An interesting question came in this week:
“I’d like to eradicate some Laurel Sumac in my yard. Do you have any
natural remedy I could use to do this. I thought I read at one time you
could make a potion of vinegar and baking soda and make a small hole in
the trunk and poor mixture down it. Of course, I can’t find where I
read this and don’t know portions so if you know of anything it would
be greatly appreciated. Thanks”
I’ll admit that I’m not an expert of native plants, but I did a little searching to find some options for you. While most sites proposed the use of Round Up or Othro chemical products, there were also some natural alternatives:
Dig it up – I know I’m stating the obvious here, but if you can get the roots and all the suckers, you’ll eradicate the plant for at least a year, if not forever.
Borax – I found a formula on a forum that you could try (since there’s nothing to lose here): 1 cup Borax mixed into 1/2 a gallon of water. Pour it around the base of the shrub, or dig that hole you mentioned above, and see what happens.
Over water it – I never thought I’d be giving this advice, but here goes: most of the sites I searched are focused on keeping Sumac alive; they almost unanimously mention that over-watering a Sumac can kill it. Soooo….. you might try a deep watering several days a week to see if that works.
I hope this helps. If anyone else has ever assassinated a Laurel Sumac and has some organic advice to offer, please post it here.
Thanks for writing in!
