Summary Starving a tree means cutting the pathway that carries sugars from the leaves down to the roots, which is done by girdling: a complete ring cut through bark and cambium around the trunk. The roots exhaust their reserves and the tree dies from the bottom up, typically over a full growing season or longer… Continue reading How to Starve a Tree: What New Orleans, LA Homeowners Should Know

Summary Getting rid of a tree safely means working in order: confirm you own it, confirm removal is permitted where it stands, assess whether it actually needs to go, then remove it and deal with the stump. On the narrow lots common across New Orleans, most removals are rigging jobs rather than felling jobs, because… Continue reading How to Safely and Naturally Get Rid of a Tree in New Orleans, LA

Summary The herbicide active ingredients used on woody plants are mainly glyphosate, triclopyr, and imazapyr, and the method matters more than the product. Cut-stump application, where herbicide goes onto a freshly cut surface, is the most effective and the most contained. In New Orleans, a high water table and pumped drainage mean soil-applied products can… Continue reading What Chemicals Kill Trees? A Guide for New Orleans, LA Homeowners

Summary Nothing kills a standing tree quickly. Girdling and cut-stump treatment are the effective methods, and both take months to a full season. In New Orleans the bigger issue is what killing a tree in place leaves behind: a dead, decaying tree standing through hurricane season, which is far more dangerous than the live tree… Continue reading How to Kill a Tree Quickly in New Orleans, LA

Summary The reliable non-chemical way to kill tree roots is to remove the food supply: cut the tree, then grind the stump and major roots, and cut off every sprout that appears until the root reserves are exhausted. Smothering and repeated cutting work but take one to three growing seasons. In New Orleans, salt-based methods… Continue reading Natural Ways to Kill Tree Roots Without Chemicals in New Orleans, LA

Summary Most trees that die in New Orleans are killed by conditions at the root zone rather than by pests or disease. Root suffocation in saturated clay, buried root flares, construction damage, and girdling roots account for the majority of losses, and all of them take years to show symptoms in the canopy. Big Easy… Continue reading What Kills Trees Permanently? Common Causes in New Orleans, LA

Summary Soil preparation starts with a test, then drainage, then structure, and only after that with nutrients. Around New Orleans the limiting factor is almost never fertility, it is heavy clay that drains slowly over a high water table. The LSU AgCenter provides soil testing for Louisiana residents, which takes the guesswork out of what… Continue reading How to Prepare Soil for Planting in New Orleans, LA

Summary Collect acorns in fall, discard any that float in water, and plant them about an inch deep soon after gathering. Live oak acorns germinate quickly after falling in warm, moist conditions and generally do not need the cold stratification period that guides written for northern oaks describe. In New Orleans, the harder part is… Continue reading How to Grow a Tree From an Acorn in New Orleans, LA

Summary Tree roots absorb water and dissolved nutrients through fine root hairs, anchor the tree, and store energy, and they need oxygen from soil air to do any of it. That last requirement is what makes New Orleans difficult. Saturated clay soil holds almost no oxygen, so roots sitting in waterlogged ground suffocate even while… Continue reading How Tree Roots Work in New Orleans, LA Soil

Summary Plant a tree so the root flare, the point where the trunk widens into the first structural roots, sits at or slightly above the surrounding soil line. Nursery stock is frequently potted with excess soil covering the flare, so the correct depth is measured from the flare rather than from the top of the… Continue reading How Deep Should You Plant a Tree in New Orleans, LA?