How do I remove oak seedlings which sprouted in my garden?

Question

I have an oak tree at the bottom of my garden and it has produced small trees due to fallen acorns in the grass.

I need to remove them. How do I do that?

oak seedlings? Try dealing with a silver maple... ugh – Evil Elf Jul 08 '14 at 12:26 — Evil Elf, Jul 08 '14 at 12:26
Silver maples do not like Brush B Gone (2,4-D) at all. – Wayfaring Stranger Jul 05 '20 at 16:01 — Wayfaring Stranger, Jul 05 '20 at 16:01

score 11 · Answer 1 · answered Jul 01 '14 at 18:48

11

Depends how big they are - if the ground is damp and they're no taller than, say, 6-10 inches, you should be able to pull them up. If the ground isn't damp, make sure it is when you attempt this. If they've been there longer (since last year or more) then you need to dig them out and repair the grass afterwards.

If they've been there much longer and are now saplings with thickish trunks, chop them down to the ground and apply stumpkiller.

answered Jul 01 '14 at 18:48

Bamboo

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+1. Trees are wonderful weeds. Get them early, or resign yourself to fighting with them. – keshlam Jul 02 '14 at 02:09

score 6 · Answer 2 · answered Jul 08 '14 at 07:24

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I used to suffer from this when the squirrels buried acorns in my lawn. I found that just mowing them down regularly (with routine lawn maintenance) kept them from becoming established.

answered Jul 08 '14 at 07:24

Ian Turton

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+1. For lawn under an oak tree, this is definitely the way to go. No tree seedling will live long under healthy lawn conditions. – J. Musser Jul 08 '14 at 22:09

score 0 · Answer 3 · answered Jul 05 '14 at 15:00

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If they are very small (under 3 inches) then just hoe them. If they are a little larger you can pull them up.

Otherwise a glyphosate based weed killer can work well, if there are other plant close buy you wish to keep, then use a Gel, otherwise a spray works out cheaper.

answered Jul 05 '14 at 15:00

Ian Ringrose

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It's best to pull after a heavy rain, or much watering. You get a lot more of the tap root that way. – Wayfaring Stranger Jul 05 '20 at 15:58

score 0 · Answer 4 · answered Jul 05 '20 at 10:41

As Oaks soon develop a long tap root, moving them needs to be done quickly or otherwise becomes a futile tiresome digging process.

Whilst I am all for encouraging more tree planting; trying to transplant saplings that have been in-situ for a few years is not really viable.

How do I remove oak seedlings which sprouted in my garden?

4 Answers4