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sassafras tree question

Started by etat, July 29, 2004, 11:11:52 PM

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etat

Out in front of my house I've got a couple of sassafras trees.  These trees have barbwire, cattle wire, and dog wire growing in them.  There are lots of dead limbs up in the trees and almost no bark up until about head high.  The bare part of the trunks is starting to crack and look really bad. About every year I've seen sprouts come out around these trees, one of them has a small sprout growing now.  Up til now animals have kept em pruned to the ground.

Would it be possible or plausable to let a sprout or sprouts grow and cut the main tree off next to the ground.  Would these possible grow back into a tree.  Would the original stump cause problems, or future problems if this is possible.  Would I be better off to completely remove and start over.  I'd like to salvage something if possible because my grandfather planted these trees, some of the very few trees he ever planted and let grow.
Old Age and Treachery will outperform Youth and Inexperence. The thing is, getting older is starting to be painful.

Phorester


Yep, you can choose a sprout, cut the rest down, and let it grow.  The stump will be a problem as it rots and the rot might progress up into the sprout over the next few decades. Choose a sprout as low on the stump as possible.  Sprouts a few inches off the ground will be more suceptible to rot as the original stump rots.

You need to keep livestock away from it, however.  Also no nailing anything to it, as you probably already know.

Sassafras is a shortlived tree too.  The stump may eventually give out before the new sprout gets very big.  In fact one reason you might be seeing the dead branches is that it could be dying now.

But try it.  I think this tree will be better off in 10 years than if you leave it as it is now.

etat

Thanks, that's sorta what I suspected.  The sprouts usually appear anywhere from about an inch to about 3 or 4 inches from the base of the tree at ground level.  If these sprouts come out hopefully again this spring would it be better to let several of them grow a while and then cut back to the best one?  Would it be benificial to treat the stumps in any way after cutting the trees.  Would it be better to cut now, or wait to spring?
Old Age and Treachery will outperform Youth and Inexperence. The thing is, getting older is starting to be painful.

Phorester


My personal experience with my forester background is to do it this way:  Cut the trees down right now as close as possible to the ground, in order to create a low stump.  Let'em sprout back and grow.  This time next summer, choose the sprout that is a combination of the largest diameter, the tallest, and lowest to the ground. This is called the "dominant" sprout. You need to wait at least this long so you can determine which sprout is dominant. Leave this one and cut down all the rest.  

Don't treat the original stump or the sprout stumps with anything.  I wouldn't even recommend fertilizing, since it's easy to overdo it with trees.  Remember you've got a great big root system (from the original tree) pushing up a tiny little sprout.  It ought to grow like crazy. Some of the sprouts might resprout.  Keep cutting them down, leaving the dominant sprout as the new tree.

We did this to four 12 inch stump-diameter ash trees at our office whose tops were dying.  Worked great.  We left one 1/2 inch diameter sprout on each stump. 3 years later, they are now  2-3 inch diameter trees, perfectly straight, growing out of each stump.

If your sassafras stumps still have some life left in them, it will work.


etat

Thanks, that's exactly what I'll do.  
  




As you can see I don't have nothing to loose in the long run.  I will cut them this weekend and box around them.  So far we've had a wet year but I'm thinking if it turns off real dry I should water them ocassionally?  The bare ground is where I did some grading. This is the only sprout left so far this year.  It had a piece of wire and the cows didn't eat it.  But I'm sure they'll put back out.  (hopefully).  .
Old Age and Treachery will outperform Youth and Inexperence. The thing is, getting older is starting to be painful.

Phorester


One more recommendation: Since tree roots spread out underground farther than the branches spread above ground, you need to protect all the ground area which is underneath the branches of the original trees.

That means boxing out the stump all the way out to where the branches spread.  A bare minimum would be to box out half this distance. Not just the 2 or 3 feet around the stump. The key is to remember you have to protect the roots, not just the stump itself, and the roots go out a long ways from the stump.

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