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| Hi tree people,
I cut down my Purple Robe locust tree because it was sending root suckers into my neighbor's lawn, across my garden, and into my vegetable beds, as well as dropping yellow leaves into my pond all summer and rarely flowering. This seems to have sent the roots into a shoot frenzy. There are literally THOUSANDS of shoots coming up everywhere. They are destroying my lovely little zoysia lawns, uplifting flagstones, disturbing the roots of my veggies and newly planted irises. I have been pulling up shoots for five months, daily. I'm tired. My neighbor has been mowing them down, but I am afraid he'll miss some and the roots will be fed. I go over there once a month to hunt for shoots in his ivy and weeds. Has anyone managed to kill this tree? How did you do it? Do you think the roots will eventually die if I keep picking, or should I just Round-up my lawns? Don't plant this tree in hot inland Southern California. Please. It won't bloom well, it will lose its leaves when temps get in the 100s, and it will destroy your garden and your neighbors will hate you. Renee |
Follow-Up Postings:
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- Posted by wisconsitom 4/5 WI (My Page) on Mon, Jul 23, 12 at 18:04
| Renee, locusts are, in the broadest terms, "broadleaved plants". As such, any of a number of phenoxy herbicidal preparations will do them in. It may take a few whacks at it, but should eventually work. That way, you needn't kill your lawn. +oM |
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- Posted by ken_adrian z5 (My Page) on Mon, Jul 23, 12 at 18:09
| hey!! the iris queen .. lol .. get the very expensive applicator at the link.. remove product.. fill with 100% roundup ... which is actually 41% ... every time you snip a sprout.. put ONE DROP on the cut.. apply to the cambian layer.. so the root will suck it in ... continue ad nauseum.. until the thing realizes it is dead.. may want to get neighbors permission to do same over there ... because you will have a hard time killing half the root mass ... took me 3 years.. to kill a one inch underground poison ivy vine when i moved in here ... of course with 4 months of suspended animation.. known as ground freeze.. things work slower here in MI ... good luck ken ps: i hope you already killed the stump .. |
Here is a link that might be useful: very expensive applicator
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| I second the suggestion to use a broadleaved weedkiller designed for lawns. The suckers will translocate the chemical through the entire root mass and kill it, but it will take a couple of applications. You can also, of course, carefully apply in other locations, avoiding desirable plants. |
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| Liable to be a black locust rootstock you are dealing with and not Purple Robe. |
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| Sorry to hear about your pain. I always liked the look of this tree but had trouble locating one and heard about the sucker problems.... (and the locust leaf miner problem around here) so never actually planted one. It's too late for you, but what do people think about girdling a tree like this and letting it die first before cutting it down? That's what I did for some alianthus and it seemed to spare me any sucker headaches. |
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- Posted by strobiculate none (My Page) on Mon, Jul 23, 12 at 23:26
| A sight certain to quake the stoutest heart is not the locust leaf miner but the locust borer...the adult is fully an inch and a half in length and brightlt cilored in yellow and black, leaving holes in the trunk a half inch in diameter. Yeah, it be time to break out the 2,4-d...also known as a phenoxy herbicide. Girlding is okay...if you treat the cut with round-up or one the 2,4-d relatives...otherwise the suckering is likely to occur. |
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- Posted by hosenemesis SoCal Sunset 19 USDA (My Page) on Tue, Jul 24, 12 at 3:04
| Thank you for the encouragement. I will spray rather than pull for a while. The zoysia does not take kindly to broadleaf weed killers, but I can paint the stuff on the locust suckers. You know, I have an old regular Black Locust that my grandfather planted over 40 years ago, and I have never had any suckers. This led me to believe that locusts don't sucker here, which is why I took a risk on the Purple Robe. What a mistake. That rootstock is a whole different animal than my grandpa's locust. Renee |
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- Posted by ken_adrian z5 (My Page) on Tue, Jul 24, 12 at 9:18
| i have tried painting.. the glove method.. and dripping .. the only one you control completely.. is dripping .. both the cotton glove on a chem glove and the paintbrush.. themselves.. drip all over the place ... it doesnt matter what you put in the applicator ... someone once told me to dilute and mix both 2,4d and roundup.. i dont know about that ... ken |
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| Variable suckering is seen in other species of trees as well. If the suckers you have now have the same foliage and thorns etc. as the suckerless black locust, then the suckers are black locust. There are lots of Purple Robe and other locusts here with few or no suckers. |
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