Winter is the ideal time to control unwanted trees. We have several on our property which we looked to control this season. Our northwestern property line is planted to a row of silver maples (Acer saccharinum), which are actually on our neighbor’s plot. Our side though, was neglected for years. It became established to a robust planting of Callery pears, rosa multiflora, oriental bittersweet, blackberries and poison ivy. The vining plants were choking out the maple trees, which had clear symptoms of decline. I might note here that silver maple is not the most desirable of maples, but they are part of an established, living fence-line.

The Callery pears ranged from an inch to eight inches in caliper. A non-native tree, it has a wanton habit, and readily takes the landscape over by freely seeding itself and forming dense thickets. Well clothed in thorns, it effectively protects itself from herbivores and the arborist alike. No less invasive and thorny are the roses and blackberries; clothed with hooked prickles, these too deter herbivores quite effectively. At least the true vining plants (oriental bittersweet and poison ivy) are quite harmless, having no thorns.

Well…poison ivy is not quite harmless as it is armed with an oil, urushiol, which will incite an itchy rash in those that are allergic to it. You cannot burn it, as the oil becomes airborne and will infect the lungs of those inhaling the smoke. Even dormant, urushiol is active. If quick to wash the oil from your skin, you’ll be less likely to develop a rash. Here’s a tip to help you to remember:

Urushiol, A Cautionary Verse

If you contact the Ivy

Best to be Wary

“rush” to wash the “oil”

Scrub with Water & Soap

And rinse with water Well

To avoid an itchy Hell!

It was time to make a clean sweep of things, and time to bring out the big guns: triclopyr, a broad-leaf herbicide. Triclopyr is applied to the cut stump. It is a targeted application to the exposed sapwood (just inside the bark) of the cut tree or vine.

It is prudent to note here that when working with a chainsaw and herbicide, use the proper PPE (personal protective equipment), which includes eye protection, impermeable gloves, and ear protection. When using a registered herbicide, read and follow the label directions.

Because we cut poison ivy, we decided to chip the brush, rather than burn it, which in my area of North Carolina is permitted. We rented a 6” brush chipper, the Vermeer BC700XL. The machine is well designed with reversible roller and “smart-feed” feature. The reversible roller is an important safety feature to prevent the intake of human limbs! The smart-feed mechanism stops the intake roller when the RPMs drop, and resumes the feed when the chipper RPMs recover. Very smart!

We chipped the trees and brush in place, adding to the natural mulch. The next step is to plant the next generation of trees, in our case, we decided on green giant arborvitae (Thuja standishii x plicata). The hybrid tree is resistant to deer browse, grows quickly, and is quite compact, so it is an excellent choice for an evergreen screen. Other choices include eastern white pine (Pinus strobus), Leyland cypress (Cupressus x leylandii), the false cypresses (Chamaecyparis spp.), and holly (Ilex spp.).

Next, we marked out the planting holes, and had a backhoe come in to excavate. We set the trees in place, planting the first and last tree, then filling in between. This method provides a line of site to get the trees planted in a straight line, which was our goal.

Lastly, a 2” layer of compost was added along with 4 to 6” of a wood chip mulch. The trees planted on a slope had a well formed around them to catch rain water. Water in the trees well.

Join us next week when we talk more about tree planting.

~ Signing off for now, Joe