In preparation for painting (and replacing some) siding at my "new" house, I removed five severely overgrown bushes with my sawzall. Yesterday I spent two hours trying to cut all the roots to get it out but it hasn't budged. Talking to my coworkers my best bet is to cut at the base of the stump (the one in the first picture is either a yew or a boxwood, and is 6-9 inches in diameter), and apply some kind of chemical to kill the roots.
What kind of chemical should I apply? I'd like to plant something in its place next spring
by lordofthepines
39 Comments
Elbow grease
Yank them out with a truck
I used a sawzall for mine and they budged eventually
You’re at the perfect height to get a chain around them and pull with a truck or tractor. They’ll come right out.
Gotta dig em out. It’s brutal work. Or i think theres a machine you can rent to pull them up
Triclopyr brushed in the cut stump carefully right after a fresh cut. Wait a few weeks, should be dead.
You’re just about done, keep digging. No toxins leftover for years to come…wondering why can’t I get anything to grow in that area..
Skidsteer
If you don’t want to do it with a shovel or pickaxe, then use a truck. If you don’t have a truck, rent a skid steer. Home Depot has pickup rentals and you can put a chain around that then attack it to hook on front of truck. Reverse baby
Digging bar
Digging bar and sawzaw. Use the bar, drive it in the dirt next to it and use it for leverage, sawzaw around the plant until it pops out.
Tordon.
Cut them off at ground level and drizzle a bit of Tordon RTU around the perimeter of the cut stump.
They will die.
Problem with tordon is it will kill things near the stumps, and you won’t want to plant anything near where the stumps are until next year.
It’s that good at killing unwanted plants.
Sawzall is my preferred method , I use the carbide blade because of the dirt you are going in.
long iron pry bar is really handy , get a block or stump for leverage
if you have a winch you can set up a tripod overtop and a chain and rip them out of there , (lots of other creative winch setups you can use with pullys to get leverage , before you hook it up to your truck and pull the frame off.
once you sawzall the ring of main roots they will pop right out with the right tools
Take a few boards, or blocks and a farm jack. Loop a chain around the stump and use the farm jack to pull them out.
Steel spade
You are so close on the first picture. There will only be a couple of roots left anchoring that thing in. Use a mattock to dig around and find one then cut it with the other end or a recip/hand saw. You will be able to rock the thing and work out in which direction the others are going. Much better than introducing chemicals into your soil.
I’d recommend 5 lbs of 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene. Guaranteed to work. Used by farmers on stumps for a long time now.
Roundup heavy weed & brush formula. I believe it’s glyphosate plus triclopyr. The triclopyr is mainly there to help the glyphosate penetrate.
Drill a few holes in the stump, and fill them with the concentrated roundup. It’ll soak into the stump and diffuse out to the roots, ensuring the thing doesn’t come back.
Let it sit for a year or so, and some of the roots will rot away, and then you should have an easier time pulling it out.
I’ve used this method successfully on the Siberian elms that were all over my place when I moved in, some of them right up against the house like that. They sucker like mad and refuse to die if you just cut them down. I also tried scraping off the outer bark and painting the cambium with the same stuff, and that also seems to work.
Keep going with the sawzall. Also, a good maul can be helpful. Split that stump into a few stumplets and they’ll be easier to remove.
I have tried epsom salt and that worked. You have to chop it as low as possible and drill holes and fill them with the epsom salt and cover it over with soil. It will breakdown and it worked. haven’t tried it yet but I want to add full strength vinegar. I think that will really take out the root system. I’m going to do this to all my unwanted small trees this fall.
Don’t use chemicals. Just finish digging. You’re close. Get a pick axe under it and pry to see what root is holding it down. I’m always amazed that it feels really stuck until you cut one root and the thing just pops out of there.
spend 40,000 dollars on on a tractor and yank them out.
only logical solution here.
Use a chain
Pull it out.
Chemical? You need an F-150 and a chain.
Truck & chain
None at all . Stop using chemicals .
I pull them out with a tractor and a logging chain 😉
A shovel and sweat.
Harbor Freight Farm Jack and 2 2x4s with a 1/2″ bolt thru the tops to make a tripod and jack it straight out of the ground.
Dig the base and loosen it up. Grab a chain on a buddy’s pickup and yank that thing out.
Dig it up pull it out.
Don’t know if anyone has mentioned it yet but why not a sawzll with a pruning blade? 10 min of work
A chain over a small tire, then a tug with a vehicle. It will pull straight up and out.
Chain and a truck will make short work
I’d use a strap or chain and a 4×4 and just rip the things out.
15ft of chain and a pickup truck.
Landscaper here – I just finished removing 10 or so boxwoods. You need a mattock! Dig around it with the axe side, cutting the roots, then the pick side, loosening up dirt and removing more roots. Theres the root ball under the center of the plant, getting the pick side of the mattock underneath and using your body against it for leverage will usually displace it. Although if it’s super big having a chainsaw is nice
Wet the soil and pull out with truck hitch