cordyline shoots

chinwag

I cut down two cordyline trees in recent years but shoots from the trunk in the ground come up every year leaving me to cut them back with shears. There is probably a commercial chemical to stop the growth but I heard that paraffin oil can do the trick? Can anyone advise me on this or some other way to solve the problem. Thanks.

magicbastarder

dig them out?

paddy147

They are called watershoots.

Dig up the tree stump/trunk.

Thats what we did.

chinwag

Thanks for replies - that's heavy surgery in the attached pic!

I wouldn't be able to dig up those stumps myself - mine are cut to ground level btw.

Many years ago, I drilled holes in the stump of an old tree trunk, shook in a chemical I bought and covered the trunk/stump to kill it off, and it worked.

Thanks again folks.

Bixy

Another (slow) approach, if you can afford the space being taken up by the stumps is just to keep removing/killing the shoots (I cut them or, if I am spraying else where with Roundup, spay them) this eventually "exhausts" the roots which rot and you can then kick over the stumps.

chinwag

Bixy, that's what I've been doing but mine refuse to give up, they came close to it but have survived.
Maybe I should try Roundup. Thanks