What to do about Buckthorn

[DelanoJoe]

I was told by someone that this should be pulled out by the roots - I have one of these bushes on my 2 acres of woods and he said it would take over the entire area. Is this something I need to worry about or will it be OK?

 

[Tree Wizard]

One buckthorn leads to 100 buckthorn leads to 10,000 buckthorn, etc. It is easier to get rid of them when you only have a few than when you have thousands.

 

[wysiwyg]

I've been trying to get the buckthorn out of my yard for over 5 years and have a long way to go. Best to get rid of it before it starts producing berries. Urge your neighbors to do the same if they've got it, otherwise the birds will ensure that buckthorns will spread all over the place. That's the problem I'm facing, its all over our neighborhood and will never be eradicated. It's really sad to see everything else of value choked out because so many people think "a tree is a tree" and don't understand what invasive species are capable of doing.

 

[Proj Eng]

Cut it out (the buckthorn), dab it with round-up mixed with a dark dye within minutes of cutting it, move on to the next infected area. After several years of doing this, you'll make some headway and you can help teach those around you the simple method. Just don't be waving the round-up soaked rag around too much or you'll leave a trail of death. :blob5:

 

[Tom Dunlap]

There is a tool called a Weed Wrench that is perfect for yanking BT. It makes a really nasty job quite fun. I did a lot of BT removal when I was in Mpls. My crew stopped complaining as loudly about BT jobs after getting the Weed Wrench. It is a great tool and worth every penny.

Keep a squirt bottle of tinted Round-up handy if you cut off the bigger stuff. It will take many years to get it under control.

If you do some Google work you'll find some good articles. Or call the MnDNR, maybe the arboretum too.

The first trees that you want to get out are the females with the berries. Better to get them out early in the summer before the berries are ripe. If you do it early fewer berries fall onto the ground.

If you can burn the tearouts it is the best.

 

[DelanoJoe]

Thanks!!!!

Thanks for all the info - very informative and helpful. I did notice there are more of these down my hill. I'm guessing it will take me a while to get rid of this stuff, but only if my neighbor does it too - I noticed his land is full of them.

 

[wysiwyg]

Tom, how big of a buckthorn can the weed wrench yank? I have a hard time envisioning any manual tool pulling a 1" diameter buckthorn out of the ground. The largest one claims to pull 2.5" ones, is it really true?!? And are there any caveats not listed on their website one should know? Thanks!!

 

[Kneejerk Bombas]

How big a buckthorne you can pull depends on the soil. I was on a job recently pulling 2 inchers by hand. Some really nice soil.

 

[wysiwyg]

That's something. Around here I can seldom pull out the smallest sapling by hand. That's what makes this tool so intruiging...I'm so tired of cutting them off and spraying year after year, and new ones are popping up everywhere.

 

[BlueRidgeMark]

http://www.weedwrench.com/index.htm