This year I've saplings growing among my clematis and honeysuckle vines. I'm sure at least one is an offshoot of a mature Ivory Silk Lilac growing about 25 feet away. In the photo attached, the smaller one on the left I think is the lilac. Can you tell me what the one on the left is? I don't recognize it.

In both cases, they are planted in the back of a narrow flower bed (in one case against a deck and in the other, against a cement edging/deck combo). I could cut them down fairly close to the ground but that is basically the extent of any possible excavating I can do.

Is there some way I can get rid of them so that they don't grow back next year? There is no way I can keep them where they are now (in one case, 6 inches from the house foundations).

Thanks. Any help will be appreciated.

Use a lopper or saw if need be to cut through the trunk close to the ground. Then immediately apply a product called Tordon RTU (RTU = ready to use - active ingredient Picloram) to the perimeter of the trunk such that the outer inch or two of the wound is treated. So, if your tree is a foot in diameter, the outer 2" of the wound surface gets treated. If your trees are less than 4" in diameter, the entire wound surface gets treated. It is far better than glyphosate (Round-Up) or tree/brush killer. One and done. You can paint it on with a disposable foam brush.

Al

I hate it when people use a lopper to control saplings...

The very best thing to do... wait for the ground to be moist...
then most trees are fairly easy to hand pull.
When they don't immediately release? I use a shovel right next to the trunk... push in with foot... pry tree out with leverage of shovel and hand gripping tree.
No dangerous toxins required.

I have no clue what your trees are based on an individual leaf.
Please take pic of tree.

The lopper/saw isn't to control the saplings. It creates a wound which can then be painted with Tordon, the control agent, which provides the control by killing the entire plant.

Al

If an unwanted seedling is growing so close to a desired plant that it would be necessary to dig up both plants to get rid of the seedling, I don't consider digging as a realistic option. I use a tiny paintbrush to apply brush killer immediately after cutting, as Al described, and it does work. I don't throw the paint brush out, but I have dropped 3 of them into the jug so far.

A pack of a dozen little paintbrushes should be less than $2. The jug of brush killer was more expensive but at the rate I use it, it would last at least 100 years. They should sell tiny bottles of it, especially if it degrades over time. An ounce of it is enough to kill at least several hundred wayward saplings.

Not sure y'all understand that the shovel is so near the unwanted plant that it's touching...
A far better first choice than handling dangerous toxins...
With the shovel next to the unwanted plant... shouldn't anything but the intended plant come up.

And... My first choice is to pull tree after the soil is moist... they usually come right up... unless the homeowner has been maintaining with a clipper...
When the tree has been cut back a number of times... it's much harder.

Sorry I dropped the ball and forgot to follow the thread. I do appreciate all your responses. One of the unwanted saplings I discovered later is an Ivory Silk lilac which grows like a weed. It was right up against a concrete border so I couldn't work the shovel in there. If I tried the shovel from the front, I was risking damaging the honeysuckle vine next to it.

The lilac was too rooted to remove when the earth was damp. So not having checked the thread, I lopped it close to the earth. I'll be checking it closely this year and if this doesn't work, will try your other suggestions.

Thanks again.

Thanks for the update. : )

The lilac root is still pull it or poison it, or it will not go away.

I have dug trees out perrenial roots, literally, do as Stone said, you will not hurt the vine.

@MaureenQC

I know access to chemicals is pretty limited in Quebec. You may have to resort to cutting back new shoots each time they regrow until the root system is eventually starved to death.

Tiffany @purpleinopp
Ace Hardware here carries this little bottle of Bonide Stump Killer for $11.99. It has a little brush on a stem under the cap. So handy we bought 2 so we can each carry one around!

You can cut off a tree and treat the stump - it's dead. You can also treat green bark on young stems if you're in a hurry. Cut off later. You could also cut a groove in brown bark to reach the inner bark. One dose on the bark might not be enough for a larger tree though.

It's 8.8% triclopyr. We buy a bottle of the same concentration to use for refills. We love how handy these little bottles are! If you don't have Ace, check independent garden centers. Many of them carry Bonide products.

Pat
https://www.acehardware.com/de...