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| Hello Tree People!
I have a nasty China Berry tree in my backyard. It is dormant now for the winter. It also has multiple trunks. I was wondering if I girdle around one of the trunks will that prevent that part of the tree from developing leaves in the spring? It's the only sunny spot I can get into my backyard for a garden. We are surrounded with tall pine trees. I just want to grow some vegetables this year but the China Berry is preventing that.
Thanks! Halime |
Follow-Up Postings:
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- Posted by salicaceae z8b FL (My Page) on Mon, Jan 30, 12 at 9:21
| Sure, you can girdle it, but then once it dies it will become a hazard. I would pay someone to remove it when you can afford it. |
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- Posted by ken_adrian z5 (My Page) on Mon, Jan 30, 12 at 10:25
| remove that one trunk PROPERLY ... and that does not include girdling it ... why would you want a bug dead ugly part sitting there.. attached to the live part??? post a pic if you want more specific info.. ken |
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- Posted by brownthumb65 8B Tallahassee (naturalmeds37@hotmail.com) on Mon, Jan 30, 12 at 11:10
| Thanks for the advice. This tree is slowly kicking the bucket. One part of the tree (another trunk) just fell over last year due to, what I am guessing, carpenter ants. In the center of the tree it has like sawdust in there. I know it is a hazard. I rent this house and the landlord won't cut the tree down. I guess he is just waiting for it to fall apart bit by bit. It is not near the house, but I need that part to "go away" so I can get some sun on my garden spot. |
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| I had a tree guy girdle a large Norway maple in my yard in 2007. He used a chain saw and cut 2 fairly deep circles around the entire tree. The tree leafed out as it normally would that year, however by the fall it started to look a little scruffy. Believe it or not it leafed out AGAIN the following Spring, but weakly. It slowly declined until fully dead in August 2008. In my experience girdling is a slow process and you probably won't have full benefit until the 2013 growing season. |
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- Posted by ken_adrian z5 (My Page) on Mon, Jan 30, 12 at 13:07
| as a renter .. with known wishes of the landlord.. not to remove the plant .. what gives you the right to girdle and kill it ... just move .. or offer to remove it for the landlord ... a little labor.. a little sawing.. and some roundup should take care of it ... BTW .. girdling it.. will force it to sprout from below the girdle.. and come back more aggressively than before .. it will not.. in any way.. kill the plant ... nor what is below the girdle ... your plan.. is so wrong.. on so many levels.. that my head is literally.. yeah.. literally spinning out of its socket ... literally ... [you probably do not want to hear the metaphors.. lol] ken |
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- Posted by brownthumb65 8B Tallahassee (naturalmeds37@hotmail.com) on Mon, Jan 30, 12 at 17:36
| Thanks Ken, are you always in a bad mood? A little "liver-ish"? The landlord knows the tree is dying and he said to just let it die there. He does not want to spend the money to have it removed. I don't have the money to have it removed. Thanks for your tips. Hope you have a better day. |
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| Will it leaf out next year after being girdled? Almost certainly, but that section (above where it's girdled) will eventually die. What will the trunk fall on when it comes down? If the tree is too big to be easily and cheaply removed, isn't it too big to have come crashing down in a storm some day? I have to say, Ken may have stated it in a non-typical way, but I think he still hit the bullseye. |
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| Well I think Ken and Brandon are being a little reactionary. It would be years before a girdled tree is going to fall. The bark and branches start to fall off long before the whole whole tree will fall. Even then, if it isn't at risk of falling on any structures, vehicles, precious landscaping specimens, or little children playing, what is the big deal? Besides dead trees are a tremendous wildlife feature, very attractive to birds. They love to perch on them, are constantly poking around for insects, and many of our most popular birds require dead wood to breed successfully. I would use Spruceman's hatchet method to girdle, not a chainsaw however. |
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- Posted by ken_adrian z5 (My Page) on Tue, Jan 31, 12 at 9:11
| Thanks Ken, are you always in a bad mood? ===>>> only in the dead of winter.. with 2 sick kids in the house .. and the soil frozen solid ... its just so much more tolerable.. when i can go in the garden ... one thing for sure.. MI in january.. aint no FL .... for a hardcore gardener ... its all just too much ... how big is this thing... do you really need to pay to have it done???? regardless ... sorry if i irritated you .. that was not my intent ... and i apologize if necessary .... ken |
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- Posted by salicaceae z8b FL (My Page) on Tue, Jan 31, 12 at 10:47
| Terrene, Not true here in the south. I girdled a large laurel oak on my property and it had decayed and fell almost exactly one year after being girdled. Things happen much faster here in regards to decay. A China berry could only be expected to stand at best, for 1-2 years after girdling. |
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| That's interesting salicaceae. Dead trees can stand for years around here. Good news for the OP, perhaps his problematic tree will die and fall quickly for him! |
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