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rachaellemmon

The burning bush from hell (euonymus)

RachaelLemmon
10 years ago

Please someone tell me how/when I can try to do something with this beast from the 60's! Previous owner did some silliy hacking to try and make it look like a tree. But it isn't , it has grown in quite a bit over the past 2 years .the top touches the ground with every rain ... Not to mention it's hideous! Thank you for any help you might be able to offer.

Comments (12)

  • RachaelLemmon
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    In all it's glory.......

  • ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
    10 years ago

    cut it at ground level.. and apply 100% round up or stump killer...

    OR!!!!!

    cut to 3 feet and start digging.. using the 3 footers for leverage to find and cut all the roots ...

    ALL OF THEM ARE FORM HELL .. they are highly invasive in many areas ...

    this one was poorly sited .. about 10 feet too close to the house.. and poorly maintained for decades... exactly how do you think you can make things better ... lol .. other than thru removal ....

    be done with it ..

    good luck

    ken

    ps: i love new owners.. you can really tell them the God's honest truth.. w/o hurting their feelings.. blaming all on the prior owners.. lol ...

  • ericwi
    10 years ago

    That shrub must be 30 or 40 years old. I would be inclined to remove it, even though getting the roots out will take considerable effort. You might want to hire someone to do this.

  • brandon7 TN_zone7
    10 years ago

    No need to get all the roots out. Do as Ken suggest and apply concentrated glyphosate to the phloem of the freshly cut stump. Then, in a week or so, dig out the main part of the stump (if desired). BTW, concentrated RoundUp/glyphosate is not 100%; it's typically 18% to 41%. Also, the regular stuff (not the fast acting stuff) works better for this application.

  • jean001a
    10 years ago

    Triclopyr is more effective against woodies than is glyphosate.

  • laceyvail 6A, WV
    10 years ago

    I agree with Ken--take it out.

  • RachaelLemmon
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    I was hopeful.... Yes it was planted shortly after they built the house in 53... They did this odd pruning 3 yrs ago before we bought the house.... Needless to say we bought in February so I didn't quite know what to think of it . Thanks...ill call the arborist and see what the damages are .

    This post was edited by RachaelLemmon on Mon, May 20, 13 at 15:42

  • cearbhaill (zone 6b Eastern Kentucky)
    10 years ago

    I don't think you need an arborist- all you need is a saw!

  • Dave in NoVA • N. Virginia • zone 7A
    10 years ago

    Shrubs like that are fairly easy to remove. I use a Saws-All on roots and it works quite well. I removed a huge euonymus 'Manhatten' that way. It was about 10 feet tall. Euonymus wood is fairly light I think?

  • brandon7 TN_zone7
    10 years ago

    Cearbhaill wrote, "I don't think you need an arborist- all you need is a saw!"

    I agree....well, maybe a saw and a small bottle of herbicide.
    _____________________________________________

    Jean001a wrote, "Triclopyr is more effective against woodies than is glyphosate."

    As a general statement, that is just untrue.

    This post was edited by brandon7 on Tue, May 21, 13 at 20:59

  • RachaelLemmon
    Original Author
    10 years ago

    Almost done. All I have is a hand saw... Just had to post this for you Ken..... I know you hate them. One last trunk and she's a goner....man my arms are burnin !!! :) this thing was truly huge. Will my garden there be affected by the " round up" ?

  • brandon7 TN_zone7
    10 years ago

    Rachael, you need to apply the concentrated glyphosate (RoundUp, Gly-4, etc) or triclopyr (Brush-B-Gon, Garlon, etc) to the freshly-cut stumps. A small amount will go a long way, so you shouldn't have to worry at all about it hurting anything else in your garden. All you need to do is put a small amount (maybe a teaspoon per stump) on the freshly-cut phloem (the area just inside the bark).

    I wish we had been able to tell you this before now, because your cuts will have lost their ability to effectively transfer the chemical by now. I hate to tell you this, but you will need to re-cut the stumps (down an inch or more from the current level) and do it ASAP for this treatment to work, at this point.

    BTW, the slow-acting RoundUp (glyphosate without the fast-acting additives) will work much better, especially in this case, than the quick-results stuff.