How do you deal with suckers after aspen removal?

southsoundtree

southsoundtree

Been here much more than a while
Location
Olympia, WA
I've had two recent aspen removal jobs where the HOs were already trying to battle remote suckers popping up. We cut-stump treated with Round-Up immediately after cutting ALAP and blowing off sawdust.

Any tips?
 
Re: How do you deal with suckers after aspen remov

I'm wondering the same, I've got a 30"~ dbh white poplar in my yard I'll be removing sometime this year that has been sending up root suckers for awhile now in all the surrounding bed areas. Damn overgrown weeds! :-p
 
Re: How do you deal with suckers after aspen remov

I expect that the suckers will go crazy once the tree is gone. Aspens are stimulated by cutting and fire, as in a natural forest setting, this clears out the riparian areas of non-fire adapted trees, allowing the aspens to remain vigorous. Fire suppression in the US west has screwed this up, too. Riparian areas are suffering.
 
Re: How do you deal with suckers after aspen remov

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stumpgrinding

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The suckers come off the roots. The one aspen removal job that I recently did had shoots coming up all directions from the stump, up to 40' away.

The other job- the HO dug down to the main root where a shoot what coming up. The root was 12" down and several inches thick, about 10' from the stump.
 
Re: How do you deal with suckers after aspen remov

I dont know it works, but I'd actually like your alls ideas about this. Copper boat nails. I've heard that driven into the tree it kills them.

Heard of HO's sneaking onto their neigbors properties and killing their trees for veiw with the nails... gotta have the veiw at all costs right?
 
Re: How do you deal with suckers after aspen remov

GARLON?? Probably do the trick if you can get your hands on it. Treat after removal.
 
Re: How do you deal with suckers after aspen remov

[ QUOTE ]
GARLON?? Probably do the trick if you can get your hands on it. Treat after removal.

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I've used Garlon 3a and 4 for stump-cut treatment on tamarisk during invasive species treatments in riparian zones.

As you say, "if you can get you hands on it", it might be something, however I don't have a chem. appl. lic., which is required. As well, it few and far between that I run across this. A good idea to check into all the same, however I was hoping for something readily available to anyone.

I will try to keep tabs on the 7 stumps treated with RoundUp, and post in the future.

the one job just got sprayed with RoundUp on the low stump, whereas 3 aspens at the other site were sprayed on the low stump, and post grinding 10" or so below grade.



I've heard the copper nails idea. maybe digging up the roots in places where larger suckers come up and nailing would help. I don't think that nailing the stump is likely to work, but a control/ variable "experiment" would be good to do.


As I think about it, I did another aspen removal a year ago. Grinding alone. I'll have to see if I can get a look at it, and/or call HO.
 
Re: How do you deal with suckers after aspen remov

find an aslpundh line clearance crew in your area, must all of them carry garlon 4 and would probaly give you enough to treat a few stumps.
 
Re: How do you deal with suckers after aspen remov

A pair of snippers or a brush saw is what I recomend. Eventually the roots will starve off without sunlight. Might take a few years but only 10 minutes a year.
 
Re: How do you deal with suckers after aspen remov

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Tordon works great for me . Wound around the trunk with a hatchet and squirt it in ,or apply to the stump.

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I'll look into Tordon.

this hatchet technique was called "Frilling", aka hack and squirt.

Thanks.
 
Re: How do you deal with suckers after aspen remov

I had a similar situation with lombardie poplar.I removed 11 trees cornering my customer and two neighboring properties.I removed them all at once and ground the stumps. within one week there were probobly over a houndred 12 in suckers out to nearly 40 ft from the trees.Thay were vary unsightly but thay were mowed over once a week. It took an entire summer of mowing to get rid of them but none of them reaturned the fallowing year.I'm shure it wasent the best for the mower and some would need to be lopped before mowing.I'm glad I had an understanding and layed back customer.I didnt try any chemical cures but I would be intrested in a product to apply befor removing the tree to hault all sucker growth before it's triggered.
 
Re: How do you deal with suckers after aspen remov

I saw a municipal crew doing the hack and squirt on a couple Lombardi poplars and thought, well that's smart. Kill it good and dead first, not a lot of suckers later.

Then I thought, how long might it take for Tordon or Roundup to translocate thoroughly enough? More like months than weeks? Sure enough the trees only came down 8 months later.

A muni crew has that luxury of regular monitoring, re-applications as required, and they know the client is not going anywhere.

But people sell, move, die, properties change hands. Not to say I won't use this approach, but it would have to be a trusted, stable, long-term client before I'd kill a tree pre-removal. Even then I may ask for considerable payment upfront, something I never have asked for before.

Or then, just thinking about the other side: What if something happens to me? Or the company using this method goes belly up?

It would be rare circumstances, to be sure, but just like any move I make in tree work, just trying to identify the possible down side to an action.


Northwind
 
Re: How do you deal with suckers after aspen remov

I URGE CAUTION when poisoning stumps with Round-Up. It CAN translocate to other like type trees in the area that are root grafted!

Trees (depending on location, soil and water avaialility) up to 100 yards away MAY be KILLED! BTDT! And worked for 2 days for free to avid being sued!
 
Re: How do you deal with suckers after aspen remov

[ QUOTE ]
I URGE CAUTION when poisoning stumps with Round-Up. It CAN traslocate to other like type trees in the area that are root grafted!

Trees (depending on location, soil and water avaialility) up to 100 yards away MAY be KILLED! BTDT! And worked for 2 days for free to avid being sued!

[/ QUOTE ]

Brent--

Thanks for that piece of advice. No like trees in vicinity of either removal job, thank God.

What about any concerns of going to any other roots on different species? Can roots expel anything, anybody?
 
Re: How do you deal with suckers after aspen remov

Once upon a time, SK Enviornment published a recommendation for Elm stumps. One part 2-4D and 16 parts diesel fuel. We did that LOTS and never killed an adjacent tree, but the stumps didn't sucker either.

I doubt whether other species of trees would graft to the aspen, Hmmmm where is Dr Dendro when ya need him!
 
Re: How do you deal with suckers after aspen remov

OK Brent I'm no Dr. Dendro. I even scoff at science being required to manage nature. But I personally have not seen two species as different as conifer and poplar grafting they may even be alliopathic, but I think all things in nature are symbiotic. And I'd sooner recommmend canola chain oil than diesel sucker kiler. How come you can send PMs but don't accept them?
 
Re: How do you deal with suckers after aspen remov

I discourage the use of chemicals to stop root sucker, or stump suckers from occurring. Mechanical removal is your best bet. Generally the roots on the aspen will be small enough to chase with an axe, or the shovel...if not chase 'em with the stumper. If you don't mind doing it its a pretty easy way to get paid. You may have to remind your client that they may have to deal with the suckers that you miss, but eventually they'll stop. Kind of like whack-a-sucker.
 
Re: How do you deal with suckers after aspen remov

I have perennial and plant beds all under the poplar I want to kill, I already have been cutting off surface roots where the suckers are coming up, even occasionally spraying them with round-up, I wonder if theres any relation between that and the new tip die-back the tree has been experiencing? haha

I just REALLY dont want to go digging through my beds to chop out roots if I dont have to. I'd ring the trunk with a saw and treat it while its still standing, but the tree already has a 30* lean, it IS poplar, and I do plan on climbing it for removal, so dont want it TOO dead. x_x
 
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