Honey Locust Trees

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I chainsaw them up and stack in piles. Make sure you only cut them in late fall...October to December cuts shock the tree and they have a better chance of dying off completely at the base during winter. Do not create a pile over any existing stump (as they do have a tendency to regrow). Two times a year cut back any new grow-foliage at the stumps. I do flush ground cuts, no stumps- so i can quickly go over them using a hand sickle cutter. Do this trimming technique for 2 to 3 years and the entire root system underground will be dead. I don't use any chemicals, just hit them in spring and late fall.
I would buy property with these thorn trees on them...I'd jockey for a purchase price discount due to the clean-up required and years of tree maintenance. Previous owner let it become overgrown...also, might be better to dozer them off into a pile if it's infested...instead of chainsaw. Remember: Always looks worse than it is.
 
I chainsaw them up and stack in piles. Make sure you only cut them in late fall...October to December cuts shock the tree and they have a better chance of dying off completely at the base during winter.
If you will cut them just as the leaves start to turn, and IMMEDIATLY spray 50/50 mix Remedy-diesel on each stump, you won't have much if any regrowth. TIMING is important. Every fall, the tree's vascular system starts pushing nutrients out of the leaves, upper limbs and leaf stems back down into the trunk, where gravity assists moving it down to be stored as sugars in the roots to keep the tree alive during the dormant winter. This is why the leaves change color. They are no longer doing the photosynthesis/chlorophyll thing. The active vascular system of honey locusts, chinese tallow and sweetgum is located predominantly in the outer couple of inches of the trunk, just inside the inner bark. Center of the trunk/stump is old growth and very little if any vascular activity takes place there.

When I say timing is important, I mean you need to saw them just as the leaves first start changing colors AND spray the stumps as soon after sawing as possible. Many people cut a bunch down, then go back and start spraying. Too much time elapses between the first ones cut and spraying, as the sap builds up on top of the stump, clogs the vascular pores and the herbicide doesn't get drawn down into the root system. In Texas, the sun also causes the vascular pores on top of the stump to shrink up closed pretty quick. Stump needs treated within no more than 30 minutes after cutting.

It doesn't take much herbicide mixture per stump. I usually hung one of these sprayers off my belt on a short strap while using the chainsaw and it would treat about 20 stumps.

sprayer.jpg

TAMU Brushbusters says you can do cut stump treatment any time of year but it works best as I described above.
Same goes for frilling or slash and squirt treatment.
 
I have heard that you should use a broom to sweep the sawdust off the stump prior to spraying the herbicide on the fresh cut stump.
 
It is not necessary to treat the whole face of the stump. Apply Tordon or whatever chemical to the cambium layer and it will
usually kill the root. I use this method, especially on the larger cuts. Word of caution to you new guys.. When treating stumps
be aware if there is a desirable tree near by there will be a chance the roots of the tree you are killing can be entangled with
the roots of the desirable tree and this can result in the death of a tree that you did not wish to kill.
 
Kind of a different situation than this original topic but if you are spraying stumps or stems around something you need to protect like in a flower bed, use a paintbrush.

Mix some up in a jar and just paint on a thick coat. It works well on multi-stem plants and a little bit of mix goes a long way.
 
I have heard that you should use a broom to sweep the sawdust off the stump prior to spraying the herbicide on the fresh cut stump.
I just used the back of my gloved hand... I don't know if the sawdust film made any difference or not.
 
It is not necessary to treat the whole face of the stump. Apply Tordon or whatever chemical to the cambium layer and it will
usually kill the root. I use this method, especially on the larger cuts. Word of caution to you new guys.. When treating stumps
be aware if there is a desirable tree near by there will be a chance the roots of the tree you are killing can be entangled with
the roots of the desirable tree and this can result in the death of a tree that you did not wish to kill.
Even Tordon22 RTU will usually work on some trees. (it can be bought without a pesticide app lic in Texas)
 
Trees For Graziers

Livestock production with honey locust agroforestry


 

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