Wild trees taking over my space

[Pat]

The nights have gotten warm enough to start planting the garden. I took a good look at the area I use as a garden and realized several tree seeds have taken root and over grown my space, it is shaded now and I will not get the amount of sunshine I need to grow plants in that spot. The trees are still small enough that they can be cut down, the problem is the trees are growing between two fences, our fence and the neighbors fence. The neighbor put up a new fence and left about 6inches between the two fences now we have plants growing in that space which will not be easy to get to. Our fence has spaces between the slates, his is solid.

 

[Chuck]

The nights have gotten warm enough to start planting the garden. I took a good look at the area I use as a garden and realized several tree seeds have taken root and over grown my space, it is shaded now and I will not get the amount of sunshine I need to grow plants in that spot. The trees are still small enough that they can be cut down, the problem is the trees are growing between two fences, our fence and the neighbors fence. The neighbor put up a new fence and left about 6inches between the two fences now we have plants growing in that space which will not be easy to get to. Our fence has spaces between the slates, his is solid.

This situation is not good for either you or him. As these trees get bigger and bigger they might just destroy both fences. Perhaps you and he can work together on this. Maybe get a chainsaw, cut the trees off at ground level under the bottom of the slats. There are of course those nasty chemicals like 2-4 D that could be safely sprayed between the fences that would kill every living plant there

 

[ChanellG]

Tree seedlings are one of the bains of my gardening existence. It's not enough that the wind and rain carry some seed around, but the birds and squirrels have to add to it, lol. I've been helping a new friend in her garden and yesterday I watched a blue jay pushing a peanut into one of her hanging baskets. It was hilarious in a sense, but when you think of how many peanuts (the neighbor gives them to the squirrels) there are in her yard... she's not laughing!

 

[JHB]

How are your fence slats attached to the cross pieces? Nails or screws? You might be able to pull a couple of slats off, remove the trees, and then reattached the slats

 

[Philphine]

it's mulberries here. they won't die, and if you ignore them for any period getting them back out of the fence is near impossible. the guy next door was gonna spray brush killer on them but i was araid of it harming some fruit trees i did plant close to the fence.

i'm considering cutting them back as far as i can, drilling a hole in the trunk if i can, and pouring salt in it. i don't know if that will work, since the idea only came to me recently, but hopefully all it will cost me is some salt if it doesn't work.

 

[zigs]

Ring bark them.

If you take the bark off all round the trunk it'll kill them.

 

[JHB]

I have heard of salting trees to kill them. Just remember the salt will carry down the whole root system so bigger trees can spread a lot of salt through your yard.

 

[marlingardener]

I would suggest the ring bark, also known as girdling, method. You have to cut through the cadmium layer of the bark, which delivers nutrients to the crown and to the roots.
For a comprehensive explanation with diagrams, here is a website: http://ohioline.osu.edu/for-fact/0045.html that pretty well explains girdling and how to do it.
Either you or your neighbor might consider removing your/his fence. Two fences six inches apart is a recipe for trouble and will be a constant weed/tree/overgrowth problem.

 

[Chuck]

it's mulberries here. they won't die, and if you ignore them for any period getting them back out of the fence is near impossible. the guy next door was gonna spray brush killer on them but i was araid of it harming some fruit trees i did plant close to the fence.

i'm considering cutting them back as far as i can, drilling a hole in the trunk if i can, and pouring salt in it. i don't know if that will work, since the idea only came to me recently, but hopefully all it will cost me is some salt if it doesn't work.

Salt won't work but salt peter will. It is sold under the name of Green Light Stump Remover

 

[zigs]

Salt won't work but salt peter will. It is sold under the name of Green Light Stump Remover

Or gunpowder

 

[Chuck]

Or gunpowder

As you say,It would really work good if you added a little charcoal

 

[Philphine]

thanks. i think that's what i was faintly remembering, but getting the exact product/idea wrong. isn't there also something about over fertilizing on purpose with a certain fertilzer?

 

[Chuck]

thanks. i think that's what i was faintly remembering, but getting the exact product/idea wrong. isn't there also something about over fertilizing on purpose with a certain fertilzer?

Yes you can but I don't know if it is cost effective or not. You can dump a bunch of ammonium sulfate fertilizer and it will burn out the roots. However if you try to buy it these days expect a visit from Homeland Security. We used to use it to get rid of grass burrs in worn out soil but that was 40 years ago

 

[CanadianLori]

Just ring it. Environmentally neutral.

done..

 

[grouie]

I find it quite odd to have two fences. We built our compound walls and one of them separates the neighbour's property. Normally when a wall is put up the expense is shared. But this was done at our own cost.

This link has suggestions on how to kill trees

http://www.buzzle.com/articles/tree-root-killer.html