What is the purpose of girdling a tree?

[uturn]

Jim - You asked a great question but haven't weighed in on subject. Must be doing a lot of thinkin' on this one.

I shared some pics with uturn via pm showing some of the trees I treated with hack n squirt method. Though I'd share em with the larger group.

I treated this section of hardwoods in Jan 2019. Took the pics below in April 2020, just as leaf out was occurring. These are some of larger trees I treated.

Pic below shows an oak that was crowding a larger oak that I wanted to release.View attachment 1208663

Close up of the hacks I made when I treated the previous winter.
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You can see the green up of the larger oak and the treated oak is standing dead. Treated Jan 2019. Pic taken April 2020.
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A larger elm I killed. The smaller elm beside it had already fallen.
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Larger sweegum I treated. You can see trekking pole beside trunk for reference.
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Sweetgum was crowding crown of preferred oak. You can see it's completely dead.
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I treated over 100 trees in this hardwood draw. Most were sapling size and over the course of 15 months, began to deteriorate/fall.
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Over the years, I've felled plenty with a chainsaw, hinge-cut back when it was the rage (not a fan of hinge-cutting anymore), and girdled a few. Always had trees hanging up when felling with a saw. Pushing 67, I prefer hack n squirt rather than running a saw, particularly when I'm working by myself.

Thanks again Trip!

 

[longrangedog]

How is that better than simply cutting the tree down?

Thoughts?

Falling trees damage other trees that they hit on the way down and there's a pretty good chance that the living roots of the cut down tree will send up new growth. When you hack and squirt you avoid both issues while still opening up the forest floor to more sunlight. Hacked and squirted trees don't produce leaves. You can hack and squirt a lot faster than you can cut them down.

 

[across the river]

Boys - I've treated two sections of mature hardwoods and did both in late Jan and very early Feb. Some where quite large, all the way down to sapling size. I swear I got 100% kill on em. May be the same for summer or after leaf-out, but I'll stick to dormant based on personal experience.

Plus, I'd rather be doing TSI during winter than warmer months. With that said...I'd take Craig Harper's advice over mine any time. I try and catch him on any podcast he is on. I don't recall if he recommends dormant or growing season for hack n squirt.

The only time it might not really work as well is in the spring when the tree will really sap up when you hack them, and that is just a function of the sap potentially pushing the herbicide out of the slit if it saps up bad. Some types of trees are worse than others. It can still work in the spring, there is just a greater chance of it not working.

 

[Milkman]

Here’s a pic from today of a large sweetgum I did a “drill and fill” with full strength 41% glysophate in early March. It had already started to bud out. You can tell part of it is dead now and I suspect the remaining limbs will die soon. Some smaller trees I did the same day are fully dead.

 

[Jim Boyd]

Here’s a pic from today of a large sweetgum I did a “drill and fill” with full strength 41% glysophate in early March. It had already started to bud out. You can tell part of it is dead now and I suspect the remaining limbs will die soon. Some smaller trees I did the same day are fully dead.

View attachment 1221247

Nice!

I will need to try this.

 

[fireman32]

How is that better than simply cutting the tree down?

Thoughts?

A pic to show the efforts of girdling and hack and squirt along with prescribed fire. This is the second year since I burnt some of my place. You can tell between the two pics how much more understory there is after thinning the trees.

 

[Jim Boyd]

A pic to show the efforts of girdling and hack and squirt along with prescribed fire. This is the second year since I burnt some of my place. You can tell between the two pics how much more understory there is after thinning the trees.View attachment 1224154View attachment 1224155

Looks great!

 

[menhadenman]

Here’s a pic from today of a large sweetgum I did a “drill and fill” with full strength 41% glysophate in early March. It had already started to bud out. You can tell part of it is dead now and I suspect the remaining limbs will die soon. Some smaller trees I did the same day are fully dead.

View attachment 1221247

I just tried the drill and fill on about 10 white pines after reading this thread. These are at about 2200’ elevation in western NC (clay co). Anxious to see how it plays out. Those pines are like weeds!

 

[Milkman]

Here’s a pic from today of a large sweetgum I did a “drill and fill” with full strength 41% glysophate in early March. It had already started to bud out. You can tell part of it is dead now and I suspect the remaining limbs will die soon. Some smaller trees I did the same day are fully dead.

View attachment 1221247

Below is a pic from today of the large sweetgum in the picture above. It’s one month later than the pic above. Only one limb is still holding leaves.

 

[Jim Boyd]

Below is a pic from today of the large sweetgum in the picture above. It’s one month later than the pic above. Only one limb is still holding leaves.

View attachment 1227388

I do beleive you have knocked that one OUT.

Great work.

Nice green field also!