When to cut saplings and kill with roundup

[AlbertC]

I have an area under pine trees that I can't access with tractor. I have a lot of 1" sweet gum saplings that I need to get rid of. My plan is to cut them and then paint the stub with roundup to kill the tree.

Question is this: Do I need to do this now while the sapling are growing or could I wait until winter? I would rather wait until cooler weather after the saplings have dropped their leaves and I can burn the residue but I don't know if the roundup will kill the tree if they are dormant. anyone know the answer to this. I live in middle georgia.

Thanks

 

[Silvic]

If you feel you need them on the ground fine but if at 1 inch they can die and then rot/fall over in the next year you don't even need to cut them. Not knowing the height you can just spray the foliage. If you want you can also use a basal spray treatment and not even cut them. http://www.aces.edu/timelyinfo/Ag%20Soil/2010/December/Dec_2010.pdf

Late summer early fall as the plant is drawing nutrients back in to the root system for winter is a great time to spray invasives as the plant will help suck the herbicide into the roots for a good strong eradication.

 

[mx1alex]

Use tordon for the stump treatment. Roundup won't be effective.

 

[Cord]

I don't know about Gum, but up here we have Buckthorn. Very tenacious stuff, but I've found that I can kill it with a fenceline spray. Looking at the ingredients it appears to be a mixture of 2-4D and a few other ingredients. Doesn't seem to affect the pine trees. Trying to not get too much on the pine, it usually takes me several treatments before I can get a total kill.

 

[dusty3030]

You need Arsenal or Garlon don't even fool with mowing them. You want to target the trash but let your grasses and forbs grow as well as not harm the pines.

Spray, do not mow, do a prescribed burn at the proper time down the road is good forest management as well as wildlife management. Win win.

 

[dusty3030]

For your reading.

http://www.fwrc.msstate.edu/pubs/forestland.pdf

 

[dusty3030]

For your reading.

http://www.fwrc.msstate.edu/pubs/forestland.pdf

 

[RalphVa]

I've painted stumps of trees and vines with concentrated glyphosate or Roundup and killed them. Think you need to do it when they still have active fluids at the cut point. Otherwise, they may not draw the material in to kill the roots. You paint immediately after the cut.

I did this on a 24" diameter tree of heaven stump that had just been cut. It never had any shoots that often occur from the roots. Have done it on numerous vines and small trees where I could not spray the material onto the greenery (else it kill other stuff I didn't want it to).

Ralph