Popping out bushes?

[Blue Mule]

MIL has about a dozen (maybe a little more) bushes that were injured by severe cold last winter and then finished off by more severe cold this winter. Now that it’s spring she wants me to help her pull them up so she can replace them. These are mostly your typical boxwood type residential bushes that you commonly see in front of people’s houses in the eastern part of the country. My experience with them is that the smaller/younger ones aren’t too much of a fight to pull up, but established ones can have extensive root systems. So, I plan to haul my compact tractor to her house in a couple of weeks to hopefully make the job easier.

What would you guys do? Use the 3-point hitch to pop them up out of the ground, or use the loader with a chain on the bolt on hooks that I added to the bucket to pull them up? I’m considering just using the 3-point because then I’ll have more leverage and less likely to get the tractor tipsy. Also, no strain on the front axle. On the other hand, the 3-point has limited range of motion and it’s harder to cinch the chain up tight and then have the range to pull the bush totally free. Hmmm….

 

[2manyrocks]

I'd suggest pulling them out with a chain attached to the drawbar so you are pulling from the lowest point available. Smokeydog posted this grabber he made from 2" pipe. I made one and will attest to it being able to grab brush without slipping.

Front-End Loader - Danuser Intimdator

Used on Kubota B26 plucking trees and brush. Some trees removed along the wooded driveway 20’ tall. Privet and Russian olives clumps easily pulled up. Small tractor gives great maneuverability and sight near fences and buildings. Easily pulled trees growing in the blueberry patch with surgical...

www.tractorbynet.com

 

[Rockbadchild]

what size are we talking about and how many ?? A farmer jack (high lift jack) would probably do the job without damaging the lawn, depending on the size that would be my go too.

 

[doneill127]

I’ve taken out few boxwoods and burning bushes with a brush grabber chained to my drawbar. 22 hp hst tractor. Did have to use a cordless reciprocating saw on the roots of one.

https://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/product/brush-grubber-original-brush-grubber

 

[Offroadtek]

You can also use the Wheel Method. I have a semi truck wheel with no tire on it I use. Wrap the chain around the tree and route it over the wheel to the tractor and drive away. Converts all your linear pull into lift.

Suggestion: Go slow. It doesn't take much to pull a plant vertically. Slow is safe.

 

[Gordon Gould]

This ^^^^^^ or just a rim w/o the tire

gg

 

[CliffordK]

Try throwing a chain or a choker around them and pulling them straight out with a winch. If not, that wheel method sounds good.

 

[Blue Mule]

Some good ideas in here. Like I said, there are a dozen or more of these to do and one afternoon to do them in, so I don't need to go fast, but I can't go slow either. Most of them are probably 3x3 feet in size due to persistent trimming and they've been in the ground for many years so I'm sure the roots are firm. The tire idea I've seen in action but I think that would take a few minutes to set up correctly per bush. I may look into those grubbers and pipe cincher ideas. Interesting...

 

[EddieWalker]

Keep it simple. Wrap a chain around the base of the bush and lift it straight up with your loader. You will have the most lift where the bucket attaches to the loader, so attach the chain to the loader are at the bucket.

 

[Blue Mule]

New development... I checked with her again on which bushes she wants out. Half of them are in an area of the yard that I cannot access with a machine due to a handicap walkway that was built between the house and detached garage and a lilac tree. I guess that makes the decision simple. So, I will have no choice but to use a long chain and pull them out using the drawbar of the tractor from a distance of about 30 feet.

The other half of them are accessible and are around her deck behind the house so I'm thinking on those I'll just use the loader and try to pull up vertically. Should be interesting.

My only concern as somebody mentioned is possibly leaving small ruts in the lawn. This tractor is about 5k with the FEL and box blade both attached and the small little R4 tires put a lot of contact pressure on the soil. But, she wants to replant in the same areas so I can't just saw them off and leave the stumps. Need to get them out of the ground. So it is what it is.

