Sheer genius! What else is there to say.

We all have our weed trees - what a great workable solution particularly when growing so close to a 'wanted' plant. Bravo.

@foraygardengirl

How did you do it? With just a long-handled tree pruner (loper?!) and how did you girdle the tree trunk with that?

Thanks!

Marilyn, I used a lopper type pruner, put it around the trunk without closing it all the way, and moved it up and down til the bark was scraped off and it had dug into the trunk a bit. Then I changed the angle and repeated until I had scraped all the way around. I did this in two places just to be sure I got it good.
After I had written this article I found another buckthorn in my lilac along the alley. For that one I used a sharp gardening knife to do the same since it was not on a hill and I could reach the trunk easily.
Does that answer your question adequately?

Thanks for this great tip Jeanie! I have a terrible problem with Hackberry trees sprouting all over the place. If they are over 6" tall, they've already got big, woody roots growing deep in the soil and are really tough to dig out sometimes. I find them growing next to the trunks of ornamentals like you described and will certainly be trying this trick!

This is really a great idea. Nicely done, Jeannie.

Here we get Brazilian Pepper and Carrotwood, both nasty invasive trees. Those trees that produce fruit or berries or nuts that the birds feed on really do pop up in the worst spots. Probably the result of the birds 'dropping' undigested seeds inside the shrubbery.

Thank you ... I hope it works for you. I just now noticed there are a couple of buckthorn leaves at the bottom of one stump that is in my lilacs, but I will restrip and hopefully that will finish the job. I suppose it may take a couple rounds at times, but we all know that rabbits are pretty good at this, so I feel certain it will eventually work.

Thanks for sharing your great idea! I don't have buckthorn but around here the squirrels often plant black walnuts which can have deep roots if you don't notice one to pull while they are very small. I will keep this in mind if I find one that is growing in the middle of something.

This can be done to any size tree. When my ancestors were clearing land they would 'ring the trees' with huge cross cut saws. The thing to remember is not only cut all the way through the bark but on some trees you will have to make an inch wide cut, often accomplished with a nice little hatchet otherwise the tree will push sap into the cut and 'heal' itself. The best time for doing this is when the sap is down. If you do it when the tree is green the leaves will brown and look very ugly in a garden until bad weather pulls them off. After the tree dies it will be easier to cut. You will still have a living stump so you will have to cut any new growth before it can become a second tree.

Great info. I had no idea you could do this to a big tree!

foraygardengirl said:Marilyn, I used a lopper type pruner, put it around the trunk without closing it all the way, and moved it up and down til the bark was scraped off and it had dug into the trunk a bit. Then I changed the angle and repeated until I had scraped all the way around. I did this in two places just to be sure I got it good.
After I had written this article I found another buckthorn in my lilac along the alley. For that one I used a sharp gardening knife to do the same since it was not on a hill and I could reach the trunk easily.
Does that answer your question adequately?

Yes, thanks Jeanie!

I'll have to keep your tip in mind here!

The squirrels "plant" black walnuts here among other nuts that grow into seedlings in our yard and gardens. Wonder if I'd could try in on the pokeberry plants that grow here as a result of a bird dropping.

How long of a time frame did you say it would take effect after doing it?

I did it last fall, and watched for growth in the spring.
I have black walnut trees and find the nuts everywhere, but I see more buckthorn and maple trees than walnut trees.

I'll have to try and remember this fall to do it.

So fall is the best time - you still have to cut down the tree though, and you have a live stump left, right? I have some weed trees that I just keep cutting back, and the trunks keep getting bigger and bigger.

I did NOT cut the tree in the fall, only did the girdling. I wanted to watch it in the spring to make sure it was not growing. I actually still haven't cut it just to make sure. One that I girdled idoes have some leaves at the base so I will girdle it again a little deeper this fall.

Will this kill the ones that re-sprout from the bottom? Like cottonwoods and willows?

Sorry, I don't know for sure, as I have not tried it on those types of trees. If it were me, I would sure give it a shot. I think any tree will resprout if it can.

Amazing what we can learn from rabbits. My ancestors also had experience with girdled trees. Apparently, back in the 1700s huge stands of virgin trees were cleared by girdling in an effort to clear road ways. There is a story that my French ancestors in upper New York State attempted to move west by wagon train. They entered an roadway that had been cut through girdled trees, that began falling on the wagons in the train. One of my ancestors had to scout out the area beyond the girdled trees to find a safe route through the girdled forest. Lesson. Large girdled trees can be dangerous. Thanks for the post. Girdling is an old technique that is still relevant today.

Interesting. I had no idea this technique had been used so extensively. Thanks, hazelnut!