[hubballi]

I am a bit concerned as there is a small sycamore tree sprouting from just under the front foundations of the house. It looks easy enough to pull up by hand but I can't shift it.

Any way I can kill this ?

[mumofstig]

cut it back as far as poss and glyphosate any new growth as it occurs.

[Trillium]

We had a similar problem but no glyphosate on hand, so we dug around the tree base, cut it away as deeply as possible, then dropped some mortar mix over the cut top. Stopped the tree dead.

[sunshineband]

Either way hubbali --- do it tomorrow!

[hubballi]

GQT said not to use Glyphosate until spring when growth starts again.

[Trillium]

I'll bet GQT said nothing about using mortar until spring.

[Growster...]

I've got a theory about sycamores, which clearly won't work here, as Hubbali's will have half a ton of readymix on it soon...

If you grow seedlings of sycamore, they actually develop very uniformly. I'd like to waste several years seeing if I could form a hedge from them, with a uniform height and all the leaves and branches pointing in exactly the same direction!

Why not?

[mumofstig]

GQT said not to use Glyphosate until spring when growth starts again.

Nobody has suggested you use it now. Sunshineband just wanted you to cut it back immediately - the longer you leave it the stronger it gets!

If you chop all the top off now - there is no chance it will start to regrow before spring 

[sunshineband]

GQT said not to use Glyphosate until spring when growth starts again.

Nobody has suggested you use it now. Sunshineband just wanted you to cut it back immediately - the longer you leave it the stronger it gets!

If you chop all the top off now - there is no chance it will start to regrow before spring 

So true...... 

So have you done it hubbali?

[compostqueen]

I have a sycamore hedge and to be honest it's a darned nuisance. Sycamore must be the hardest wood in Britain!  If you cut it down it sprouts madly from the base, so the root needs killing off.  This is not nearly as easy as it sounds as the tree wants to live, live I tell you 

I had a sycamore growing between my two greenhouses, forcing the frames apart and distorting them. No amount of hacking and chopping, drilling, glyphosing, making a fire in it, has failed to stop it growing.  The last thing we put on it was diesel. We await the results with interest, but last time I looked it had new shoots   

Act fast Hub I implore you 

[hubballi]

I will as it could crack the mortar between some of my bricks if left to grow but as the above poster says, nothing seems to work 

[mumofstig]

I told you what killed mine - so how about trying it on yours before you decide it won't work ?

[AlaninCarlisle]

I killed a couple of stubborn saplings by cutting them off at their base then drilling holes in them and dripping some creosote into the holes. I believe diesel works just as well

[compostqueen]

If it's only a little itsy bitsy sapling at the moment Hub then it won't take much effort to tackle it. It's not as if it's a major problem yet. It will be if you do nothing!

You seem keen to throw in the towel

[sunshineband]

I will as it could crack the mortar between some of my bricks if left to grow but as the above poster says, nothing seems to work 

Yes it does!!!!!

A bow saw

So get out there and do it before it grows any bigger