Please help me kill the mulberry!

Tue Jul 27, 2010 5:39 pm

A friend of mine whos dad works for the county gave me this herbicidal stuff and told me that for invasive plants to cut off all the ends I find and paint it on.
It isn't working!! Everywhere I cut and painted the stupid things are just growing new growth behind the area they were cut.

I am disgusted with this plant. It is growing EVERYWHERE. My yard. around every structure on our property, the garden, under the porch, even in the stinking gutters!
Any thoughts? I'll do anything except dump herbicidal killer on the ground. There has to be another way!

Tue Jul 27, 2010 5:42 pm

start pulling them out..eventally you will get them all. Make sure to pull anything that is big enough to flower and produce fruit first..then go after the seedlings.

Tue Jul 27, 2010 6:23 pm

Not sure how crazy mulberry is offhand. But I know some things won't die know matter what you do to them.

Hopefully that is not the case. But as lilturtle suggested try to pull them all. Maybe a little extra help would be to rip out the main offenders and lay down thick layers of cardboard. That may help them from returning. Not sure if that will help but it is a worth a earth friendly try.

Good luck

Tue Jul 27, 2010 6:26 pm

You're joking right? You can't just "pull out" a mulberry. The stem/vine/base whatever you want to call it on them are an inch thick at minimum. On the edges of the property where they've been allowed to grow into trees the trunk is almost eight inches in diameter. I haven't cut those yet. One runner I pulled went 20 feet diagonally across the yard before it went to deep for me to pull anymore. Not to mention the ones coming up around the building structures are coming from UNDER the foundation.
No, there is no just pulling out a mulberry......

Tue Jul 27, 2010 6:30 pm

well you wanted suggestions so we gave it to you....we don't have majic answers..LOL You tried killing it and cant so next best thing is to dig and pull them out.

I have a 3 year old mulberry and it does not have a stem that thick so you should be able to yank out seedlngs pretty easy if you don't let them grow to long.

You could also try cutting them down then poisoning the trunk with bleach.

Tue Jul 27, 2010 6:59 pm

I haven't yet seen any seedlings, but there are runners everywhere.
I may have to try the bleach thing, though I'm doubting that will work when a chemical so toxic it can't be used within 15 feet of food and 100 yards from waterfront isn't killing it

Neither is vinegar or boiling water which were both dumped between the house and garage where a huge runner I have chopped off repeatedly keeps returning.
I HATE this plant :evil:

Sorry if I came off snippy but this stupid tree/plant is ridiculous and seems to be taking over my life. Everytime I turn around there's more of it!!!!

You just wait mulberry, next spring the hubby is ripping up the backyard with a skid loader, lets see your stupid runners and roots survive that!! :twisted:

Tue Jul 27, 2010 7:06 pm

ROFL

Tue Jul 27, 2010 7:49 pm

deleted

Tue Jul 27, 2010 7:53 pm

Wow.... I said sorry. And if you looked Gixx, we posted pretty much at the same time.....

Tue Jul 27, 2010 10:25 pm

Maybe you could try salting it. Heavily! :()

. Or you could just embrace the mulberry lol ! They make good jam

Wed Jul 28, 2010 12:07 am

LOL..I am looking foward to mine producing berries maybe next year:) I only have the one lonely bush. But it is plenty good enough.

Wed Jul 28, 2010 12:34 am

I haven't seen a single berry off either of the mature trees in the backyard. Perhaps they produce in fall?
I dunno but it isn't worth it. I just discovered one has grown into the underside of the siding on the house :evil:

Wed Jul 28, 2010 1:14 am

I am really wondering if you have somthing other then a mulberry I have never heard of them being that invasive. And to have mature trees with no fruit is really strange also especially if it is healthy enough to grow everywere. I don't think the mulberry has that invasive of runners..most I have heard is it spreading through the berries.

Wed Jul 28, 2010 2:35 am

It is indeed a white mulberry. I've gotten conformation from three sources now. I'm thinking about taking a branch to the county extension office hoping they can help me kill it.
One of sources did say Ortho brush b gone works the best on invasive plants when applied to freshly cut branches.
The idea of buying that garbage makes me cringe

Wed Jul 28, 2010 2:54 am

Hmmm wonder if there is a differance between the white and black mulberry then..I have the black one.