defoliant toxicity (really: tree stumps)
Karen Kolling
> I just purchased a defoliant to kill a tree stump that keeps resprouting.
> It is isopropylamine salt of glyphosphate, 49% solution
> The label merely says to avoid contact and wash your hands after handling.
> Does anybody know exactly how toxic this stuff is? Should I wear
> rubber gloves? rubber suit? take it back to the store and get something
> safer?
You can hire companies to "grind down" tree stumps. They take the
stump down to about a foot below the ground. They claim you can't plant
much above it after that, due to shallow rooting, but I have a lilac bush
doing fine above the remains of a palm tree stump. As I recall, it cost
maybe $40 to grind the stump. A lot better than fighting an eternal
battle with suckers and dealing with some cousin of Agent Orange, for all
one knows, I think.
Diane Holt
>You can hire companies to "grind down" tree stumps. They take the
>stump down to about a foot below the ground. They claim you can't plant
>much above it after that, due to shallow rooting, but I have a lilac bush
>doing fine above the remains of a palm tree stump. As I recall, it cost
>maybe $40 to grind the stump. A lot better than fighting an eternal
>battle with suckers and dealing with some cousin of Agent Orange, for all
>one knows, I think.
Actually, a friend of mine had some very old, tall palm trees cut down and
then looked into what it would take to get rid of the stumps -- but she
instead decided to just hollow the stumps out and use them as sort of natural
'planter boxes', where she plants different annuals throughout the year.
Since these were border trees, the stumps were out of the way, and they
really worked out nice. Use your imagination -- I once knew someone who cut
down a tree leaving a tall enough stump to carve it into a natural chair.
Diane Holt
Interactive Systems Corp.
Santa Monica, CA
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