If you don't cut back your corkscrew willow, you will be dealing with a monster within a few years. Above ground, the twisting branches stretch up to 8 meters into the sky, while the long root strands do the same underground. You can find out how to completely remove an oversized Salix matsudana here.
The larger the corkscrew willow, the deeper the roots reach
preparatory work
Well-considered preparation makes a valuable contribution to bringing the strenuous project to a tolerable level. Choosing the best possible tool for removing the powerful root strands also plays a part. How to do it right:
- At the lecture, cut or saw off the corkscrew willow down to the ground
- Mark the route of service pipes in the ground with stones or stakes
The following tools should be available: a spade, a digging fork, a saw and a hoopoe hoe (digging hoe). The hoopoe hoe in particular makes the work noticeably easier. As a symbiosis between ax and hoe, the tool takes on the strongest roots.
How to remove the corkscrew willow stump and stem
It is an indisputable fact that every willow will sprout again as long as its roots are still in the ground. The radical pruning is therefore only the overture of the core work. This is how you finally eliminate the corkscrew willow:
- Use the spade to expose the root ball as much as possible
- Then use the beak (narrow side) of the hoe to remove the soil from the roots
- Cut through a root strand with the sharpened hatchet
With the next stroke, you'll flip the hoopoe hoe over in seconds so you're beaking the rhizome out of the ground, with no heavy soil clinging to it. Completely dig out the root stem itself. If space allows, put a chain around the stump and pull the root ball out of the ground with a towing vehicle.
Hammer off small roots
So that you only have to deal with the thickest root strands with a hatchet and hoe, tap the rootstock with a hammer beforehand. The smaller roots detach themselves and are only dug up.
tips
The elimination of a corkscrew willow must be completed by early March. The Federal Nature Act provides for a grandfathering for shrubs, hedges and trees from March 1st to September 30th. The purpose of this regulation is to protect breeding grounds within all types of trees. During this time, only maintenance cuts of a maximum of one third are permitted.