drill a few holes an inch or so into the stump and fill them with concentrated round up. A couple ounces can take care of a very large stump. This method has never failed me.

 

[hedge wood]

Tordon RTU is my go to for treating stumps no matter what the size is. If its in a area with a lot of small brush that has been bush hogged or cleared. I use the generic Tordon K-22 and mix it with water and spray the whole area. It won't kill the grass. They say Crossbow will work also I haven't tried it.

 

[MongoMongoson]

I use 18% glyphosate, undiluted, in a dauber bottle similar to this one to kill buckthorn stumps, and it has worked really well. The dauber bottle is nice because it doesn't drip or overspray. There is a blue landscaping dye that you can add to the mix that helps you ensure you get full coverage and keeps you from re-poisoning a stump you already poisoned.

This works well for buckthorn because they are generally small and don't sprout from their roots.

If the stump is larger, you only need to daub a ring around the outside of the stump to cover the inner bark layer.

 

[Wisco Shepherd]

Thanks Guys! Used a heavy mix of 2,4D and ill give it a month and start rotating my sheep through the area heavily. They should be able to take care of the rest of the weedy stuff and any potential sprouts.

 

[Dajolu]

Would these methods stop new growth from black locust stumps?

 

[EatenByLimestone]

2-4, D will kill any plant that’s a dicot. It comes down to the seed structure.

Dicotyledon - Wikipedia

en.m.wikipedia.org

Black locust is a dicot.

 

[Dajolu]

2-4, D will kill any plant that’s a dicot. It comes down to the seed structure.

Dicotyledon - Wikipedia

en.m.wikipedia.org

Black locust is a dicot.

Its a small stump with some arborvitae planting next to it. will this treatment kill the arborvitae?

 

[EatenByLimestone]

If it touches it, possibly. If not, no. Be careful applying it.

 

[hedge wood]

Would these methods stop new growth from black locust stumps?

I have treat a lot of black locust stumps over the years with RTU Tordon. Never had one start any new growth.

 

[Sawset]

Tordon (piclorum) can stay active for months, translocates down into the roots, and can migrate through the soil. Good for black locust that can regenerate from the stump or root nodes. Bad on sandy soils or near other desirable plants. We have black locust, and sandy soils so I avoid using it and try to subdue it other ways, nothing 100% successful yet. I've used triclopyr and diesel as a basal spray and on stumps for invasive honeysuckle, buckthorn, mulberry, prickly ash. Use the smallest nozzle available as it doesn't take much. Mixed 4:1, very effective. Since using that method, I don't have nearly as many stumps. After 2 years just push it over and toss it on the burn pile. It will kill cut stumps, but handling something dry, light weight, stump and all has become the easier way.

 

[cahaak]

Triclopyr will also translocate, so not desirable if there are other wanted plants colocated. Undiluted glyphosate is typically very effective and doesn't translocate.

 

[stoveliker]

Another way, though labor intensive, is to keep cutting down any growths before they have leaves. Growing them takes energy out of the underground system of the plant. Cutting them down before they have leaves (that produce nutrients for the system), depletes the underground system. Eventually it'll die.

This is also a way to kill bamboo (with a notoriously tough to kill underground system). With bamboo this may take 5 years...