Bought my house 3 years ago and transformed the yard into a native plant paradise with my fiancée. This is the last remaining major none native in my front yard. I had no idea this is what was beneath the skinny 6” diameter trunk that was showing. My plan was to remove the rose of Sharon and replace with a dwarf chinkapin oak but idk how the hell to get past this trunk/root ball I’ve got here. Any suggestions? Croc for scale. If this isn’t allowed my bad
by hebrew-hammers
15 Comments
The croc for scale looks like you ripped it off in a rage and tossed it at the roots 🤬
Can you rent a stump grinder? That’s how we got rid of our forsythia.
Damnit Sharon!
Go to town on it with a sawzall
Woof! Those are a son of a gun to get out of the ground! I helped my neighbor remove his in super hot weather! After 45 minutes and snipping countless roots, we were able to rip that sucker out!
I’ve had luck with a sawsall, a pickaxe, and a 6ft long digging bar. It’s a hell of a workout though.
You sure that was Rose of Sharon???
I feel your pain. Stump grinder or backhoe.
I got out a big one using a root slayer shovel from Lowe’s and a crowbar for leverage once I cut the roots with the shovel. If you haven’t tried one I would highly suggest it worked way better than I was expecting
Gquuuuuuux
I’ve used a sawzall with an arborist blade to cut the roots around the trunk. Isolate a root with a transplant shovel or a garden knife, try to pry the thing up a little, and cut the next root. You just have to be careful and pay attention to safety – stop the saw if it bucks, but generally has worked well for me.
Looks like a good spot for your new fire pit
Mattock
Native plant purity is ridiculous. Climates change, conditions change. What are you collecting antique porcelain dolls?
I thought this said croc for sale and literally died lmao I have no advice I just wanted to say hi and that even though I haven’t dealt with this plant I know the desperation of dealing with non native plants and read your post through that lens ;P