Thorn bush questions OT

Re: Thorn bush questions OT

E Phillip Smith

A couple years ago I bought one of the cordless pole trimmers. Think the chain saw on the end is about 9". Has at least 6ft of reach. It's amazing what you can cut with one of these. Should be able to reach under reasonable sized bush and cut off. Normally by the time the battery is done I'm ready to quit. Got mine at Lowes on close out but suspect most are similar.

Re: Thorn bush questions OT

Bill Tindall, E.Tn.

spray with trichlopyr. Trade name was Garlan but now it is off patent it comes under various names. All the farm stores around here have it.

Re: Thorn bush questions OT

Dave Bair

There are cordless electric pruning shears, some on a pole, that can shear 1-1.5" limbs. May be too small for cutting off trunks.

Re: Thorn bush questions OT

walta

Seems to me the pole saw is likely to be in the dirt after every cut. Once the chain touches the dirt it is useless until it is re sharpened.

Would a controlled burn be a possibility?

Bobcat with air conditioned cab?

Walta

My attack scheme

Tom Dunlap

NASTY looking!

I've cleared acres of buckthorn...spit! Sometimes yanking with my front end loader...sometimes, mostly, using a Weed Wrench.

Using a stick saw is a good approach. Don't use a strategy to go for a basal or even low stem cut on the first attack. When I took on buckthorn clearing I did it in layers. First, with chainsaws cutting off the branched parts or limbs if they are large. Maybe just whacking the whole top and leaving a single bare stem. No bending down and little to no physical contact.Having a hook on a 5-6' handle to stay out of thorn range.

YOu could use your stick saw for this too or a quality pole pruner pole saw.

Work on and leave the trunks for now.

If you're going to chain and yank them leave enough wood to choke.

A two person team would work through when its time to cut then poison the stumps. Add dye, you can use generic clothing dye or buy the dye from the ag store for the Garlon or glyphosate treatment. One person would work through with the saw and cut the woody part off and let it tip over. Then other would come right behind and apply the colored [red was my choice] herbicide and chuck/stack the woody cutoffs. Don't get to far apart or a stump will be missed.

We rarely had any re treatments using this system.

What is the diameter of the woody trunk portions of the plants? Single or clump stems?

Re: My attack scheme

Barry Irby

I thought I was going to have fifty or a hundred perhaps the size of your wrist, closer examination it appears there are few that large but hundreds an inch in diameter or smaller. I tried to cut one with lopping shears and gave up. I could have wrestled it had it not been for the thorns.

I don't have a likely sucker to help with this. I'm trying to figure out how to do it on the cheap and by myself. Cut with one hand and drench the stump with the other. Had not thought of the dye. Have used it before but it just did not occur to me this time. I was concerned about leaving low stumps. I like leaving them taller so they don't puncher tires or form a tripping hazard. And it keeps the saw out of the dirt. And easier to find if I need to tie onto them or get a forest mulcher. Next step is to plant it down in pines.

The land is about fifty miles away so I plan to take a battery or two and the cutter and poison. I will dial 91 on my cell so that if things go badly all I have to do is dial 1 and send.

Is fall a good time or should I wait for spring? What is the Wrench you mentioned?

Re: Thorn bush questions OT

William Duffield

I can't really help. My one attempt to remove one did not go well. Even after the tree died and fell over, just cleaning up the sticks and thorns was dangerous. The trunks did make some nice tool handles, but they had some voids that needed to be filled with epoxy. I have another one about 8 ft. tall and 2" girth It's growing where no one can accidentally walk into it. They don't call it "Flying Dragon" for nothing. The fruit is supposed to make excellent mojo criollo, even better than calamondin. I might have enough fruit on it this year to try it.

Good luck.

Re: My attack scheme

Tom Dunlap

Tom Ness in Grant's Pass OR designed the Weed Wrench. Plenty of info via Google. Worth every penny! Get the tallest one available. It keeps you standing up and away from the lethal thorns.

