It’s always sad to see trees die on site. Any site. In this case we had three birches (Betula papyrifera) killed off by the bronze birch borer. Birches are shallow rooted and can suffer in heavy heat of late spring and summer. At this site the birches had little room and suffered from reflected heat as well. Drought can lead to dieback at the top of the tree and the bronze birch borer is an expert at detecting weakened trees. Weakened trees are very attractive to this urban pest. Once the tree is attacked, there is very little hope of saving it.
I was on site to install cedars (Thuja occidentalis ‘Smaragd’), Cotoneaster dammeri and Hemerocallis ‘Stella d’Oro’. The heavier tree work was left for last.
Since birches are shallow rooted and the ones on our site were not extremely mature, we decided not to bother with stump grinding. So here I introduce redneck tree removal. Don’t try this at home. Hire certified landscapers or arborists. Please.
Step 1
Remove most of the crown with chainsaws or handsaws. Safety is important here! This strata complex corner was used by cars, residents were washing their cars and kids were playing outside. Wear proper protection if you choose to use chainsaws. Always.
Step 2
Cut notches into the tree so the chains have some place to bite, otherwise they will just slip off under pressure
Step 3
Attach chains to the tree and to the back of your truck, then drive very slowly until the stump is completely out. Use good chain link fasteners. Common locks could blow out.
Step 4
Remove all stumps and fix the lawn area. We used lawn and garden mix soil from a landscape center. Good quality seed also helps.
Mission accomplished. The site will miss the many ecosystem services the birches used to provide, especially summer shade for the adjacent unit.
