Herbicide, copper wire may help thwart budding tree of heaven

Q: After many years, my neighbor finally got rid of their two large trees of heaven. Now that they’re gone, I’m noticing sprouts coming up on my side of the wall that I’ve never seen before. I want to stop these for good. What’s the best way to deal with this invasion? — C.S., Albuquerque

A: Back in May of this year, I answered nearly the same question. I suggested doing what I do, which is dig, up-root and cut out the offenders, painting the cut end of any root that won’t budge with a glyphosate-based herbicide. I also think you could drench the sprouts with the glyphosate-based herbicide.

I’ve done that in the past, having achieved pretty satisfactory results. I do come off label a bit, so forgive me. I pour the herbicide into a bowl. Then wearing stout rubber gloves I get a rag, soaking it with the herbicide. Then, still wearing the gloves and being very purposeful, I wrap the rag around the sprout at the base and pull it upwards until the whole sprout is drenched with the herbicide. I’ve even hammered a few holes into the root if it’s too thick for me to dig out, and slowly filled those holes with the glyphosate. You do need to be very thoughtful if you’re going to hunt the sprouts either of these ways because remember, this herbicide will maim or kill any plant life it’s applied on. Accidentally or not.

I did ask if anybody had any other means of hunting these pesky trees and got a reply from M.M. in Albuquerque. His suggestion is “cut pieces of hard copper wire into sections and drill holes into the tree trunk or roots and insert the wire into the drilled holes. It takes time to work, but it works with great success.”

I can visualize the drilled hole being not much wider than the copper wire, so it becomes a snug fit so to speak. I am giving this recommendation a try here at my home with a root that is just too big for me to fight with. I had some leftover copper tubing that I’ve cut into pieces and instead of drilling I used a ten penny nail and a hammer to make the holes. So far so good, and I’ll see how successful the copper and I are. Here’s hoping!

Q: I have several houseplants that I haven’t repotted yet this year. If I do it now, will they be okay, I mean still have time to settle in before the autumn months and lessening of the daylight? — S.M., Albuquerque

A: Being that it is mid-July, I think you have plenty of time to go ahead and complete this project. With a couple of caveats, though.

First, invest in a really good potting soil. Notice, I did not use the term garden soil or topsoil. Either of those products are meant to be used in an outdoors application. Purchase potting soil.

If you are going to do this project outside, like on a patio table, be sure to get it done either early in the day or well after the heat of the day has passed. To take an indoor living plant and have it sit outside for an extended period of time, especially with the temperatures we’ve been having, might cause a lot of extra stress to your indoor dwellers. Not only that, but if left outdoors too long, insects could become very curious, inviting a new host of troubles.

I will suggest that you give the containers a good washing while they are empty, too. Washing them with soapy water will go really far to help keep your indoor plants healthier.

When you are repotting the plants, aim to keep them at the same level they were before the repotting. Planting deeper is usually not a good thing. Once potted, offer a deep drink and monitor how the plant is dealing with the changes. All should be good, especially if you have the time now, to get this project done.

Happy Diggin’ In!

Tracey Fitzgibbon is a certified nurseryman. Send garden-related questions to Digging In, Albuquerque Journal, 7777 Jefferson St. NE, Albuquerque, N.M. 87109, or to features@abqjournal.com.