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Need some advice please. About one year ago, I had a large Live Oak tree removed from my yard in Florida because the roots were causing damage to my concrete sidewalks and patio. Additionally, the roots broke one of the underground lawn irrigation lines in my yard, and that was a lot of work to repair. This is not to mention all the mess of the leaves and acorns.
So, I had the tree removed by professionals and had the stump ground down to below ground level. I thought that would be the end of my oak tree problems. Unfortunately, I was wrong about that.
Ever since last summer, I've been getting hundreds of oak sprouts popping up in the yard from the roots of the tree that I had removed. They are a medium to dark brown color and grow faster than the grass. They stick out visually like a sore thumb. I've tried pulling them out with little to no success. I can't spray any chemicals to kill the oak sprouts or it would also kill my St Augustine grass.
What can I do to get rid of the oak sprouts without damaging my St Augustine grass? This is really becoming an eyesore and a pain in the butt.
Need some advice please. About one year ago, I had a large live oak tree removed from my yard in Florida because the roots were causing damage to my concrete sidewalks and patio. Additionally, the roots broke one of the underground lawn irrigation lines in my yard, and that was a lot of work to repair. This is not to mention all the mess of the leaves and acorns.
So, I had the tree removed by professionals and had the stump ground down to below ground level. I thought that would be the end of my oak tree problems. Unfortunately, I was wrong about that.
Ever since last summer, I've been getting hundreds of oak sprouts popping up in the yard from the roots of the tree that I had removed. They are a medium to dark brown color and grow faster than the grass. They stick out visually like a sore thumb. I've tried pulling them out with little to no success. I can't spray any chemicals to kill the oak sprouts or it would also kill my St Augustine grass.
What can I do to get rid of the oak sprouts without damaging my St Augustine grass? This is really becoming an eyesore and a pain in the butt.
.
Try triclopyr but follow the label instructions precisely .
More isn’t better, etc.
As an alternative to using herbicide just mow your lawn more often if needed to cut those sprouting oaks.
If you could reduce irrigation in that area that would help too. Don’t fertilize for a year.
They won’t sprout forever - once the life force of roots exhausted - the sprouting would stop without leaves providing nutrients to roots
Location: East of Seattle since 1992, 615' Elevation, Zone 8b - originally from SF Bay Area
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Spray each sprout with a broadleaf weed killer, such as Ortho Weedclear. Then you have to at some point kill the stump, with a systemic that goes down to the roots like Bonide Stump-Out. Since it was cut down a year ago you will have to dig down to find a live root to apply it.
What can I do to get rid of the oak sprouts without damaging my St Augustine grass? This is really becoming an eyesore and a pain in the butt.
.
Those sprouts are simply from acorns buried by squirrels or just people stomping them into the ground. Once you mow, they wont grow back. Nothing you have to do. Since the tree is gone no more acorns are getting buried UNLESS they are from a neighbors yard or old ones that took a while to sprout. Just mow low and done
Spray each sprout with a broadleaf weed killer, such as Ortho Weedclear. Then you have to at some point kill the stump, with a systemic that goes down to the roots like Bonide Stump-Out. Since it was cut down a year ago you will have to dig down to find a live root to apply it.
The stump was ground down to about a foot below ground level. Then it was backfilled with the sawdust and chippings from the grinding. I had to plant grass plugs in the immediate area of the stump to get some grass cover in that area. The grass doesn't look too bad if it just weren't for all these oak tree sprouts that are popping up over an area that is approximately 20 feet in diameter.
It would be VERY difficult to spray the oak sprouts without getting the spray on the grass below. I tried that a bit last fall and while it may have killed a few of the sprouts, it also killed small patches of grass everywhere I sprayed. Meanwhile, the new oak sprouts are growing like crazy, especially since the weather warmed up a couple of weeks ago.
Those sprouts are simply from acorns buried by squirrels or just people stomping them into the ground. Once you mow, they wont grow back. Nothing you have to do. Since the tree is gone no more acorns are getting buried UNLESS they are from a neighbors yard or old ones that took a while to sprout. Just mow low and done
Sorry, but you're just wrong on this. These sprouts began growing within a month or two of when I had the tree cut down which was February of last year (2023). The grass (and the sprouts) has been cut perhaps 35 times since then and the sprouts keep coming back.
Sorry, but you're just wrong on this. These sprouts began growing within a month or two of when I had the tree cut down which was February of last year (2023). The grass (and the sprouts) has been cut perhaps 35 times since then and the sprouts keep coming back.
Try triclopyr but follow the label instructions precisely .
More isn’t better, etc.
As an alternative to using herbicide just mow your lawn more often if needed to cut those sprouting oaks.
If you could reduce irrigation in that area that would help too. Don’t fertilize for a year.
They won’t sprout forever - once the life force of roots exhausted - the sprouting would stop without leaves providing nutrients to roots
Unfortunately, triclopyr would kill my St Augustine grass too.
"Yes, triclopyr will kill St. Augustine Grass. Due to the structure of St. Augustine grass, triclopyr can adhere to the blades, be absorbed into the plant, and cause it to grow and mutate. An entire lawn of St. Augustine can be brought down in as little as a single week."
Also, reducing water for that area wouldn't be as easy as it sounds. I'd have to shut off my lawn irrigation in two different zones which would also adversely affect the rest of the grass in those zones. Plus, I can't control where it rains, and lately we've had considerable rain.
It just sounds like I'm up Sh*t Creek without a paddle.
Need some advice please. About one year ago, I had a large Live Oak tree removed from my yard in Florida because the roots were causing damage to my concrete sidewalks and patio. Additionally, the roots broke one of the underground lawn irrigation lines in my yard, and that was a lot of work to repair. This is not to mention all the mess of the leaves and acorns.
So, I had the tree removed by professionals and had the stump ground down to below ground level. I thought that would be the end of my oak tree problems. Unfortunately, I was wrong about that.
Ever since last summer, I've been getting hundreds of oak sprouts popping up in the yard from the roots of the tree that I had removed. They are a medium to dark brown color and grow faster than the grass. They stick out visually like a sore thumb. I've tried pulling them out with little to no success. I can't spray any chemicals to kill the oak sprouts or it would also kill my St Augustine grass.
What can I do to get rid of the oak sprouts without damaging my St Augustine grass? This is really becoming an eyesore and a pain in the butt.
.
You've got problems.
Live Oak is famous for sending up sprouts from roots even after the tree is chopped down, gridled or otherwise destroyed.
If tree predates when your home was built and or otherwise was living for a long time it likely had and left an extensive root system. Short of finding every bit of remaining roots and hacking them out, you may find yourself playing a game of Whac-A-Mole for years.
You might want to contact local professional or maybe reach out to state extension office for assistance.
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