Large Thorns Nodes Invasive Nightmare

9 years ago

I bought my first house with the expectation I would put in some hard work and be rewarded with a beautiful barefoot lawn. No wonder they sold it to me in the winter when the yard was under 24" of snow. The previous owner hadn't touched the yard in 8 years. Every week I get a new species of weed emerging. Sometimes I use chemicals and sometimes I dig. This one may cause me to throw in the towel and call in the heavy machinery. These plants are popping up throughout the yard. When I dig them up they are attached to a node on a 3/4" root system. When I pull the root, it just goes on forever and I end up doing more damage than good. Do I stand a chance? When allowed to mature beyond 1' tall it develops some of the largest thorns I've ever seen. Thanks!

Comments (3)

thedecoguy
9 years ago
Robinia
Iris GW
9 years ago
You could just cut them with your pruners and dab just a bit of herbicide on them. I keep a small squeeze bottle of herbicide just for that reason.
Related Professionals
Sand Springs Landscape Architects & Landscape Designers · Bethlehem Landscape Contractors · Hartford Landscape Contractors · Dixon Landscape Contractors · Elmhurst Landscape Contractors · Kahului Landscape Contractors · Kettering Landscape Contractors · Lynn Landscape Contractors · Norristown Landscape Contractors · Northbridge Landscape Contractors · Twin Falls Landscape Contractors · Wentzville Landscape Contractors · West Haverstraw Landscape Contractors · Yukon Landscape Contractors · Lauderdale Lakes Landscape Contractors
missingtheobvious
9 years ago
The Robinia I have (Robinia pseudoacacia, aka Black Locust and Yellow Locust) are very susceptible to Roundup concentrate. Squeeze a few drops on a freshly-cut stem. Then relax and watch them die!

If the root goes on forever, these may be suckering up from the roots of a tree nearby, or from roots belonging to a locust which was cut down in the last year or so.

In my experience with Robinia pseudoacacia, the actual seedlings -- which grow from seeds rather than sprouting from roots -- are easy to pull up by hand if I get to them before they're 18" tall. If you can't pull them up, Roundup will kill them.

In any case, change your mindset from "weed" to "tree."