The Devil in the woods

[pureinsanity]

Set up a temporary fence that she will have to look at every day and paint it neon green. Tell her you will remove the fence when she lets you remove the buck thorn.

[vikingmeatwad]

Old post but I am about to take down the rest of my Buckthorn i couldn't pull the last 2 years with my new Chainsaw.

Should I cut the stumps as low as possible, drill holes then hit with my new concentrate Roundup?

Or maybe leave them around 6" high so I can pull them out with chain and atv after it's dead?

Thanks, man I hate this stuff.

[Tom7227]

Two things.

First be prepared to be frustrated. I don't know what it is about buckthorn but every time I have cut it the chain has fallen off the bar with way too much frequency. It may be because of the angles and rough footing, or it may be because I try to cut down too many stems at once.

As far as the chemical, I don't know that regular Roundup does the trick, particularly if applied to the stumps. I got some special stuff from a guy who was a pro and it was not the kind of thing you could buy on your own. I suspect that others will post on what chemical to use. You can put it on with a brush that you can mount on a dowel with some duct tape. If you don't get some hints on the juice to use here check at the U of M extension service. I'd be surprised if you could pull the stumps by next spring for anything with any size to it.

[Eric Wettschreck]

I don't think round up is going to do you any good on a stump.

Tordon is often used on stumps to make them go away. Not sure if you can buy it without a license. An over the counter product is Crossbow. It's used in CRP to get rid of small trees and stumps. Runnings sells it. Not sure where else a guy can get it. Possibly Fleet Farm.

[jentz]

I have a lot that was over run with buckthorn.cleared in 1980 and left untouched till 2006,It was so thick you couldnt walk through it! mostly all Buckthorn. I pulled the smaller stuff then cut the larger, used round up for 3 years on shoots that came from the stumps.Mixed roundup, the stuff for poisonIvy and brush.I applied it spring and fall when shoots appeared.3 years later I had it beat.

[ozzie]

my father has been clearing his land for the last 3 years of all the buckthorn and he gets a chemical that is expensive but does the job. He has a friend that is big on buckthorn removal in the area and he hooks my old man up with the stuff when it is available. I can say that he has spent alot of time into the project but his woods look alot better because of it!!! I just went out to my hunting land and the stuff is so overgrown that you cannot even hunt in it!!!

[Powerstroke]

The keys to cutting buckthorn are keep a sharp chain and don't' twist the bar. You'll spend more time fixing thrown chains than you will cutting each stem separately.

If you can't spray them right away, leave the stumps high and recut and treat at a later time.

You never beat it, but you can get it to a point that it is easily managed. Once its gone, its easy to spot the new sprouts.

[lindy rig]

So, I've read the whole thread and looked at the links in the DNR HSOforum. Have what I thought was buckthorn on my property, it is growing under mature trees and creating a very dense foliage of it's own. It looks like the pics on the DNR HSOforum and even has the little berries on it.

I'm not sure of the bark though. It almost looks more like young birch or poplar (I know it's not) kind of a dark bluish with little horizontal lines. And no thorns.

Anyways.... does buckthorn have thorns????

[delcecchi]

Sometimes I think, although a lot of mine doesn't seem to. The thorns are more like sharp twigs, when present.

[lindy rig]

I cut a decent amount of my buckthorn last year and now have sprouts about a foot high. Can I go in with Roundup (mix it stronger than the lable says) or does anybody have an update on a better chemical ?

(and where to get it?)

[delcecchi]

From Extension UMN

Quote:

Chemical control

Cut stumps can be chemically treated. Cut the buckthorn trunk as low to the ground as possible before treating. Products containing glyphosate (Round-Up) or triclopyr (Garlon) offer good control and can be purchased without a special license. Garlon is preferred over Tordon because of reduced potential nontarget effects (herbicide damage) to other dicots (broadleaf trees, shrubs and forbs). Both are effective on buckthorn. Both are relatively nontoxic to humans." ALWAYS READ LABELS AND FOLLOW DIRECTIONS when using chemicals.

Basal bark treatment allows application of chemical to the lower bark of the tree without having to cut the top. Garlon 4 mixed with crop oil or diesel fuel is the preferred herbicide for basal bark treatment.

triclopyr is in Ortho "Brush-B-Gone" or Garlon.

[lindy rig]

But that only works for stump treatment? Nothing I can get to spray the new shoots right now?

[delcecchi]

I would give the brush b gone a try.