OutdoorKing Repair Forum Forums General Discussion Forum Lawn Care & Maintenance Tree Removal - Crepe Myrtle

Hi All

Advice needed.

Daughter had a tree lopper come & cut down & stump grind an old 10metre Crepe Myrtle tree in her backyard.
They stumpground down to about 20cm below ground level.
Instructions were to also poison the stump to ensure no regrowth.

Alas, 3 months later a dozen "pups" started to show through the lawn, anywhere up to 10 metres from the stump.

Over the past 6 months, I have tried several applications of "Treason" to the pups as they arise, but it seems this just spurs more to reappear elsewhere in the lawn. So far we have had around 30 pups.

Any advice to finish off the job ?

Hi SAB,
I guess it depends on the lawn, but if it were me I would go around with a mattock and grub any of the shoots that pop up. I may take a while, maybe 12 months but if you stop it from poking its head up it will give up

Hi SAB

Not familiar with the 'Treason' weedkiller, but have personally had good luck with plain old Yates zero mixed 10:1 with dish soap (a surfacent) carefully paint brushed onto a few of the suckers.

Had really good results with that one.

Other one I have used is Yates tree and blackberry killer, fairly good result

When used properly and carefully, you can't beat glypho

Here Glyphosate is a grass killer and you need to use a broad leaf killer such 2,4-D (Dimethylamine Salt of 2,4-Dichlorophenoxyacetic Acid). It should have been applied at the stump when the Crepe Myrtle was first cut so it would got absorbed by the root system. Or better yet injected into the plant a few weeks before cutting it down.

As with all chemicals you got the read and follow the directions and even be extra careful with the application as to not affect nearby plants or have runoff problems.

Whatever you do don't use the ester version of the 2,4-D as has a low vaporization point and will hang low to ground and destroy desirable plants. Here it can't be use above 75F without causing problems. The salt version is more stable but still should be use below 80F if openly sprayed just as a precaution.

Agree - Glypho is so widely used that folks often misuse it - and a significant part of it's methodology to kill the plant relies on the plant continuing to grow (IIRC) - I think it makes it's roots burst or similar. So applying after all foliage cut (as folks often do) can still work but is less than ideal.

That Treeson looks like if used properly it should have done the job: https://specialistsales.com.au/shop...re-treeson-herbicide-triclopyr-picloram/

Is similar to the Yates Tree + Blackberry Killer.

You could either just ignore them, low and the grass will outcompete the myrtle eventually. Or break by bending each pup when it comes up and apply a little herbicide to each one, giving a few days before you mow - eventually again it should kill the underground remnants.

With patience I'm sure it'll go soon enough, can just take a lil while with tricky ones like Crepe Myrtles.

I had exactly the same thing happen at my place- arborist cut down and ground off a crepe myrtle, weeks later shoots appear all around it.
He then advised to buy about 4 kg of plain cooking salt and apply it to the area where original stump was.
Now, 12 months later, no more growth, and there has been none since the salt application.