How to clear Holly tree

[Smf834]

I have a grove of old holly trees that my wife is tasking me to clear out. They are about 20-30’ tall, spaced about 15’ apart, on a 10 deg down slope.
How to go about doing that? Are holly trees have deep roots or shallow enough to be able to use the tractor to push it over? I am new to tractor so any detailed advice is much appreciated!

 

[Torvy]

Intimidator Tree Puller | Danuser

www.danuser.com

Conceptually, something like this. I don't know which brands/models are best, but I plan to get something similar.

 

[4570Man]

Intimidator Tree Puller | Danuser

www.danuser.com

Conceptually, something like this. I don't know which brands/models are best, but I plan to get something similar.

I had one of those on a 95 kubota CTL and it was a straight up beast. I can’t imagine it doing much good on a compact tractor though.

 

[ning]

I think they've got a tap root, but it's not super deep.
My understanding is that you'll want to pull as much of the roots out as possible because of vigorous regrowth.
Personally, I'd try watering the tree & area around it a bit if the ground is really dry (if it's already damp/moist, skip), and then attach a long chain and try giving it a pull.
Keep in mind the height of the tree so that it doesn't fall on you; personally I'd avoid cutting the top off of the tree if possible, so that the weight of the upper part of the tree helps pull it over.

 

[jeff9366]

What is the diameter of the holly tree trunks at ground level?


Tractor weight and 4-WD are the deciding factors for the tractor.

Moist soil is a critical factor as to whether or not the roots will let go from the soil.

 

[JasperFrank]

This is when you rent a back hoe. Your root system will depend entirely on what sort of land you have. If its just a bit of dirt on top of rock, the roots will have spread out and down into the cracks of the rocks. Very difficult to remove with out a back hoe. If you have deeper soft soil, you can just chain them and rip them out, using a bulldozer, pulling down slope, once the soil is saturated wet. 20 to 30 feet tall is a big holly tree. A back hoe will get the job done either way: But the bulldozer will also make quick work of the blackberries and the trees.

 

[Smf834]

What is the diameter of the holly tree trunks at ground level?


Tractor weight and 4-WD are the deciding factors for the tractor.

Moist soil is a critical factor as to whether or not the roots will let go from the soil.

Most roots are about 15” diameter. There are quite a few diseased trees that we want to take out. Soil is always moist here in pac nw

 

[Smf834]

This is when you rent a back hoe. Your root system will depend entirely on what sort of land you have. If its just a bit of dirt on top of rock, the roots will have spread out and down into the cracks of the rocks. Very difficult to remove with out a back hoe. If you have deeper soft soil, you can just chain them and rip them out, using a bulldozer, pulling down slope, once the soil is saturated wet. 20 to 30 feet tall is a big holly tree. A back hoe will get the job done either way: But the bulldozer will also make quick work of the blackberries and the trees.

All the holly has been grown for 20-30 years, but sadly the last 10 years before we bought the place they were left completely unattended. . Would i be able to use the fel to push the small ones over? I could cut the larger ones and then grind the stump?

 

[m7040]

If you have a medium size tractor push it 6 ft up or so on the trunk to get some leverage and they will topple. If not chain saw them and grind the stumps or rent an excavator and dig them out

 

[jeff9366]

Most roots are about 15” diameter.

I presume you mean "trunks" rather than "roots".

You will need a tractor with a weight of 5,000 pounds, equipped with a Backhoe, in order to dig out trees with a 15" trunk diameter. A mini-excavator will dig out such trees faster than any compact tractor equipped with a Backhoe.