 

[fishheadbob]

I did some mature boxwoods a few years back and it was a miserable job. When mature their roots are fibrous and intertwined. if you can yank them with a chain then great. Mine didn't come out without a lot of struggle. Wound up digging the roots out with a strong loader.

 

[2manyrocks]

The soil may have enough moisture in it this time of year to make it easier to pull them out than in the dry of summer, but it may be rough on the lawn.

 

[bearthebruce]

Have you considered cutting them down and then stump grinding? I did that with my 200' long 6' tall overgrown hedge. Rented a walk behind stump grinder (Stump Grinder Walk-Behind | Sunbelt Rentals) to chew it all up. Planted new right after grinding. The chips were mixed with the soil. So far, everything is happy.

 

[Blue Mule]

Have you considered cutting them down and then stump grinding? I did that with my 200' long 6' tall overgrown hedge. Rented a walk behind stump grinder (Stump Grinder Walk-Behind | Sunbelt Rentals) to chew it all up. Planted new right after grinding. The chips were mixed with the soil. So far, everything is happy.

That will be plan B. If the Workmaster 40 doesn't have enough rear end to get the job done I'll just cut 'em down and grind on them later this spring.

 

[Bansil]

It wouldn't hurt to get a couple old plastic 1 gallon buckets, drill a 3/8 hole about 1/2 in from the bottom.
Place the bucket with the hole on the upper side and pour a gallon or 2 of water the hole will let it soak in, move the bucket and water a 2nd and 3rd bush when you tackle the 1st one, depending on soil type it might help.

 

[old and tired]

Good luck... boxwood roots are far tougher than you think. I ripped a 3 point top hitch out of a tractor (6 bolts), trying to pull up a small 3x3 boxwood. Granted it was a cheap Chinese tractor...

Lots of axe work, cutting roots and hand digging deep down and was able to yank it out with a Dodge Ram 2500, pulling hard. These boxwoods were very, very old.

 

[319Quahog]

I'd suggest pulling them out with a chain attached to the drawbar so you are pulling from the lowest point available. Smokeydog posted this grabber he made from 2" pipe. I made one and will attest to it being able to grab brush without slipping.

Front-End Loader - Danuser Intimdator

Used on Kubota B26 plucking trees and brush. Some trees removed along the wooded driveway 20’ tall. Privet and Russian olives clumps easily pulled up. Small tractor gives great maneuverability and sight near fences and buildings. Easily pulled trees growing in the blueberry patch with surgical...

www.tractorbynet.com

I just made one of those and tried it out. Slick. The thing works.

Now I regret that part of the yard is too muddy to put my tractor on or I'd do more ripping out little trees.

 

[Gem99ultra]

Good luck... boxwood roots are far tougher than you think. I ripped a 3 point top hitch out of a tractor (6 bolts), trying to pull up a small 3x3 boxwood. Granted it was a cheap Chinese tractor...

Lots of axe work, cutting roots and hand digging deep down and was able to yank it out with a Dodge Ram 2500, pulling hard. These boxwoods were very, very old.

I second that info... My experience was removing about 10 of mature box woods at work one day. I had access to one of our 5,000# fork lifts. Ha! That sounded quick and easy, but it proved to be far from it.

My imagination was to pull the forks close to each other and simply 'pluck' them out. Nah - it proved to be a lot more work than anyone would have thought. Possible, but not quick and easy by a long shot. I'm guessing that there's some root cutting in fishheadbob's future.

 

[old and tired]

Found a photo of removing the "massive" boxwood stumps... and right before the bolts stripped out of the back of the Nortac dozer!

 

[TripleS]

Good luck... boxwood roots are far tougher than you think. I ripped a 3 point top hitch out of a tractor (6 bolts), trying to pull up a small 3x3 boxwood. Granted it was a cheap Chinese tractor...

Lots of axe work, cutting roots and hand digging deep down and was able to yank it out with a Dodge Ram 2500, pulling hard. These boxwoods were very, very old.

Found a photo of removing the "massive" boxwood stumps... and right before the bolts stripped out of the back of the Nortac dozer!

I've never seen anyone put a hoe on a dozer. Pretty slick!!