How to treat invasive tree stumps without damaging soil quality - Ask Extension
Hello, I have a number of paper mulberry trees throughout my property that we are working on removing. The largest have been cut down to soil level an...
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How to treat invasive tree stumps without damaging soil quality #920677
Asked October 27, 2025, 11:40 AM EDT
Hello, I have a number of paper mulberry trees throughout my property that we are working on removing. The largest have been cut down to soil level and have not regrown, which is great. However, the roots are extensive and still alive to the point that I can’t pull them out manually. This is where I’d like to plant my native flowers and food garden, but the tree roots are in the way. I’m concerned about using any type of chemical that would seep into the soil and either prevent my garden from growing, or transfer into the food that I’m growing. We can’t use a machine because it’s right along our fence line. Do you have any advice? Is there anything I can apply to kill the root system that won’t be harmful for a vegetable garden in the same place next year?
We also have a number of sassafras trees popping up. I understand these are native but they’re very very close to our house and we’re worried about damage from them growing. We’d like to remove these as well but have the same concern of introducing something to the root systems that we don’t want in our soil. If there’s a solution for the mulberry, would it work here too?
Thanks so much!
Anne Arundel County Maryland
Expert Response
While you would need to wait for regrowth from the paper mulberry roots to be able to apply a systemic (root-killing) herbicide, either of the oft-used systemic ingredients (glyphosate or triclopyr) should be okay to apply in that situation, following label precautions. You can always ask the herbicide manufacturer to clarify any risks that might be unclear in the label information. By the time any chemical residues enter the soil after having killed the weed's roots, they should not interfere with new plantings, much less be in a state that is capable of causing any further damage. If in doubt, add a good amount of organic matter amendment (like compost) to the soil, which will both dilute/buffer any residues left behind and add beneficial microbes that help degrade such materials into more inert compounds.
Sassafras are great native trees for wildlife value, but any tree too close to a building might cause problems as it matures. Sassafras doesn't always transplant successfully (if you wanted to keep them but move them, or give them away to other gardeners), but the same approach can be used for removing them. If you prefer to avoid herbicide, you'll just need to keep cutting down any regrowth from the stumps or leftover roots, which will eventually exhaust their stored energy supply so they stop resprouting; the wood will decay at its own pace after that point without harming live plants in the area.
Do you put up a bird feeder in the area where the Sassafras are sprouting? If so, the visiting birds are likely the culprit, as they eat Sassafras' berry-like fruits and disperse the seeds as they travel. That's one reason the tree can be common along power lines (where birds may sit or roost), and as a pioneer species that, in nature, is quick to colonize disturbed sites, like forest clearings or open meadows, or forest edges that were cleared for development and exposed to more direct sun.
Miri
Sassafras are great native trees for wildlife value, but any tree too close to a building might cause problems as it matures. Sassafras doesn't always transplant successfully (if you wanted to keep them but move them, or give them away to other gardeners), but the same approach can be used for removing them. If you prefer to avoid herbicide, you'll just need to keep cutting down any regrowth from the stumps or leftover roots, which will eventually exhaust their stored energy supply so they stop resprouting; the wood will decay at its own pace after that point without harming live plants in the area.
Do you put up a bird feeder in the area where the Sassafras are sprouting? If so, the visiting birds are likely the culprit, as they eat Sassafras' berry-like fruits and disperse the seeds as they travel. That's one reason the tree can be common along power lines (where birds may sit or roost), and as a pioneer species that, in nature, is quick to colonize disturbed sites, like forest clearings or open meadows, or forest edges that were cleared for development and exposed to more direct sun.
Miri
