Controlling adventitious growth of oleander

[bob prohaska]

There is a large (multiple 5" trunks) oleander growing next to a walkway. Some unwanted trunks have been cut, and they produce a dense growth of buds, which intrude on the walkway and have to be laboriously cut away lest they obstruct traffic.

Can glyphosate be used to kill the vegetative growth near the ground without killing the entire tree? It wouldn't be a disaster if I did kill it, but it'd be better not to. If I kill it I'll be duty bound to remove it, and that looks like a big job 8-) Thanks for reading,

bob prohaska

[David E. Ross]

Glyphosate applied in sufficient amount to kill some growth is likely to kill the entire plant. If you are in southern California, just wait. A blight is killing oleanders from San Diego all the way to Thousand Oaks and is likely to spread farther.

[bob prohaska]

Is there any hope just west of Sacramento?

8-)

bob prohaska

[David E. Ross]

Yes, it will be several years before the blight can spread that far. Perhaps, it will take long enough that a cure or prevention might be discovered before then.

[bob prohaska]

I can be patient. In the meantime, the only method I know to suppress stump sprouting is light-tight covering, which is difficult in this case. The oleander actually belongs to a very understanding neighbor, but their mow-and-blow service will likely remove deep mulch and a solid cover will be both difficult to fit and unsightly. Is there a better way?

Thanks for reading!

bob prohaska

[David E. Ross]

Often, the recommendation is to leave the collar that formed around the base of any branch or shoot you remove. When you use pruning or lopping shears to remove shoots, however, new shoots might sprout from the collar or any stub you leave. To reduce the growth of new shoots, cut away any stub and its collar using a small pruning saw.