 

[JasperFrank]

"Would i be able to use the fel to push the small ones over?" I have had little success attempting to do this with any smaller trees. They just bend over instead of "tipping," root and all, out of the ground like one wants them to..
Was just going to say nearly the same as M7040 suggested. They beat me to it. Depends on if you want to go all the way and completely remove the stumps. If you don't care, chainsawing close to ground, and then renting a stump grinder is the cheap way to go. You say you will already be renting a compact 25 HP tractor in another thread. So if you have a chainsaw, the chainsaw and the rented tractor is all you really need to even do the blackberries, using the chain method. For this, you will need, of coarse, some heavy chain. Drop this chain as a loop over the berries you wish to pull out. Hook this up to the tractor and pull the berries out in a bunch, one loop at a time over to your burn pile. If you can't pull the loop, just make the loop smaller. This only works if its JUST berries and not berries and saplings. You can then box scrap, if your rental came with one, out the root bulbs.
The local language here in my area of the PNW, doesn't make a clear distinction of what an excavator is and what a BIG back hoe with standing struts is. We call single propose, mid-size tank tread style, excavators, "trenchers." Really big ones, also with tank style treads, used for jobs much bigger than yours, we call "excavators." Its just a local language thingy that can be confusing, since its clear the difference of a big back hoe and a single propose excavator.

 

[4570Man]

Trying to push out 15” diameter trees isn’t going to end well for your tractor FEL.

 

[Smf834]

Thanks for all the valuable advice.

 

[ning]

I'd give "chain & pull" a try, with a long chain attached about 6' up the tree. If the tree seems like it may crack instead of pull, you may need to bring the chain down a bit. If it doesn't move at all, you're back to backhoe/excavator or chainsaw & grind (which may get you lots of holly shoots from leftover roots), but you've only lost a little bit of time by trying the easy way first, and if the chain works, you're way ahead.

Depending on the situation sometimes I pull with my truck (long bed crew cab with good traction) as it's heavier than my tractor, though not by much. A few years ago I lucked out on a 75' pail of grade 43 3/8" chain for $91 and I use that for tree pulling.

 

[DieselBound]

Excavator. Period! Rental cost for a day* is going to be a lot cheaper than if you break something on your own, non-commercial-grade equipment. Dig out roots from attack side and then just lower the blade and, with the bucket pressing up on the trunk, push the tree over. 9k unit, pretty common, should work fine.

* Maybe $500. Task done a LOT faster and safer. PLUS, excavators are fun to operate (once in a while- wouldn't want to day-in-and-day-out as they can wear you out).

And when you have to get out bigger stuff, ONLY an excavator will do (19k lb Takeuchi)!

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[4570Man]

Excavator. Period! Rental cost for a day* is going to be a lot cheaper than if you break something on your own, non-commercial-grade equipment. Dig out roots from attack side and then just lower the blade and, with the bucket pressing up on the trunk, push the tree over. 9k unit, pretty common, should work fine.

* Maybe $500. Task done a LOT faster and safer. PLUS, excavators are fun to operate (once in a while- wouldn't want to day-in-and-day-out as they can wear you out).

And when you have to get out bigger stuff, ONLY an excavator will do (19k lb Takeuchi)!

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A 19,000 pound excavator would be better but a 5 ton excavator would make quick work of this job.

 

[JasperFrank]

The OP has Two things to do here: Holly tree removal AND blackberry removal. What will do both? A Bulldozer, even a small one will do both.

 

[Diggin It]

I have a grove of old holly trees that my wife is tasking me to clear out. They are about 20-30’ tall, spaced about 15’ apart, on a 10 deg down slope.

They key question I haven't seen addressed ....

How many trees over how much of an area?

More than a couple of dozen is not something most people would want to take on with common machines. That gets into dozer area. Yes, a couple of hours of dozer time will cost quite a bit, but it will be done and you can get on to repairing the area and replanting grass without worrying about trees falling or crushing stuff that matters.


Renting stuff only works out if you know how to use it effectively. The learning curve could be costly if you don't.

A skilled operator can have it done before an unskilled homeowner can figure out which controls move what.

 

[DieselBound]

Took me less than 1/2hr to become reasonably proficient using an excavator: not a one-off, in which case that learning experience has paid out over many years now (several projects). Heck, even my dog picked it up pretty quickly:

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I would agree that a bulldozer is a different beast: and that's also a good idea to consider hiring one out.

 

[big bubba]

hire it out or rent dozier or excavator as mentioned, otherwise you'll mess up your smaller tractor bucking around
good luck