whats the quickest way to kill conifer tree roots?

Question

Just got a new house and the people before kindly grew conifers to about 10 feet high!!! We have cut them down with a chainsaw, but the roots just seem to take over the whole damn garden. How can i kill the roots without digging my whole garden up????

Answer 1

The best way to effectively kill the roots is by making an application of a systemic weed-killer onto the existing stump. There's a chemical called "Triclopyr" found in several products ("Brush-Killer Plus" made by Bayer or "Brush-B-Gone" by Ortho)...these can be purchased at most hardware stores.

BUT for the product to work effectively, use your chainsaw to re-cut the stump down to the 'green-wood' or make several notches into the bark of the conifers and then apply the product within 10 minutes after cutting/notching. The reason why you need to act quickly is that the tree will begin emitting a substance to begin healing itself naturally. By applying the product, while the tree is still translocating food down to the roots, the herbicide will move its way into the roots and then kill it. I usually use an old paintbrush to apply the product. I also mix in a little spreader-sticker or dishsoap to help make the product penetrate into the tree and prevent it from washing away.

Eventually, the roots will shrink and be consumed by insects and microscopic bacteria/fungi. You should start to see the effects of your application within 3 days after application.

Hope this information was of some help to you. Good luck!

Professional consultant with 30 years of experience + Bachelors degree in Plant Science

Answer 2

There is a product on the market called Tree Stump Remover which can be bought from any good Garden Centres, this will do the trick.

Answer 3

Leylandi are the fastest. I planted a lot round the boundary of my garden about 15 years ago. I am now starting to dig them out as they are very difficult to keep on top of. If you do not keep trimming them every year they can get very out of control. The ones in my garden must have been about 15-20 ft tall and that is because I had not touched them for a year or two. Watch out as they will create a lot of gardening work in the future!!

Answer 4

If you cut a slot in a tree stump and put in a few pennies, the stump will rot away and relatively fast. So if you can get some pennies into the roots they should rot away too.