Circular plastic implants inserted into tree stumps

[editor]

So today I learnt that these are used to kill off a tree that has been chopped down

Ecoplug Max 13mm Drill Bit

Designed for use with Ecoplug Max Tree Stump Killer. Has a stop plate set to 30mm for precise depth control.

www.pitchcare.com

 

[IC3D]

I feel it would be more eco to dig the stump up.

 

[two sheds]

ever tried to dig a tree stump up?

 

[two sheds]

sorry, a bit glib - I have though and you realize that there is indeed about as much of a tree underground as there is overground.

 

[bellaozzydog]

STUMP GRINDERS

 

[StoneRoad]

Those plugs ain't in the right place.
To be really effective they need to be in "sapwood" ie just under the bark.

The traditional method is to hammer in some copper nails (or failing them, brass screws)
or drill a few holes and pour in some chlorate weedkiller, cover and set a fire on the stump a month or two later.

But the most eco-friendly, but hardest is to dig out the stump. I know, I've "done" several ...

I suppose the need to clear the stump also, at least partly, depends on why the tree was felled.

 

[Pickman's model]

Those plugs ain't in the right place.
To be really effective they need to be in "sapwood" ie just under the bark.

The traditional method is to hammer in some copper nails (or failing them, brass screws)
or drill a few holes and pour in some chlorate weedkiller, cover and set a fire on the stump a month or two later.

But the most eco-friendly, but hardest is to dig out the stump. I know, I've "done" several ...

I suppose the need to clear the stump also, at least partly, depends on why the tree was felled.

Isn't the most eco-friendly thing to do not to kill the bloody thing in the first place?

 

[two sheds]

Of course - inside the sapwood it's dead already. Xylem and phloem as I recall from biology 55 odd years ago.

Had quite a few leylandii in the garden nearly 20 years ago they were cut down and a couple of stumps are still rotting happily. Not sure what happened to the rest of them now I think though.

 

[StoneRoad]

Isn't the most eco-friendly thing to do not to kill the bloody thing in the first place?

well, yes.

But, sometimes you do need to take a tree down, and you don't want it regrowing from the stump - eg a diseased larch or ash tree.

In their old age Ash, Beech and sycamore are prone to dropping limbs and rotting inside, from the top down - which is why I have some experience of removing stumps.

My policy is to replant at least three to five trees for the one that's had to come down.

 

[Supine]

It’s mad that you can cut a tree down and the fucker just keeps on growing. Trees are well hard

 

[a_chap]

Topical.

 

[Artaxerxes]

Those plugs ain't in the right place.
To be really effective they need to be in "sapwood" ie just under the bark.

The traditional method is to hammer in some copper nails (or failing them, brass screws)
or drill a few holes and pour in some chlorate weedkiller, cover and set a fire on the stump a month or two later.

But the most eco-friendly, but hardest is to dig out the stump. I know, I've "done" several ...

I suppose the need to clear the stump also, at least partly, depends on why the tree was felled.

It helps they are stuffed with weedkiller surely?

 

[two sheds]

It’s mad that you can cut a tree down and the fucker just keeps on growing. Trees are well hard

And when they fall over and there's just a little bit of the root left in the ground and it just keeps throwing up new branches

 

[StoneRoad]

It helps they are stuffed with weedkiller surely?

that toxic stuff only works on growing tissue, most heartwood isn't really growing, unlike the layer immediately under the bark.
which is why you can kill a tree by "ring-barking" or tying a nylon rope tightly around the trunk.

 

[campanula]

I am not really a fan of these plugs, tbh. There are times when a stump-grinder is not appropriate (usually access) but, if I can, I do not like to leave a large residue of dying and decaying wood because of the possibility of fungal incursions (particularly honey fungus (armillaria). When a tree dies off naturally, there is also a chance of succumbing to an opportunistic fungus...but in my (admittedly limited) observations, the fungal attacks on already dying or weakened trees tend to be less aggressive (fungi are always everpresent in soil anyway)...while a fungus attack on healthy tree-wood usually invites particularly effective and aggressive species of fungi.
I could be talking utter shite,but will always go for the longer, labour intensive and frustrating manual removal of the main root system.

 

[RubyToogood]

I am not really a fan of these plugs, tbh. There are times when a stump-grinder is not appropriate (usually access) but, if I can, I do not like to leave a large residue of dying and decaying wood because of the possibility of fungal incursions (particularly honey fungus (armillaria). When a tree dies off naturally, there is also a chance of succumbing to an opportunistic fungus...but in my (admittedly limited) observations, the fungal attacks on already dying or weakened trees tend to be less aggressive (fungi are always everpresent in soil anyway)...while a fungus attack on healthy tree-wood usually invites particularly effective and aggressive species of fungi.
I could be talking utter shite,but will always go for the longer, labour intensive and frustrating manual removal of the main root system.

Interesting. I had a cherry tree which met a sorry end and the tree surgeons put these plugs in it because otherwise it would have regrown from below the graft. I still have a stump in the garden which I have to work around now, and a couple of things I've since planted nearby have died. I wondered if it was the stuff in the plugs but perhaps it was this.

 

[editor]

Here's where they left the branches from that tree!

 

[campanula]

RubyToogood, have a good rummage around the base of the dead tree. You might see some evidence of fungi - particularly thin, black 'bootlace' type bodies. Have a good sniff too. Is there a faintly yeasty odour? If honey fungus is present, you should see fruiting bodies this autumn 0 small, amber coloured muchrooms. It is fairly difficult to quarantine areas where fungi is present, but I would avoid disturbing the soil (apart from an initial investigation). Not all plants are susceptible to armillaria. What did you plant.
The plugs are usually saturated with glyphosate, which won't travel in the soil...or even persist, so I would be surprised if the plugs are to blame.

 

[RubyToogood]

RubyToogood, have a good rummage around the base of the dead tree. You might see some evidence of fungi - particularly thin, black 'bootlace' type bodies. Have a good sniff too. Is there a faintly yeasty odour? If honey fungus is present, you should see fruiting bodies this autumn 0 small, amber coloured muchrooms. It is fairly difficult to quarantine areas where fungi is present, but I would avoid disturbing the soil (apart from an initial investigation). Not all plants are susceptible to armillaria. What did you plant?

A sunberry (blackberry/raspberry cross) and some raspberries. All started out well and then turned up their toes.