HAVE: 5 tons of Laurel shrub

I've got 5 tons of Laurel shrub to give away. Transportation is your problem.

And, no, this isn't Laurus Nobilis. It's just plain-old-common-nasty-overgrown-take-over-your-entire-farm East Tennessee flavour Laurel.

Dave

Sounds like the Sumac of our region ....I hack away at it all of the time ...then of course there is the constant battle with the strangling of wild grape vines .

Chooch,
Wild grapes are awesome! The wild life love them. I have been wanting to getting a bunch of hardwood cutting to start my own. The only place I know where there are any is 1.5 or so miles back inthe woods. The road they are off of is a seasonal (not snow plowed) road. My gardening desires can't talk my body in to a 3 mile walk through 2 feet of snow for some stupid pieces of vine. Hey I just realized that my gardening isn't getting totally outta control. :)

Sari : Well then , when the snow melts take your pruners out and snip away at those invasive wild grape vines ....they are easy to root anywhere / anytime.

I've got plenty of the wild grapes growing here, too. I cut down several that were baseball bat sized at the trunk.

While we're talking about invasive species in the woods, here's another story:

When we bought this farm, we found a tree that might have once been a magnificent magnolia, but was overgrown with honeysuckle and other trees.

Picture this: The magnolia was spread out about 50' wide and 30' tall. There were 2 mature dogwoods growing within the magnolia (you couldn't see the tree until you stepped inside the magnolia's branches).

There were also several mature tulip poplars, lots of wild rose, plenty of cedars, and a variety of other unknown-to-me trees.

The place was an absolute mess. I spent 4 hours with the chainsaw, and now the magnolia is becautiful and has his place all to himself.

Oh, the point of this story was the honeysuckle. I had to use a chainsaw to cut the honeysuckle down. Some of the honeysuckle trunks were as thick as my arm - I still have the remains and can take pictures.

Dave

I agree on the honeysuckle , Dave ; it is one undesirable foe that I must utilize chemical control on . Mother Nature's beauty was hidden and suppressed by another undesirable . Good work !!

Yeah, I'm sure that the honeysuckle roots are alive and well under the tree, and I'm going to be watching it this spring for any new growth.

I hate to do it, but I won't hesitate to our chemicals on the sprouts as soon as I see them.

I also have other areas where I had to get rid of honeysuckle - around my lilacs and in areas full of laurel that I've already cleared.

Get this: I have a couple orchards. One of them is about 10 cherry trees. I didn't even know that it was a cherry tree orchard, because the laurel, honeysuckle, and wild roses had taken over the area so bad. The stuff was so thick, you wouldn't even know there were mature cherry trees in there!

After I started clearing out the laurel and vines, I found these trees within, and a neighbor came over and said: "Ahh, I remember 10 years ago those trees used to have thousands of the best cherries you've ever eaten!"

To add insult to injury: The cherry grove once was nicely landscaped, with a ring of bricks around the entire area. The laurel and friends had invaded to 10 feet OUTSIDE the ring of bricks. I discovered the bricks while raking 6 inches of leaves and vines.

Dave

HI all,
You know that one man's weed is another man's treasure.
Come next season I'm going to be looking for seed from some of these North American weeds.
Is your laurel Prunus laurocerasus like ours Dave?
Richard

Yes Dave , IT WILL BE RoundUp time this spring ...it is time to take back your cherry grove ;)

Yup - Roundup Brushkiller has worked well for me in the past. I have a sprayer that I bought just for that purpose. That stuff is EXPENSIVE but it sure is effective.

$C 88 per 10 litre jug here ( 3.78lITRES = 1 US GAL )

That's about what I'm paying here.