The 'best' time for chemical uptake might be late spring just after the new growth has taken place and is started to harden off. But really the best or worst time is irrelevant. Working with thorny stuff is best done when its cool so you can wear thick 'body armor' type clothing. You'll be wearing chainsaw pants anyway so you've got that protection.

I just had an idea!

Could you go through and cut all of the stuff down, leave stumps or high cuts to keep your saw outof the dirt. Then get a bunch of other brush and burnable debris and torch the whole works during winter burn season? Could you burn the brush pile and maintain control? If there is snow cover it would help of course. Then wait and see what sprouts back in the spring. Get after the new growth with cutting tools and chemicals then. A talk with your DNR and fire department would answer some questions.

Re: Thorn bush questions OT

Barry Irby

Thanks William. When I thought I had a few bigger ones I was scheming to harvest the timber. I may still cut out any pieces big enough if there is any.

The idea of waiting for that stuff to rot is scary. I can imagine the thorns will persist for a very long time.

I may go harvest some fruit to see if I can make anything out of it. One recipe I saw was A barrel of water, a barrel of sugar and one fruit makes a delicious drink.

Re: Thorn bush questions OT

William Duffield

When Mother Nature sends you lemons…

I finally managed mine (only one Poncirus tree) by running over the dried branches multiple times with my lawn tractor (Deere LA120), and raking up the shrapnel with a leaf rake and grain scoop. It is advisable to wear chainsaw chaps if the branches stick up more than a few inches tall. I got lucky and didn't puncture a tractor tire. Also, I locked up my dogs before I started.

bitter orange

John K Jordan

Perhaps rent an small excavator for a day. Last week I dug up some on my property when adding new access to one area. Dug them up by the roots. I'd do it in the fall or winter and treat any sprouts that might come up the next year or so.

I actually prefer to dig up and move the plants. They make a wonderful hedge on boundaries that is impenetrable to people and many animals. Also called Bitter Orange, the fruit can be used for a variety of things such as marmalade and potporri. However, since it is an invasive species eradicating it might be best.

You can ask at a farm store about which herbicide will work the best. Some herbicides like 2-4-d and it's more powerful cousins will kill only broad-leaf plants and not grass. Some, like Garlon will kill anything even moderate sized trees. Be careful with the wide-spectrum herbicides since since over-spray and runoff can kill more than you want and leave a large barren spot on the ground for 1/2 a year or more.

JKJ

Re: Thorn bush questions OT

John McGaw

I have a pole pruner made by Ryobi. The power end crapped out in pretty short order but I was able to modify the pole end a bit to fit onto my Stihl strimmer. The pole length plus the strimmer length gives it quite a reach. This pruner has a reciprocating blade equipped with really nasty teeth -- kind of like an old-school whip saw. I've never had a problem with the blade dulling even though I do have a couple of spares.

Then again, there are still conventional manual pole saws available...

Re:When to spray

H Bruce McCrory

"Is fall a good time or should I wait for spring?"

I don't know your favorite monster but we have our share of critters. The directions may indicate best time for your weed. However, most on the Left Coast paint the stumps in fall or spray the canopy then to get the poison into the roots when the plant is sending sugars down for storage. I presume your plant sends out roots in winter.

We have blackberry picking parties and then spray Himalayan Blackberry just about the time the leaves start turning color. Mass plantings are mowed and painted, if beyond a sprayer's coverage.

Re:When to spray

John K Jordan

Depends on the spray. Ask at the farm store and read the instructions. However the instructions are so complete they can be very difficult to comprehend.

Some herbicides are emergent, work best on young plants in the spring. Some work when it's cooler, some warmer. 2,4-d for example has two versions: ester and amine - the general mneomic is use ester before Easter and amine after Easter, at least in this part of the country. Hotter or cooler weather then typical changes things. But again, ask the experts.

I've used various herbicides for many years and I still always ask. I tell them what I want to kill and they tell me what to use and when. They will even figure the mixtures for various application methods.

JKJ