Invading Sycamore

[nellie923]

I have a sycamore growing on the same root ball ad my oakleaf hydrangea. Several experts have suggested I simply cut it out, but I'm not sure how to do that without harming the hydrangea. The sycamore trunk is about 2.5" in diameter. If I cut it down, would the sycamore simply grow from the stump? Thanks for any advice.

 

[Meadowlark]

If it were mine, I would cut it as deeply as I could while trying to minimize root disturbance to the Hydrangea.

According to my AI, a 2.5‑inch sycamore (American sycamore, Platanus occidentalis) is unlikely to resprout after being cut.

But it does say "unlikely" . If it does come back, cut it again as soon as possible.

I have a few sycamore trees around here and have had the occasion to remove one because it was in the way. It was a fairly mature tree, but it did not resprout.

Seems to me you really don't have much choice if you want to save the Hydrangea.

I would use a limb lopper to get down to the very lowest spot to cut it....such as this one.

 

[Sheal]

I've had a Sycamore re-shoot from the stump. I would suggest cutting the stem down to about nine inches. Then using a drill with a large bit, drill down into what remains about two to three inches then fill with something that will kill it. Cover the stump with a plastic bag or similar which will protect the Hydrangea and any wildlife. It's a slow process but will work.

 

[Martin Mikulcik]

If it sprouts back, just recut it.

Or do what sheal says if you're hardcore like that. I recommend urea for stump filling

 

[roadrunner]

Just keep cutting down any shoots that sprout and eventually the root will die, which will provide nutrients to the soil.

 

[dirty hands]

Any reason not to dig it out and separate them? Cut the tree down to a foot or two to make it easier.

You could divide the hydrangea then too. Clean the hole out and add some fresh compost.

 

[cpp gardener]

Cut and paint with glyphosate. If you don’t get it on the Hydrangea leaves it won’t hurt it.

 

[Oliver Buckle]

Cut and paint with glyphosate. If you don’t get it on the Hydrangea leaves it won’t hurt it.

I would have said that a while ago, but seems recently they have decided glyphosate is not as safe as we were first told. Trees can't survive without leaves, if it comes back and you take it off consistently it will die. The other possible is to take some cuttings off the hydrangea as insurance, then, when you are sure a cutting has struck, dig them up and separate them.

 

[dirty hands]

I find hydrangeas to be pretty hardy. Ive dug mine out several times to move them. In the process I clean off any weeds or in my case redbuds growing in them. I divide them to make them all even when I replant.

I dug out a very large hydrangea for my neighbor and got maybe 20 plants growing from it. Some are small just single branches with very little root but they all grew. A couple were pretty good size still. I did it in the middle of summer too.
I now have 3 types of hydrangea and they all seem very hardy.

It just looks so much better faster to dig them up clean the roots up and remove weeds imo. But my shovel is my favorite tool too.

 

[nellie923]

My loppers are not big enough for this sycamore trunk. I have a reciprocating saw. Would that work? I would prefer to keep cutting rather than use any chemical agents.

 

[Martin Mikulcik]

My loppers are not big enough for this sycamore trunk. I have a reciprocating saw. Would that work? I would prefer to keep cutting rather than use any chemical agents.

Yes, just be careful

 

[Oliver Buckle]

If you get up on a high spot and look across suburban London you realise without humans it would be a sycamore forest in a few years. Those trees with the helicopter seeds, like sycamore, hornbeam and ash are the initial colonisers and grow in just about any odd corner.

 

[Meadowlark]

... Those trees with the helicopter seeds, like sycamore, hornbeam and ash are the initial colonisers and grow in just about any odd corner.

That would be a different variety tree than the sycamore we have here.

The American Sycamore (Platanus occidentalis) is a large long-lived tree that can reach heights exceeding 175 ft.

It has small round seeds balls that shortly after dropping disintegrate into individual seeds that can travel with the wind.

Very low germination as I've never seen one sprout in my yard which has had sycamores for more than 1/2 century.

I can detect the distinctive smell that the tree has when walking through the woods...usually it is close to a creek bank.

The leaf and seeds after breaking apart from the seed ball...

 

[Oliver Buckle]

Those common names !! Ours is Acer Psuedoplatanus, I say 'ours', it's not native but it has been here a long time. We actually only have about 35 native trees (I don't think anyone is certain for sure) but there are around 350 species that now grow wild here, having been introduced since the Romans, and maybe a bit before. Someone sees a useful tree, of course they take some seeds with them. We only have three native conifers, juniper, yew, and Scots pine.

 

[Meadowlark]

...We actually only have about 35 native trees (I don't think anyone is certain for sure) ...

According to the Handbook of Texas, the state is home to between 255 and 281 species of native trees.

I hope to see and recognize each one someday. Countless numbers of non-native trees now present.