How to kill a tree?

I need advice.

There is a tree growing near one of my houses in town. I purchased the house eight years ago as rental property. In the back, adjacent to the house is a 3 by 5 area surrounded by fence. Inside the area is access to the crawl space beneath the house. There are also hollyhocks. Standing outside, looking at it and the house, one sees a tree (well, actually a bush from my half-hearted attempts to remove it efforts) on the right side in the fence line. Beside that and toward the front of the fence is a central air conditioning unit. It is difficult to get to the base of the tree and maneuver once there.

For five years I have been I have been trimming back the tree's branches to clear a view to the electric meter for the meter reader. That's why it could more aptly be described as a bush. In the past it has been trimmed to the point a bare stump is all that's left. I've decided it's time to bite the bullet and shoulder and knee my way near the base and cut the sucker down. Since the tree/bush has an intense desire to live what can I put on or around the stump to keep it from growing again?

I'm thinking of drilling a hole in the stump and filling the hole with rock salt and maybe adding vinegar. My SE asked what good that would do. I honestly don't know but at least I would feel better about having done something different. I'd to kill the tree but leave the hollyhocks. Although, it's crossed my mind it's not me looking out the kitchen window at the hollyhocks. I'm the one who needs to be a contortionist to cut the darn thing down.

Any suggestions for putting the tree out of my misery will be considered.
TIA
Gary

Give it a heavy dose of salt. If the hollyhocks are close, it will kill them but the salt will wash away in time and you can replant the hollyhock. Or you can dig up and soil and replace it , which would be much faster if you need to plant very soon.

There is a product called Stump Killer, or Brush Killer. I'd paint it on full strength. I've used it in the past and it has worked well, just be sure to cover all open parts of the stump with it, and wash your hands afterwards!!

This won't work for you because it is too close to the house. But my spousal unit used to pile a 10-lb bag of the slow-burning charcoal on a stump. We put bricks around it and put a shelf out of the oven on top and as the charcoal burned the stump, we cooked out!
The stump needs to be dry to begin with, and will probably take 2 burnings to disappear completely, but it works. We did this to one large stump and during the second burning, we could see the fire spread to all the old larger dead roots underground.

Copper nails were once used to kill trees
I do not know if you can still find them

I went over this afternoon and wormed my way next to it after cutting off the branches. It's a syringa bush. That's why it grows so fast every year. I drilled holes in the stump and added rock salt. BTW, thanks for confirming I was on track with the salt idea.

I'm still holding off on the stump killer paint. The base is underground and two stumps exist above ground. One is 2" diameter and the other is 3". It wouldn't be much of a fire for a barbeque and it is close to the house.

The copper nail idea jogged a memory about my friend using brass screws to attach a dart board to a tree in his back yard. It took a few years for the tree to die but it was determined the brass screws were the likely reason. It was a big tree. This is a small bush. I'll dig out some brass screws and place them into the stump.

Thanks for your help. I'll post again next year if the son-of-a-gun survives and flourishes again.

Gary

I would let ir grow some suckers and let them fully leave out and than spray this on it this is what I have always done to kill unwanted trees or bushes!!!killed a 20 foot tree spraying this ,,,use full strenght. Fertilome Kill-Z-All. This non selective herbicide is safe to use around your trees, shrubs, and perennials, as long as you don't spray it directly onto their foliage. This product doesn't harm or damaged plants thru the soil, but has to work thru the foliage of a weed or grass to kill it's entire root system. It's the most effective when you start early and manage a weekly walk thru of your garden to spray grassy and broadleaf weeds when they are small. If managed regularly, you'll find your time invested in weed control to be minimal. Same herbicide as Round Up, but costs less!