Cut Stump Herbicide Treatment

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- A cut stump herbicide treatment is an effective method to control woody plants.

For this treatment, a systemic herbicide is applied directly to the stump to prevent the stump from resprouting from the remaining plant tissue.

Two common active ingredients used for cut stump applications are glyphosate and triclopyr.

Glyphosate is water soluble, while triclopyr comes in water-soluble and oil-soluble formulations.

Herbicides should be mixed according to label directions and applied to the cut surface using a backpack sprayer, pump-up spray bottle, or trigger sprayer.

When using a water-soluble herbicide to treat large-diameter stumps which are four inches or larger, treat the living tissue immediately after cutting.

This living tissue, also known as sapwood, is the outer area of lighter colored wood adjacent to the bark that transports water and minerals.

Concentrating the herbicide on the area adjacent to the bark ensures translocation or movement down to the roots.

When using an oil-soluble herbicide, the treatment can be applied anytime following cutting and before resprouting occurs.

These herbicides are mixed with basal oil, and the mixture is applied to the sapwood and the sides of the stump down to the root collar.

The stump should be thoroughly wet, but not to the point that the herbicide solution runs off.

For smaller-diameter trees, shrubs, and vines that are less than four inches, cut stems close to the soil line, and treat every exposed face.

The same herbicide mixing procedures used for larger-diameter stumps apply in this situation, but the entire surface of small stumps are treated, not just the sapwood.

Timing of cut stump treatments is important.

Treatments in late summer and fall are preferred.

At this time of year, woody plants transport carbohydrate reserves underground.

Herbicides applied at this time are also moved downward to roots during this process of translocation, enhancing the effectiveness of the application.

Cut stump treatments should not be applied in spring when upward sap flow renders them ineffective.

Cut stump treatments are especially useful to control beech sprouts.

When applied to parent beech trees in late summer, the herbicide moves through the parent tree's root system to control numerous connected beech suckers.

In areas where beech suckers interfere with the establishment of desirable regeneration, stump treatments are an effective way to eliminate plant competition and low shade.

One tree for which cut stump applications are not effective is the invasive tree of heaven.

Despite underground connectivity to sprouts, similar to what we see with beech brush, cut stump treatments have been shown to be a poor method of control for tree of heaven.

Unlike when beech stumps are treated, treating tree of heaven stumps allows for little to no translocation of herbicide to roots.

Cut stump treatments control the stump, but not the roots, and the tree will resprout prolifically.

Basal bark or hack-and-squirt herbicide applications are better suited to maximize translocation to the roots when controlling tree of heaven.

However, cut stump treatments are an effective method of control for many other woody invasive plants, such as honeysuckle and autumn olive.

Cut stump treatments can make herbicide application more manageable on large invasive patches by providing smaller targets in comparison to applications on foliage.

Large areas of invasive shrubs can be efficiently cut with mowers and followed up with herbicide treatments to the stumps.

Cut stump treatments are also useful for managing invasive vines, such as Oriental bittersweet, which climb into the canopy and can be difficult to reach with foliar applications.

To ensure proper control of woody plants after cut stump treatments, monitor stumps for sign of resprouts after initial treatment, and retreat as necessary.

Initial treatments may reduce root systems substantially, but not entirely.

With any type of removal and herbicide treatment, it is important to be persistent to ensure complete control.