Killing Boxelder Stumps - How?

[Jeff Wisnia]

In 2000 I had an arborist remove five large Boxelder trees from an unused part of our houselot because they were shading the part which we have landscaped, and our lawn and flowers weren't doing as well as they could have with more sunlight.

The stumps were left in place, cut off a few inches above ground level. The garden improved a lot in a couple of months.

Every spring lots of shoots start growing off the sides of those stumps and by the end of summer they've gotten about 6 feet high and annoy me by becoming visible over the hedge which defines the border of our back garden.

I have to cut them all off and dispose of them or they'll grow higher the next year. It's a PIA to have to keep doing that every year or two.

The stumps are on ground with about a 30-40 degree slope, and access from the street isn't very easy, so renting a stump grinder to get rid of them with is probably my last option.

I'm wondering if there's a "safe" way to poison the stumps so they die and won't keep sending up shoots year after year. I was thinking of maybe drilling a couple on 3/4" inch diameter holes a couple of inches down into them and pouring Round Up in them.

Years ago I'd drill several one inch diameter holes a few inches deep into stumps, fill the holes with saltpeter, wait three or four months for the rain to disolve and soak the chemical into the wood and then set fire to it. The stump would burn with a sputtering glow like a "slow match" fuse and the fire would actually travel underground following the roots.

I don't think I want to mess with burning them that way now though, our town's got ordinances about outdoor burning and I don't think they'd accept my holding a hot dog on a fork over a burning stump as "barbecuing".

Thanks guys,

Jeff

[Toller]

Painting the cuts with BrushBeGone always worked for me. Of course, it should have been done when you first had it done, but better late than never.

[robson]

Either dig the stumps up / burn them out or bore holes with a bit and fill with a nitrate - keep soaked with water and throw a tarp over it. keep wet until they rot.

[EXT]

One, don't let the sprouts get about 6 feet tall, they are feeding the root. Cut all sprouts every couple of months, at that size a string trimmer should be able to do it. The roots will keep trying for a couple of years then die.

[Steve Barker LT]

diesel fuel.

s

[Brian V]

Some stump grinders are not much bigger than a lawn mower. I rented one from the Depot last weekend, put it in the back of the truck. Took out 7 stumps in about 4 hours. Smallest was about 6" largest was 3'. Was a piece of cake.

150$ for 24hrs.

[C & E]

Hot dogs... silly boy - too funny. Anyway, the brush killer suggested works fine and there are many brand names. Just go to HD or Lowes and you'll be surprised how many there are. Bayer and Spectricide come to mind but I know that there are a couple more. Good luck and holster that hot dog stick.

[Jim Elbrecht]

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How about a raised bed right over those stumps? If you put a foot of soil over them they won't regenerate & a foot of soil should be plenty for a bunch of leafy crops that love high nitrogen soil.

I used a truck tire for a quickie over-stump bed once. I grew flowers in mine. In zone 5 or so and northward, melons and cucurbitae like the extra warmth of tire gardens.

Jim

[Phisherman]

Drill several deep holes into the trunk. Keep adding 34-0-0 fertilizer to the holes and keep cutting off the suckers. Without any leaves the roots will die and the nitrogen fertilizer will help rot the stump. Without extensive muscle work, time is your friend.

[alvinamorey]

The area where I live is full of box elders. The county cuts them along the roads, then they paint them with some green stuff. I dont know what its called, but I know for sure that its a copper material. Copper nails pounded into trees will kill them if enough are used. Your actual (original) stumps may be too old to absorb the stuff, but paint it on the suckers after you cut them. I know there is a septic/sewer stuff made of copper to kill roots in pipes. Maybe that will work.

[hallerb]

a good friend tried copper nails and even poured some copper sulphate into a drilled hole and opening, nothing happened. copper obly works on roots or so I was told

[trader4]

To just kill it and leave stump in place, I'd use one of the brush killer products at HD or garden centers. And I'd apply it when you have a couple feet of new growth to that and the top of the stump.

[Oren]

Diesel fuel was used by the elders when I was a kid. They drilled multiple 3/4 inch holes about 2 -3 inches (or deeper) and poured the fuel on and soaked the stump. Sometimes after soaking awhile they would light the stump on fire, but not always.

I read, as others mention using fertilizer ( in lieu of diesel fuel).

Drill the holes and wet the stump. Pour on the fertilizer and then, cover the stump with plastic. Allow to work.

-- Oren

I have not failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work. Thomas A. Edison

[Jeramie Ducharm]

replying to Jim Elbrecht, Jeramie Ducharm wrote: Hi, I come from the future! 2018! This is such a great idea! Thank you caveman!