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| I was a very inexperienced gardener (not that I am not now) when I just picked plants that LOOK good to me, without considering anything else. Lombardy poplars are indeed elegant and handsome trees, yet I have had headaches when seeing the spread roots making themselves comfortable to shoot up their off-springs here and there, and everywhere.
I have a shrub and tree designated area, and my lawn is adjacent to it. These little voluntary trees have just popped in the lawn. Cutting them at the crown wouldn't help to stop them coming back. I don't want to kill the original trees I planted, yet there seems no way I can kill these volunteers without hurting their parents.... Please advise... Thanks |
Follow-Up Postings:
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- Posted by ken_adrian z5 (My Page) on Sun, Aug 26, 12 at 16:11
| Lombardy poplars are indeed elegant and handsome trees ===>>> no.. they are a fast growing.. short lived.. problem tree with large swathes of canopy dying and falling for no known reason.. you should solve your root problem with a liberal application of a chainsaw.. at or about ground level.. with malice and aforethought [that means murder] ... followed by application of stump killer or roundup to the cambian... and 3 time per year hunting for any and all resprouts coming out of the soil ... sorry.. they have to go.. but if you love them.. it will be just fine with me.. but you can NOT start digging up roots... because.. at every single cut .. guess what.. another will sprout up ... they are probably a function of you trying to garden under a weed tree.. which all poplars are ... and that there is the root of the problem.. pun intended .... they are NOT a tree to garden under.. and i know from enough of your posts.. you are a gardener.. you just have the wrong tree.. see above.. re: malice ... i had 10 of them at my first house ... which i did plant... [as in.. been there.. done that.. dont make my mistakes] ... but sooner or later.. my hatred grew.. and they were actually the reason i bought my first chainsaw ... i strongly suggest.. that if you are able to take them down for free.. this is the time.. dont wait until they cost you thousands to do the job ... good luck ken |
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| Ken... although this is a serious matter, I kept laughing at reading your reply..... What you said sounds like a comedy show to me. It's so funny, but anyhow I DO get your point. Another question: after I use a chainsaw (my husband would thank you very much for giving me this advice; he has tried to find excuses to buy one), would the stump killer or the sort kill other shrubs around (approximately 5 feet around)??? |
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- Posted by wisconsitom 4/5 WI (My Page) on Sun, Aug 26, 12 at 22:47
| What you can do is get an herbicide with diquat as the active ingredient. Diquat is a "burn-down" herbicide meaning any foliage or green stem material hit by the spray is killed but the chemical has no ability to translocate into the rest of the plant. There are also soap-based products which can do the same thing. "Sharpshooter" is or was one such product. +oM |
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| chueh - Ken is right. Even in climates where they thrive and are fairly long lived they are a completely inappropriate choice for a home gardener. (Unless your property is many acres) They are potentially HUGE trees. We are talking 30metres (around 100 ft) and they grow fast too. They are good (in a suitable climate) for avenues and windbreaks in open country, not a shrub/tree area in a back yard. |
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- Posted by wisconsitom 4/5 WI (My Page) on Tue, Aug 28, 12 at 23:33
| I agree that the Lombardy black poplar is a poor choice for a yard tree, but not because it gets large. Lots of trees get large and there're many yard situations out there where this is entirely appropriate. What makes Lombardys a poor choice is the fact that they also quickly are attacked by various canker diseases, making them large, unhealthy and unsafe trees. Plus a waste of good space for a better plant! +oM |
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| Thank you all for the info. Yes, definitely. I cannot agree with you all more that this type of tree is not an appropriate choice. It's even worse in the subdivision. Ouch.....I will have to apologize to my neighbor, sooner or later, and perhaps do the same to the shoots in their yard as mine. :-( |
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- Posted by wisconsitom 4/5 WI (My Page) on Thu, Aug 30, 12 at 21:48
| No apology necessary, I should think. You'd be doing them a favor while leaving the mother tree(s) essentially unaffected. =oM |
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