Macrocarpa is grown as a shelter tree in southern Patagonia, which is extraordinarily windy. But if you grow lenga, a native tree from southern Patagonia, in England, it is prone to windblow. Because when you grow it in a place that lacks the very windy conditions it is used to, it grows too fast, and then blows over when a really windy day arrives. So perhaps Macrocarpa needs to be grown in windy conditions to obtain wind resistance.

"mark" wrote in message
et...




I've dug out trees up to about 9" diameter trunks.
When I took down a row of eight 30ft leylandii, I dug out 4 wheel barrow
loads or so, of soil, every evening for several days.
Then the trick is to tie a rope as high as possible on the trunk , that way
you get the most leverage. Easier said than done with leylandii as you have
to cut some branches to get access to the trunk. Hard work but better than
being left with stumps.

For larger trees I've had a man with a JCB assist. Another guy with a dumper
and a chain saw turned up and I was just left with thefluffy bits to burn.


I had a weeping willow tree (12" trunk dia) felled yesterday by a
contractor.
Unfortunately it had to go, as it's roots had invaded my main outfall drain.
We now have the ground level stump left which is no problem, but I need to
ensure that it cannot regrow and that the roots will die back.
Glyphosate is the current appliciation on the stump top (Grazeon).

Anybody any better ideas to guarantee root death? Chemical rather than
digging please !

We are also arranging for the drains people to revisit with a route cutting
thingy to clear the obstructed drain.

Regards
Pete
www.thecanalshop.com

"Pete Stockdale" wrote in message
...

"mark" wrote in message
et...




I've dug out trees up to about 9" diameter trunks.
When I took down a row of eight 30ft leylandii, I dug out 4 wheel barrow
loads or so, of soil, every evening for several days.
Then the trick is to tie a rope as high as possible on the trunk , that
way you get the most leverage. Easier said than done with leylandii as you
have to cut some branches to get access to the trunk. Hard work but better
than being left with stumps.

For larger trees I've had a man with a JCB assist. Another guy with a
dumper and a chain saw turned up and I was just left with thefluffy bits
to burn.


I had a weeping willow tree (12" trunk dia) felled yesterday by a
contractor.
Unfortunately it had to go, as it's roots had invaded my main outfall
drain.
We now have the ground level stump left which is no problem, but I need to
ensure that it cannot regrow and that the roots will die back.
Glyphosate is the current appliciation on the stump top (Grazeon).

Anybody any better ideas to guarantee root death? Chemical rather than
digging please !

We are also arranging for the drains people to revisit with a route
cutting thingy to clear the obstructed drain.

Regards
Pete
www.thecanalshop.com

Drilling holes with a 1/2" spade bit and pouring in diesel worked for me on
a sycamore.

mark

"mark" wrote in message
news:MfqdndvSX8Dvs1_UnZ2dnUVZ8h-

Drilling holes with a 1/2" spade bit and pouring in diesel worked for me
on a sycamore.

mark


Yes that is a pretty good idea.

Sorry, a gave the probably duff info. that Grazon contains Glyphosate.
I was mixing it up with Pastur.

Regards
Pete
www.thecanalshop.com

On 19/3/09 10:14, in article ,
"echinosum" wrote:


'Sacha[_3_ Wrote:
;834193']I must measure the stump of these felled macrocarpas. They're
enormous!
AIUI they're notoriously short-lived and unstable trees that shoot up
like
weeds but don't have good anchors. Is that right?
Macrocarpa is grown as a shelter tree in southern Patagonia, which is
extraordinarily windy. But if you grow lenga, a native tree from
southern Patagonia, in England, it is prone to windblow. Because when
you grow it in a place that lacks the very windy conditions it is used
to, it grows too fast, and then blows over when a really windy day
arrives. So perhaps Macrocarpa needs to be grown in windy conditions to
obtain wind resistance.

Well, we get our fair share of gales here and these trees would have had a
fair blast from time to time but probably not as windy as you describe.
--
Sacha
http://www.hillhousenursery.com
South Devon
Exotic plants, shrubs & perennials online

"Des Gardner" wrote
Now you make me feel guilty; in my short gardening career I have
removed 3 trees, all small but removed with huge difficulty by exactly
the method you describe. It takes ages and is much harder than you
expect; the final parts involve all manner of woodworking and pruning
tools being used to try to chop through roots accompanied by frantic
rocking to try to lever the trunk out and snap the final roots.
What is the proper way to do it? I guess, the short cut is to cut the
trunk through near ground level and maybe pay someone to grind the
stump out?

You say it takes ages, well there has been between 3 and 5 men working on
these 4 trees for most of the week and they haven't yet tidied the garden.
Looks like the Somme at the moment.
My friend says he alone could have got those trees down and away in a day
and probably ground the stumps out too, no matter how little these men are
working for, the "usual" method must be more cost effective than a few
ropes, an axe an a spade.

--
Regards
Bob Hobden

"Pete Stockdale" wrote in message I had a
weeping willow tree (12" trunk dia) felled yesterday by a
contractor.
Unfortunately it had to go, as it's roots had invaded my main outfall
drain.
We now have the ground level stump left which is no problem, but I need to
ensure that it cannot regrow and that the roots will die back.
Glyphosate is the current appliciation on the stump top (Grazeon).

Anybody any better ideas to guarantee root death? Chemical rather than
digging please !

We are also arranging for the drains people to revisit with a route
cutting thingy to clear the obstructed drain.


