ORGANIC solution to removing bush/tree stumps/roots

Gardening
1

I foolishly years ago decided it was a good idea to let some young wild cornus saplings grow up as the garden lacked anything in the way of trees or bushes. 16 years on, I realise I need to tackle their thuggery. For example, I have a cornus “tree” in a raised border in front of our terrace right alongside an old vine that grows the length of the terrace. With care, I can saw the cornus right to the ground, but there is no way I can dig it out because its roots are intertwined with the vine.
The stump will be big enough for me to drill holes and to put something into it so that it slowly dies. But that something must be organic - I use no chemicals - and ideally it must be possible to do it so that I don’t kill the vine.
Does anyone have any suggestions please? As always, thanks for your help.

2

Is this idea any good?

https://8billiontrees.com/trees/how-to-kill-a-tree-without-cutting-it-down/#:~:text=There%20are%20several%20ways%20to%20kill%20a%20dogwood%20tree%20without,make%20them%20easy%20to%20kill.

3

Glyphosate is organic.

Well, to a chemist anyway :slight_smile:

Given that you don’t wish to use “chemicals” and that anything “organic” will almost certainly be non selective I think careful mechanical removal is the only option (though you could try drilling holes in the stump and pouring boiling water in which will kill some of the root below ground level.

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4

I’ve not done this yet but a local told me to drill holes in a stump & pour milk inside… He laughed when I told him that any milk in our house was non-dairy.

5

Copper nails, nailed into the stump , covering the nails with some earth to help oxidization, may take a few months to start working.

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6

Ours too - but I can make an exception. :slight_smile:

@Corona I like the thought of removing the bark because that’s controllable. Boiling water too. @billybutcher

Also the copper nails @Wozza

Thanks everyone . I think these poor cornuses (there are several I need to clear) won’t know what’s hit them - shame to have to do it, but they have to go.

I remember Germaine Greer saying many years ago how we ethnically cleanse our gardens - I fear that’s what I’m about to embark upon.

7

Be aware though, as @Nigel-at-BUF-House knows because he put me onto a book about it, trees talk to each other and one day may come back to bite you. :wink: :slightly_frowning_face:

Best of luck nevertheless. :smiley:

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8

The idea of a lodge of domesticated beavers occurs to me, but is probably not a helpful suggestion. :slight_smile:

Maybe ragondin could be trained up for the same purpose…

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9

I often use a hammer drill set to hammer only using a well sharpened wide chisel bit to remove tree stumps

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10

Anything will die eventually if you immediately remove any new green sprouts. It took years for me to get rid of a trumpet vine, since when the top was cut down to ground level, it sent up sprouts along its roots. I walked by there every day so had no trouble just rubbing off any new growth along the roots. I plugged away at it and eventually, sayonara trumpet vine.

Now I’m doing the same with a wisteria that got out of hand. Its roots spread under a magnolia tree so I have to search out the new growth, which I make sure to do once a week. For some reason I need clippers to get rid of the wisteria sprouts, whereas my thumb was sufficient to rub off the trumpet vine sprouts.

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