Kentucky coffee tree taken down

Question

We had a Kentucky coffee tree removed because it had been struck by lightning, although the damage was minimal, there was a split in the trunk. Otherwise, the tree was very healthy – but near two homes. The tree trunk was left about three foot high. Now, several months later, there are sprouts coming up as far away from the trunk as fifty feet in my yard, and worse, in my neighbor’s yard. Cutting these sprouts off only seems to encourage them to grow back stronger than ever. I’ve tried the cutting/painting method to no avail, and I even drilled holes in the trunk and poured gas into the holes (several times) without success. At this point, taking out the trunk is not an option. Can you help? Thanks.

Answer 1

This takes some vigilance, but generally undiluted Round Up will help kill these roots. You need to wound the roots (normally, people cut the suckers down and use those wounds) and then paint the undiluted Round Up on the wounds. The bigger or more wounds you paint, the better. The roots will suck the Round Up in and it will kill them. You may have to repeat the process a few times to fully kill the roots if the root system is still strong.