Killing Laurel Sumac
An interesting question came in this week:
"I'd like to eradicate some Laurel Sumac in my yard. Do you have any natural remedy I could use to do this. I thought I read at one time you could make a potion of vinegar and baking soda and make a small hole in the trunk and poor mixture down it. Of course, I can't find where I read this and don't know portions so if you know of anything it would be greatly appreciated. Thanks"
I'll admit that I'm not an expert of native plants, but I did a little searching to find some options for you. While most sites proposed the use of Round Up or Othro chemical products, there were also some natural alternatives:
Dig it up - I know I'm stating the obvious here, but if you can get the roots and all the suckers, you'll eradicate the plant for at least a year, if not forever.
Borax - I found a formula on a forum that you could try (since there's nothing to lose here): 1 cup Borax mixed into 1/2 a gallon of water. Pour it around the base of the shrub, or dig that hole you mentioned above, and see what happens.
Over water it - I never thought I'd be giving this advice, but here goes: most of the sites I searched are focused on keeping Sumac alive; they almost unanimously mention that over-watering a Sumac can kill it. Soooo..... you might try a deep watering several days a week to see if that works.
I hope this helps. If anyone else has ever assassinated a Laurel Sumac and has some organic advice to offer, please post it here.
Thanks for writing in!
"I'd like to eradicate some Laurel Sumac in my yard. Do you have any natural remedy I could use to do this. I thought I read at one time you could make a potion of vinegar and baking soda and make a small hole in the trunk and poor mixture down it. Of course, I can't find where I read this and don't know portions so if you know of anything it would be greatly appreciated. Thanks"
I'll admit that I'm not an expert of native plants, but I did a little searching to find some options for you. While most sites proposed the use of Round Up or Othro chemical products, there were also some natural alternatives:
Dig it up - I know I'm stating the obvious here, but if you can get the roots and all the suckers, you'll eradicate the plant for at least a year, if not forever.
Borax - I found a formula on a forum that you could try (since there's nothing to lose here): 1 cup Borax mixed into 1/2 a gallon of water. Pour it around the base of the shrub, or dig that hole you mentioned above, and see what happens.
Over water it - I never thought I'd be giving this advice, but here goes: most of the sites I searched are focused on keeping Sumac alive; they almost unanimously mention that over-watering a Sumac can kill it. Soooo..... you might try a deep watering several days a week to see if that works.
I hope this helps. If anyone else has ever assassinated a Laurel Sumac and has some organic advice to offer, please post it here.
Thanks for writing in!
Posted by Christy Wilhelmi at 11/3/2009 10:37 AM 
Categories: Sage Advice
Tags: laurel sumac California native plant eradicating laurel sumac gardenerd garden nerd
Categories: Sage Advice
Tags: laurel sumac California native plant eradicating laurel sumac gardenerd garden nerd
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