Every gardener sooner or later faces the problem of garden renovation, when it is necessary to remove old bushes and plant new ones. To perform this operation correctly, you need to know how to uproot bushes in your summer cottage without causing damage to the garden and with a minimum of effort. To solve the problem, there are several options, among which you can find the optimal one suitable for a particular case.
What is it for?
In order for the site to please its owners with a well-groomed appearance, it is necessary to trim the bushes in a timely manner, and, if necessary, remove them entirely. This could be due to several situations.
When planning construction
If the bushes interfere with construction work, they are removed or carefully transplanted to another, more convenient place. The rhizomes are completely pulled out, and the remaining holes are carefully filled up.
When located under power lines and near communications
Large bushes can disrupt power lines or block access to them. In this case, they are cut off or cut down completely. The work must be carried out by specialists.
Close to home
Such bushes pose a danger to the integrity of the house and its foundation. Roots can penetrate walls, destroy the foundation and significantly reduce the lifespan of a home. Plants are carefully uprooted using special equipment.
For large bushes
Heavily overgrown shrubs can block the view if located at the exit from the site. A large number of dry branches and location near a residential building becomes an additional risk of fire. In this case, the bushes are trimmed or removed entirely.
Shrub age
If berry or ornamental shrubs have become “old” and cannot produce the same yield and flowering, they are replaced with new ones, after removing the old ones.
Changes in landscape design
Ornamental bushes that do not fit into the design of the site or drown out other plants are uprooted, replanted or pruned.
Preparatory activities
Regardless of which method is chosen to remove bushes from the site, it is necessary to prepare for this process.
If the bush is supposed to be uprooted manually, an external examination is carried out to determine the scope of work and prepare tools. To cut the stems and branches of shrubs, prepare a hand saw, pruning shears, and a garden saw. If the branches are very powerful, you will need a chainsaw. To dig up the roots you need a shovel.
If the bushes are very overgrown, the vegetation is mowed and removed before uprooting.
In order for the roots to be better extracted from the ground, the area around the bush is watered abundantly. If the bushes cannot be removed manually, you may need a brush cutter, tractor, or winch.
How to get rid of bushes on the site?
The fight against unwanted woody vegetation on the site is carried out using mechanical or chemical methods. You can mechanically uproot shrubs manually or using special equipment.
Wild weeds are cut down at any time of the year. Decorative and berry plants are removed in early spring so that the appearance of shoots can be controlled during the season.
The chemical method is more radical than the mechanical one. With the help of drugs, unnecessary plants are completely destroyed, all that remains is to uproot them.
How to do the job manually
To manually remove unwanted bushes from an area, you need to perform a series of sequential steps:
- Cut all branches using the necessary tools, based on the thickness of the shoots.
- Dig around the circumference of a pre-watered bush using a shovel.
- Pour a strong pressure of water over the rhizomes of the bush.
- Remove it from the ground.
- Remove any roots remaining in the soil to prevent them from sprouting.
If it is difficult to pull the bush out of the ground, take a crowbar and use it as a lever.
The manual method requires great physical strength and is most often used in places where it is difficult for machinery to work.
Mechanized method
The method involves the use of machines - a tractor, a brush cutter, a puller. It is used if the area is heavily overgrown with bushes and manual removal may take too much time. In places inaccessible to a tractor or excavator, a winch is used.
Often, after uprooting with special machines, holes remain, and it is difficult to put the area in order. In this case, experts recommend not to uproot the roots, but to use the method of milling them. To do this, the bush is cut below the ground, and then the stump crusher cuts and crushes the roots located at a depth of up to 30 centimeters, turning them into chips.
Chemicals
To remove shrubs chemically, saltpeter, urea, salt or herbicides are often used.
Saltpeter is placed in holes drilled in the branches of bushes and watered generously. If you cover this area with film, the process of wood decomposition is more intense. After a year, the plant dies completely, and the roots cannot produce new growth.
Salt and urea are used in the same way, but the destruction process takes longer - up to 2 years.
The method is not labor-intensive; after using these substances, the soil is not contaminated and is used for planting.
You can speed up the process of extermination of shrubs using herbicides based on glyphos - Secateurs, Roundup. In this case, it is worth increasing the dosage of the herbicide 5 times and applying it in the fall. If the bush produces shoots next year, the procedure is repeated.
Possible problems
If difficulties arise with removing bushes, traditional methods are used:
- darken the location of the roots with film or cardboard, which leads to their gradual death and drying out of the entire plant;
- bury slate sheets on 4 sides of the plant, after a while remove the bush from the ground along with the roots;
- cover the ground with salt.
When working with chemicals and herbicides, you should follow safety precautions - use protective clothing and follow the instructions for use of the drug.
