By now hopefully you’ve heard the phrase “Right Plant, Right Place” which emphasizes the importance of proper plant selection and placement in order to minimize problems in the landscape. Though trees are a vital part of our environment, proper placement in the
landscape is necessary for aesthetics, but more importantly for safety. There are situations where volunteer trees need to be controlled. Understanding the species can help you decide what control method is most appropriate.
Some species of trees can be controlled by cutting the trunk down to the ground. For example, eastern redcedar is a very common species that will not resprout after cutting. Most tree species do resprout after cutting making this method ineffective on its own.
Trees that resprout, such as: Siberian elm, hackberry, Osage orange (hedgeball), oak,
ash, aspen, cottonwood, maple, sycamore, willow and many others will either need to
be dug out or treated with herbicide after cutting. Using herbicides for tree control is
specific to trees that originated from seed rather than suckers which develop from the
roots of an existing tree. Avoid using herbicides on suckers unless your goal is to
remove the entire tree. Herbicides applied to suckers may likely damage and quite
possibly kill the original tree.
This is a good time of year to evaluate your trees and determine if any volunteers need
to be controlled.
