Sweet Gum

[Junior]

Hello. I live in Louisiana and I would like to kill some sweet gum trees. I cut them down and the sprout back. Is there some posion I can get to kill them? thanks

[Dennis]

Hello. I live in Louisiana and I would like to kill some sweet gum trees. I cut them down and the sprout back. Is there some posion I can get to kill them? thanks

Any good brush killer should work on the sprouts and eventually kill the roots. You may have to mix some and pour it directly on the stump to finish them off completely (follow manufactures directions!) I had good success with Ortho brush killer.

Dennis

[beaconlight]

I have peeled back the bark and used a little diesel. make axe cuts in the bark such that it leaves a little pocket into which you put weed and brush killer before you cut them down works too. You can do the same around the stump too if it not at ground level.

[Eugene]

I use Round-up and Ortho Brush Killer on the sprouts. Spray them good. Wait two weeks then cut them back to ground level. It may take two years of killing the sprouts to kill the roots.

I put a steel fence post next to each stump - so I can find the stump when the grass is up. Helps when spraying and mowing.

Previously I had been cutting the tree off at ground level. Son convinced me to cut the tree off leaving a 4' tall stump. Helps greatly locating the stump and provides leverage after the roots rot off a bit.

Eugene

[Camo Cub]

I use Round-up and Ortho Brush Killer on the sprouts...

Also, I've heard that "Reward" is a good option, too. It's normally sold to comercial busniesses. just be careful, it tends to kill anything it touches.

Make sure it's legal in your state.

[spiveyman]

Make sure it's legal in your state.

wow - sounds like some nasty stuff lol I've also seen good results with the axe and diesel/ other fuels like beaconlight said.

[John68]

Great Grampa had a small apple orchard. He used to say that from August to March, the tree feeds the roots and from March to August, the roots feed the tree. So, if you cut down the tree on the first of August, there is nothing to feed the roots for the winter, and the roots will die. Likewise, if you want to eliminate lots of growth from a tree without killing it, cut it on the first of March, and the roots will feed it and it will stay alive.

I am not entirely sure how accurate that is, but I can tell you we have a pearapple tree he grew, and every year we get pears and apples from it. Anyone who can figure out how to do that must be purdy smart.

[John *.?-!.* cub owner]

When I was younger, we cleaned a lot of brush off neglected fields on the farm we bought in the 60s. We had one person cutting the brush with a circular saw on wheels, and another coming behind him with full strength brush killer in a can he applied to the stumps with a brush. We did find that if the brush killer was applied within the first minute we got about a 95% or better kill rate, if it went as late as 5 minutes before being applied it dropped to around 60%.

[john2189]

sweet gum trees ? I have one in my yard and they are a pretty tree, I love the fall colors as they change.

[Pete1941]

Makes some mighty good chewing gum as well!!!

[john2189]

Makes some mighty good chewing gum as well!!!

Chewing Gum ? how do you make it ?

[Pete1941]

Good morning John,

When we were kids, we would take a knife and cut a V-groove in either sweet gum or black gum trees, black gum is actually the best, and let the sap run out which would be real gummy. Every day or so we would go by and collect our chewing gum. Roll it into a ball and chew it. It doesn't hold together like regular chewing gum for long, but it had a wonderful flavor. I suppose that tradition stopped years ago, because of pollution etc. But back then we didn't worry about stuff like that and we also made snow ice cream, which I'm sure no one would do now because we have polluted Mother Earth so much. These were the GOOD OLD DAYS!! Pete

[Billy Fussell]

I have tried sweet gum in the past. Found out not to try to chew it when it first bleeds out. It will stick to your teeth, and a dozen biscuts won't wear it off!! Mother said that when she was a kid, they put streach berries in it and you could blow a tiny bubble. She could never really describe to me what exactly a streach berry was or looked like. Said it grew on a bush and was about the size of a buckshot. I never found any.

[George Willer]

She could never really describe to me what exactly a streach berry was or looked like. Said it grew on a bush and was about the size of a buckshot. I never found any.

Elderberry?

[Billy Fussell]

It could have been, George. I just don't know. I mentioned huckleberry to her, but she said she knew what huckleberries were and that wasn't it.