girding tree

[Kragman71]

Hello
Last year,I cut a 2 inch section completely around the trunk of a maple tree that I want to kill or retard growth.
The cut was about 1/4" deep,and the tree is as healthy as it ever was;the girding did nothing.
What is wrong? Should I deepen the cut for the entire 2 inches;or scribe a deeper cut on one edge of it?
Thanks,
Frank

[Graybeard]

I found out the hard way that's not such an easy way to kill a tree. I had to huge old sweetgums standing side by side out back I wanted gone. I girding them several times before I finally got the job done. From my experience I can tell you a quarter inch is about the same as doing nothing t them. I ended up using my chainsaw and cutting almost 2" into the tree all the way around before finally killing them but that did finally get the job done. You have to get well below the bark layer to kill them effectively.

[Kragman71]

Thanks for the reply,GBO
Would I have to make a wide cut,or just the width of the blade,since the bark has been removed for 2inches?
thanks,again
Frank

[Rustyinfla]

  I'm not sure if it will help you in this situation or not but something I thought of a long time ago made my life easier. The usual procedure is to cut down the tree and then did the stump when clearing new ground.

  I found it easier to dig the stump first. I mean while the tree is still standing grub all around it and cut the roots. Keep going all the way around deeper and deeper until the weight of the tree will finally pull what is left of everything out of the ground as it falls.

[bilmac]

The outer bark called the cambium can be very thick on some trees. This is just a dead outer protective layer. The phloem is the layer of bark that you need to cut to sever the lifeblood of the tree. It isnt anything like the cambium, it is soft and moist. Cut through that layer all way round and the tree will die.

Rusty has a point about removing the tree. If you want the stump out now, cut it low and hire someone with a stump grinder to grind it to below the surface. If you are willing to wait a few years though, you can probably get it done yourself. It is way harder to dig it out by the roots than you think. If you plan on trying, I would cut the tree high so that you will have leverage to pull it sideways. Perhaps the best way if you have the time is to either rot it out, they sell a powder that is probably fungus spoors that will attack the wood. These occur naturally and are probably a waste of money. Another option is to burn the stump out by setting hot wood fires over it. You will probably have to repeat this several times. 

[Kragman71]

Thanks,Folks.
I do know something about removing trees;I've been there and done that,
Maples are easier then most,because their roots are not as deep.
This tree is on the edge of my property,and does'nt have to be remove;just the leaves.
I'll cut another inch deeper,and see what it does.
Frank

[Rustyinfla]

  Another trick I've learned on some old oak tree I had that were way too big to dig the stumps on was to burn them as Bilmac suggested. When burning the stumps I use an old vacuum cleaner that has an exhaust hole on it I can tap into. I run the hose out of the exhaust and put it inside of a 20' pipe that is the right size. Use that pipe like a jet and ytou can burn most of a really large stump in one afternoon.

[Cornbelt]

Sometimes girdled trees don't die right off because there is enough sap in the roots to make it leaf out again. If it has an extensive root system, and takes a few years, the girdled trunk can heal itself if the girdle isn't wide enough. But girdling it makes it die from the roots up, since the nourishment can't go to the roots down through the girdled area. Also prevents it coming back from the roots. Girdling is sometimes done with a butcherknife or hacksaw to make a healable cut when trying to make a tree bear fruit. Since next season's blossom buds start growing shortly after blossom fall, such a girdle can be used to retain sap in the tree for bud development, after which it heals, sending sap to the roots.

[rex6666]

I was told by an old timer that if you go to the welding supply and buy
some brass welding rod 1/4" or bigger cut it to 3-4 inches and make
nails out of them and drive 3-4 in a tree it will kill it in 1 growing season.
my next door neighbors mulberry tree died shortly after he told me this.

[45-70.gov]

when  i want  to  kill  a tree
i  place  the saw  on  one  side
then cut  completely through to the  other side
be  carefull where it falls

works  most all the  time
if  not  burn  trash  on  top of the stump

[SHOOTALL]

Be careful burning stumps as if a root is dry the fire may follow it to something you don't want to burn like a house or building .

[Empty Quiver]

Try making that cut about two inches wide and about 1/2 inch deep. Use a hatchet to peel bark all the way around the trunk. It ain't going to survive that treatment. If it will make you feel better use a paint brush to put Roundup into the wound, or better yet find some Crossbow to do the same with. The saw just isn't wide enough to do the job your tree healed from the wound.

[Hodr]

I know a lady geologist who has an easy tree removal method.  She drives a galvanised pipe pipe under the tree on three sides and waits for a wind storm.  Day before she drops a 1/4 stick of tnt down each pipe on the end of her fuse, pours in sand, and touches them off one at a time.  Tree then falls over in windstorm.  She owns about 180 acres of conifer montain country and it looks like a park.  No ecologists from outside the area know anything but wind damage is thinning the trees.
Never mess with a woman that has a liscense to shoot dynamite. City told her she could'nt trim a messy tree in front of her house  without hiring an over paid tree surgeon because the city had planted it 30 years before.  Next windstorm that tree fell over for some reason.  The city told her she would have to pay for removal.  She showed them thier letter and offered to sue for the hazard they created.  They not only cut up and removed the tree, they stacked it for firewood.
blindhari