What do you do with deciduous trees that continue to re-sprout and regrow from cut stumps? What if those trees are located in areas where harsh ( but effective) chemical herbicide use is restricted? Think urban areas and community watersheds.
As I recently found out while visiting a water quality pond, you can use a bio-herbicide called Chontrol Peat Paste.
Details: www.mycologic.ca.
The procedure is fairly simple. Apply a thin layer of the paste to freshly cut stumps from late summer to fall. The pictures below show our native alders, Alnus rubra (Betulaceae family). The trees are interfering with the water quality pond whose function it is to prevent sand, coarse silt and other contaminants from entering environmentally sensitive streams; and to help maintain the flow required to support aquatic life.
The product is only available commercially and it will be interesting to see effectiveness data come in.
Fresh stumps on Alnus rubra
Chontrol Peat Paste after application to freshly cut stumps
​Four years after application
Water quality pond where alder forest would interfere too much