Our weeping willow was 12 feet in diameter, yes, 12 feet, it was humongous,
it had split into two and was twining around each other, we had it taken
down to about 8ft in height, and used the inside to burn rubbish, a local
madman (not really, but he liked to pretend he was ex sas) came along with a
chain saw, and took it down to ground level, my husband nearly killed
himself digging and hacking,at the stump and roots, we couldn't get access
to anything mechanical, needed it gone as it was now in the way of fencing,
but it never re grew, not a lot of help to you, but it was quite a traumatic
time for us!

In article ,
echinosum wrote:

AIUI they're notoriously short-lived and unstable trees that shoot up
like
weeds but don't have good anchors. Is that right?

Macrocarpa is grown as a shelter tree in southern Patagonia, which is
extraordinarily windy. But if you grow lenga, a native tree from
southern Patagonia, in England, it is prone to windblow. Because when
you grow it in a place that lacks the very windy conditions it is used
to, it grows too fast, and then blows over when a really windy day
arrives. So perhaps Macrocarpa needs to be grown in windy conditions to
obtain wind resistance.

Don't forget the other factor. In poor, free-draining, often dry,
soils, trees need to send their roots down deep. In rich ones that
rarely dry out and often waterlog a short way down, they don't.
I have seen birches go over because of that effect!


Regards,
Nick Maclaren.

The message
from Sacha contains these words:

I must measure the stump of these felled macrocarpas. They're enormous!
AIUI they're notoriously short-lived and unstable trees that shoot up like
weeds but don't have good anchors. Is that right?

They shoot up like weeds, but I've never heard them accused of shortevity.

--
Rusty
Growing old is mandatory; growing up is optional.
Direct reply to: horrid dot squeak snailything zetnet point co period uk

The message

from Jon contains these words:

How old would that have been Rusty ? (Just interested)

Couldn't tell - they were felled because they were rotten at the bases,
and the owner's insurance wouldn't cover his property unless they were
felled.

I'll try to get pics - one of the firm must have taken some.

--
Rusty
Growing old is mandatory; growing up is optional.
Direct reply to: horrid dot squeak snailything zetnet point co period uk

The message
from Des Gardner contains these words:

Now you make me feel guilty; in my short gardening career I have
removed 3 trees, all small but removed with huge difficulty by exactly
the method you describe. It takes ages and is much harder than you
expect; the final parts involve all manner of woodworking and pruning
tools being used to try to chop through roots accompanied by frantic
rocking to try to lever the trunk out and snap the final roots.
What is the proper way to do it? I guess, the short cut is to cut the
trunk through near ground level and maybe pay someone to grind the
stump out?

Fix a stout rope, preferably two, to somewhere near the top of the tree.

Dig a wide trench round the tree and cut any roots - preferably with a
mattock, but an axe if you must.

It won't inprove your axe.

If the tree has to fall in a precise area, use two ropes and two teams
to pull. A small tree requires teams of one.

We followed this procedure on an old beech. Attached a Land Rover to the
free end of the rope (plenty of room to pull it over on), and it came
down with no bother at all - indeed, I reckon two people could have done
the job.

--
Rusty
Growing old is mandatory; growing up is optional.
Direct reply to: horrid dot squeak snailything zetnet point co period uk

The message
from "Pete Stockdale" contains these words:

I had a weeping willow tree (12" trunk dia) felled yesterday by a
contractor.
Unfortunately it had to go, as it's roots had invaded my main outfall drain.

Yes - the roots will grow up to a quarter of a mile in search of water.

We now have the ground level stump left which is no problem, but I need to
ensure that it cannot regrow and that the roots will die back.
Glyphosate is the current appliciation on the stump top (Grazeon).

Glyphosate will have no effect. The stump will shoot again, and again,
and again.

Anybody any better ideas to guarantee root death? Chemical rather than
digging please !

Bore some holes in the top and pour in sulphuric acid. The acid from old
accumulators will do, as it acts by removing the elements of water. The
water evaporates, etc.

We are also arranging for the drains people to revisit with a route cutting
thingy to clear the obstructed drain.

Thousand pound bomb?

--
Rusty
Growing old is mandatory; growing up is optional.
Direct reply to: horrid dot squeak snailything zetnet point co period uk

On 19/3/09 18:08, in article
, "Rusty_Hinge"
wrote:

The message
from Sacha contains these words:

I must measure the stump of these felled macrocarpas. They're enormous!
AIUI they're notoriously short-lived and unstable trees that shoot up like
weeds but don't have good anchors. Is that right?

They shoot up like weeds, but I've never heard them accused of shortevity.

I've often heard of them having to be felled because they've become unstable
etc. and perhaps it's not so much the tree as its suitability for a site.
--
Sacha
http://www.hillhousenursery.com
South Devon
Exotic plants, shrubs & perennials online

"Rusty_Hinge" wrote in message
. uk...

We are also arranging for the drains people to revisit with a route
cutting
thingy to clear the obstructed drain.

Thousand pound bomb?


NoNo !
I think they use some sort of auger.

Off group someone has suggested copper nails and I have refined his idea to
Copper Sulphate.
Checking on Ebay

-Tree-Stump-Weedkiller-

http://tinyurl.com/dknqua


The products tend not to have active ingredients listed.

I will perhaps check to see what my pharmacist will let me have.

Regards
Pete
www.thecanalshop.com

On 18 Mar, 11:44, "Bob Hobden" wrote:
The builders had dug around the base, exposed the roots,
had chopped most through, and were busy using ropes to try to pull the tree
over by waggling it back and forth. Few branches had been removed

That's pretty much how I take down trees. We had a local man fell two
of ours while I was too busy with work, and the resultant great lump
in the ground makes that spot useless.

My Grandad used to do this too, so it's not a new idea. I helped him
take down a flowering cherry that was too near his house in 1962, and
that is exactly the way we did it.