Staghorn tree!!!!!

[Thebiga]

I never planted one of these and wouldn't unless it was in a pot. We have several over our property and they look very nice but everywhere they put a root up comes more of them.

I chopped one down and poured weed killer into the trunk and its still putting up new shoots all over the garden even 25ft away from the original tree. Its really spoiling a nice little garden. Its like a very rampant weed really and itrs grows very fast gets five inches tall in about 4 days. Now in my book thats rampant.

I just keep snapping them off and they just kepp coming up. I did think about spot weeeding them but it will make the lawn look terrible. Any ideas?

[Alex H]

It appears persistence is the key :-)

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20090713060910AA4b2gd

[Gardengirl]

If you can bear to do it, one additional thing is to channel along next to the roots and remove every bit you can find and take it to the tip. But the length you mention is huge! They really are terrible things to get rid of; I sympathise.

[Thebiga]

Thanks people, Lovely plants to look at but in a pot only I think. Theses were planted by the former owners, A bit like the small bamboo they planted near the swimming pool which is a runner and not a clump former. Thats what happens when you don't know your plants. The four foot square bamboo and 1.2m high is now 20ft square and 4.5m high and I have to keep chopping off the outside bits even though they pop up 20ft away. I just go round every spring snapping off 40 new shoots a morning!! I'm sure I going to find a panda one day..

[Swissie]

Both my neighbours have absolute beauties - colour in the autumn is wonderful. They have absolutely no problem with them, and the key is to leave them well alone-like a hornets nest!

[Thebiga]

Did leave them alone until they started coming up all over one of the gite gardens! Had to do something then, so the main tree came down as we were re doing the garden.

I agree with you that I love the leaf shape as we love tropical plants and they look like them. Also the colour of the leaves in the autumn is something else. I must admit that the others we have here have stayed in a pretty much tidy clump with the odd stray but this one went mad!!!