Sycamore trees

[secret squirrel]

In the school opposite my house is a "beautiful" Sycamore tree. The only problem is , it deposits its seeds in all the gardens around.
If you miss the signs and they get established, it has been nigh o impossible to get rid of the the things. Lovely as they are i dont want them.
Tried digging the up. But if miss a bit of root they grow back, it seems , even bigger.
Have to be fairly careful when digging as we find Stag Beetle larve under the roots and Stag Beetles are rare and endangered. This is one of the few parts of the country you find them.
Tried putting shop bought weed killer specially for tree roots and the like. Doesnt seem to work.
The one i treated between the fence and the greenhouse is now a good 20 ft tall and inaccessible due to,its position.
Tried copper nails. Didnt seem to have any effect.
Keep chopping down the foliage and back they come.
PLEASE PLEASE does anyone have any ideas or suggestions. They would be gratefully received.
Lorna )

[Totally Scrambled]

We had a big one in our garden I took out.
If you try during the growing season any root you don't get out will send up suckers and then you will have to keep at them until the tree eventually gives up but this can take a couple of years.
The best time to tackle a tree is late Autumn/Winter while it is dormant.
I used Roundup Tree stump & root killer and cut flaps in the bark and painted the neat solution between the bark and the tree and tied the flaps back in place. I also trimmed off the branches leaving just the trunk and when I was sure it wouldn't grow any leaves/shoots from the trunk in Spring I knew it was dead and took it down and dug the roots out.
Nothing came back, problem sorted.
When a tree seedling has hidden and got too big to root out I cut the stem, paint on some Roundup to the cut area and cover with a plastic bag secured with an elastic band and they die.
Hope that's some help.
Dom

[secret squirrel]

Thank you Dom. tried all that but obviously didnt keep going for long enough. Will try again.
Lorna
Ps. Lovely trees but not in a suburban garden. X

[Totally Scrambled]

The chap who lived here before us planted specimen trees which looked good when they were little but there were too many when they started to grow.
Since being here I have taken out a sycamore, three silver birches, a horse chestnut, an ornamental cherry, a maple, two pear trees, and a rowan.
There are still six silver birches, two limes, two maples, three oaks, two weeping silver birches, a hornbeam, a false acacia, a hawthorn, a pear and a conifer left.
I have, over the last few years pollarded the Limes and maples which have given me a good supply of firewood.
One of the oaks will have to come out as will the conifer as they are too close to other trees but I'm doing one a year so I have a regular supply of firewood.
Dom
PS in the old goats paddock I have planted two apples, a plum and a cherry tree.

[lancashire lass]

The old version of tree stump and root killer contained Ammonium sulphamate (note: NOT sulphate - that is a fertiliser!) The main reason it was taken off the market is because it needs to go through the usual costly legislation etc rather than due to any toxicity. In fact, ammonium sulphamate naturally breaks down to ... ammonium sulphate.

You can buy ammonium sulphamate from e-bay and garden places that sell it as a compost activator. Follow the same instructions as round up: make deep grooves on the sawn top bit of the stump so that it goes into green wood, add the crystals direct, cover with plastic sheeting, tie it down and leave. You may or may not need to do another treatment after say 6 weeks depending on the size of the stump.

I used to have a sycamore tree in my hedge and every year I'd cut it down and it would spring back up with a vengeance until I used the old version of tree stump and root killer

[secret squirrel]

Thankyou so much. Will trawl the ninnynet and see what i can find.LL
Dom, that sounds like a wood or forest rather than a garden. Lol sounds like you have worked very hard over the years.
My other slight dilemma is that OH doesnt touch the garden apart from mowing the small lawns occasionally, amid much huffing and puffing. Lol
I do it all on my own most of the time and being a girlie, lol, havnt got the strength to do heavy stuff like digging out great big tree roots.
Used to have an allotment but had to give it up for medical reasons. Had my stomach repaired and couldnt do the digging. I really miss it.
We grow, no "I" grow as much as i can in the 60 ft by 30ft we have, and that includes the chooks and their run, but that means there arent too many flowers. Mostly perennial shrubs and veg in the borders. Lol
Thank you both for your advice. Will up-date you hopefully with news that i won the Sycamore wars. Lol
Lorna