Barbara wrote:Yes, those must be the same as the Siberian Elms ! They are SUCH a PEST, aren't they ? Same problem here, both front and back yards. Then, they shoot up all sorts of attempts at growing a new pest. It's a lot of work to keep after them, even once cut down. They get SO tall, but are so WEAK that they are a threat and should be cut down.
But if you have close quarters, it's difficult for an arborist to get in close enough to work safely. I had so many problems trying to persuade tree services to even cut highly dangerous branches because they would say that the area was too congested and they refused to be responsible for damage. Only many, many years later did I learn the reason : that company is uninsured [ ! ]. I finally found a professional arborist to cut down the front one. He wasn't too keen on the idea, but I kept insisting. Sure enough, when the tree was felled, they saw that the stump was completely moldy and rotten. Worse, there were 2 stumps together but with a big gap so that the bottom of the tree was highly unstable. Thank goodness I didn't listen to anyone else's advice but did what I suspected was needed !
So I hope you are able to get yours eradicated, Maria. They are just terrible. They get the most horrible looking things in them. Then those in turn get ALL over the place. There is no way to get rid of them except supposedly spraying soap on them, I found out on the internet. But who is going to stand there and spray tons of these ugly monsters with a little spray bottle ?
I really am glad the big Elms are gone - BUT then the roots start growing again. Before you know it, they have emerged as NEW Siberian Elms ! Then you have to get those out. What I have done is dig trenches and 'chase roots'. That means follow the path of the root as it winds different directions and cut that all out with a handsaw. The whole experience is arduous.
We have a similar problem with a tree known as Laurel Sumac, which is a relative of the Poison Oak, Poison Ivy, and Poison Sumac. If a person is allergic to Poison Ivy, then they can react to the very aromatic odor released whenever one of these trees is cut down.
Whereas Elms are a hardwood, Laurel Sumac is more of a soft wood. When it is cut, it sprays an aromatic compound that if it gets on your skin, it can cause a horrible rash. During high wind storms, the laurel sumac can break and the broken branch if not taken away can reroot. Otherwise, the shrub propagates by seeds and by lateral roots, which are shallow. With one laurel sumac tree, a dense forest of these shrubs can be generated in one to two years through its extensive underground network of roots. It is highly flammable and is part of the chaparral range or Mediterranean climate.
Incidentally, the Poison Ivy family includes the macadamia nuts, the juicy mango fruit, and the pistachio nut. People with allergies to macadamia nuts can become allergic to the pistachio too. In Southern California the macadamia nut is cultivated.