Norway Maples

[Hunt]

I have a half-acre of woods, a mix of mostly hickory, and maple: both red and Norway. There are not many younger trees, which I attribute in part to their being smothered by the Norway maples, which I’ve decided to remove. The younger Norway maples I will have no problem removing myself, but there are two larger trees: one about 50 ft tall, the other 40 ft; both about 12-14” in diameter at the base. I am reluctant to have them felled because I am pretty sure that in doing so, they will damage quite a few other trees. Is girdling the best alternative? I wonder about using glyphosate because I’ve read that it can be transmitted via roots from one tree to a neighboring tree. I haven’t yet gotten a quote from an arborist to take down the trees but I have a feeling it might be more than I would want to spend; the location is not accessible by a bucket truck. Any advice would be appreciated.

 

[capetrees]

If you kill it, it still has to be taken down and a dead tree is more dangerous to climb than a live one, no? A climber could easily take the tree down and drop the limbs to the ground around the base of the tree. Norways are always the easiest to climb in my experiences. Glyphosate to the roots isn't the answer and girdling again, just kills the tree.

 

[WmTreeCo.]

Most arborists, including myself, love jobs like this if theres no cleanup.
A good climber can likely have both on the ground in an hour or two and shouldn't be excessively expensive.

 

[ATH]

Girdle them and treat with herbicide. (RoundUp at 30% doesn't move in the soil. Tordon RTU does move a little, but only applying it to 2 trees won't be enough to impact others.)

Just make the girdle very shallow - only through the bark, not an inch into the wood. Once dead, they will fall piece by piece over the years and be punky as they come down so not likely damage other trees.

 

[Hunt]

Thank you for the answers...I may get a quote, and I will also consider the other suggestions as well. I guess I could also trim branches as high up as I can [using an extension pole saw while standing on an extension ladder I could probably get branches up to 35 feet off the ground].

 

[buzz sawyer]

Thank you for the answers...I may get a quote, and I will also consider the other suggestions as well. I guess I could also trim branches as high up as I can [using an extension pole saw while standing on an extension ladder I could probably get branches up to 35 feet off the ground].

PLEASE don't cut while on a ladder.

 

[Hunt]

Thank you for posting those videos. I would be using a manual pole saw, not a chain saw, and the branches I would be cutting are probably 1-4" in diameter, as opposed to some of those large limbs shown in the videos. Nonetheless, it was good to see the videos; it never hurts to be reminded of how dangerous it can be.

 

[ATH]

my rule with a ladder: if it is big enough to knock you off the ladder don't cut it! I will prune very small limbs from the ladder for young tree training, but that is about it.