Removal of Large Shrubs - Ask Extension
Want to remove large shrubs from utility area. Dont want to pull out due to utility lines. If cut to ground and cover with tarp and rocks will it grow...
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Removal of Large Shrubs #889482
Asked November 07, 2024, 12:39 PM EST
Want to remove large shrubs from utility area. Dont want to pull out due to utility lines. If cut to ground and cover with tarp and rocks will it grow back.
Hennepin County Minnesota
Expert Response
Thank you for writing.
Without knowing the kinds of shrubs, it is hard to answer.
Here are some comments.
1 Do not use rocks. The spaces between the rocks will allow plants to grow from beneath and you will compound the problem of getting out rocks and new shrubs.
2 This is not a good time to cut them at the ground and paint stump with herbicide because the plant is dormant. Many experts would wait until spring when the plant has set leaves, then cut it flush the ground and paint the stub with glyphosate, which will enter the roots and kill them. This does not leach into the soil.
3 The problem is that you may, depending on the type of shrub, have seeds in the soil that will bloom up to several years later. Glyphosate would do nothing to them.
4 You could try solarization. cut the shrub and put clear tarp over it. The tarp allows sunlight to overheat the ground but blocks water. Germinating seeds come to surface and die under the tarp. If done carefully and the tarp is left on for 6 weeks in the spring, this could work. https://extension.umn.edu/planting-and-growing-guides/solarization-occultation
Given that a shrub will be pushing up too, make sure that it does not get above ground.
5. Finally and most likely to succeed is to cut and herbicide the shrubs as in 2 and then cover the ground with 8-12 inches of arborist wood chips to sterilize what is underneath. https://www.latimes.com/lifestyle/newsletter/2023-11-01/use-wood-chips-not-cardboard-mulching-to-kill-lawn-and-weeds-lat-plants
Without knowing the kinds of shrubs, it is hard to answer.
Here are some comments.
1 Do not use rocks. The spaces between the rocks will allow plants to grow from beneath and you will compound the problem of getting out rocks and new shrubs.
2 This is not a good time to cut them at the ground and paint stump with herbicide because the plant is dormant. Many experts would wait until spring when the plant has set leaves, then cut it flush the ground and paint the stub with glyphosate, which will enter the roots and kill them. This does not leach into the soil.
3 The problem is that you may, depending on the type of shrub, have seeds in the soil that will bloom up to several years later. Glyphosate would do nothing to them.
4 You could try solarization. cut the shrub and put clear tarp over it. The tarp allows sunlight to overheat the ground but blocks water. Germinating seeds come to surface and die under the tarp. If done carefully and the tarp is left on for 6 weeks in the spring, this could work. https://extension.umn.edu/planting-and-growing-guides/solarization-occultation
Given that a shrub will be pushing up too, make sure that it does not get above ground.
5. Finally and most likely to succeed is to cut and herbicide the shrubs as in 2 and then cover the ground with 8-12 inches of arborist wood chips to sterilize what is underneath. https://www.latimes.com/lifestyle/newsletter/2023-11-01/use-wood-chips-not-cardboard-mulching-to-kill-lawn-and-weeds-lat-plants
Thank you so much for responding so quickley and your suggestions
