One of the trees in my backyard that got destroyed by the storm we had at the end of June was a locust tree.
Since then the tree has been removed and most of it has been hauled away. A good cord of it is stacked along the fence waiting for cooler weather so it can be turned into firewood.
The stump was cut down to just a couple of inches above ground level.
Apparently, the way a locust tree propagates itself is to grow another one out of the cut stump.
But you don’t get just one.
You wind up with something that begins to look like a locust tree bush.
Did you know that, when they first start growing, locust trees are filled with thorns?
Very sharp pointy thorns?
Well, they are.
Now we all know that the root systems of a tree extends up to and beyond the canopy of the tree.
This can be extensive depending on the size of the tree.
Another way locust trees propagate themselves, as I am finding out, is through their root systems.
Apparently, the roots sense that something is wrong with the parent tree. In their efforts toward world domination, the roots begin to sprout more locust trees.
Wherever the roots may be.
In this case, throughout my whole back yard.
Mixed in with the sparse grass left over from the drought, locust trees are sprouting.
Everywhere.
By the hundreds.
Since I won’t use chemicals in my yard, for now I’ve been treating them like grass and they get mowed to three inches tall.
This, I know, is a stop gap method that won’t continue to work next year.
Next year, I have no clue what I’m going to do with all these damn trees.
cofisher
1 Sep 2012Let me know if you find an answer to the zillion trees popping up in your yard. I have the same problem and It’s not my trees (aspens) that are taking over my lawn. While I’m trying to figure out the answer, I practice putting my flies in the farthest reaches of the trees that I have. I’ve gotten pretty good at it.
Ken G
1 Sep 2012There has to be a way to control/get rid of them Howard, otherwise I’m pretty well screwed. I guess I’ll be doing some research. You always have said you’re pretty good at decorating trees with flies.
walt franklin
1 Sep 2012Ken,
Out here, as guys who’ve worked at stream improvement projects, we value those locust trees. They make the toughest, most water-resistant logs for placement in the streams as fish cover. Yeah, even the logs begin to sprout, and though we trucked locust logs for an hour to get them to the stream, you live too far away from here for me to collect them. But maybe there’s another use for tough-ass wood. Good luck.
Ken G
1 Sep 2012Walt, if my yard was measured in acres rather than square feet I’d consider starting a locust tree farm and sell them off. I think as it is, it’s going to cause a real problem. I also didn’t know they were so water-resistant.
Graham Strebler
1 Sep 2012Ahh…Robinia pseudoacacia(black locust) the stump sprouts are a pain in the rear for sure. The best option is to apply glyphosate(round-up) to the outside of a fresh stump cut. You only need to hit the first couple inches that would have been the living cambium tissue. This will transfer to the roots and solve the root suckering issue as well. Without chemicals you are kinda limited on options, you could make a few cuts into the stump and dump a liberal amount of rock salt on it. This will kill the stump but will mess up the soil ph in the area for awhile and you will still need to weed wack or pull the root suckers. If it isnt close to anything combustible you could also use charcoal and maybe some diesel to burn the stump out, which willl take awhile. Or you could also have someone grind the stump out and the root suckers will usually stop in a year or so if you keep on top of pulling them.
Ken G
1 Sep 2012Hey Graham,
I had a feeling I was going to have to dump something on the stump. Looks like I have no choice. Otherwise it looks like a lot of pulling root suckers, which I don’t look forward to.
My neighbors music studio/garage is about 5 feet away. As much as I like the burning option, I also like my neighbor and want to keep it that way.
I’m going to be manning the Heartland Outdoors booth at National Hunting and Fishing days in a few weeks. You should stop by. It’s been awhile.