Hi, I have a problem with sycamore in my inherited and neglected garden but I can dig them out. I was told but the head NT ranger here that if you drill holes and put Epsom salts in, then cover with plastic bag, that does the trick. He told me copper nails don't work, but what have you got to lose? Slightly more environmentally friendly than roundup? Then have an Epsom salts bath after a hard day's gardening!
What do gardeners hate so much about sycamore? Is it just that they can grow so big?
I suppose it's because they are such liberal self seeders, the seedlings are a nightmare to pull out once they reach a certain size, not many people want scores of sycamores in their gardens (especially if they are quite small gardens in the city like mine) and...I think that's it, for now!
We have two or three sycamore trees growing in our garden - luckily at the bottom, they do drop their seeds in our veg patch but they are easy to pull out if caught young. I have been told that the mature trees drop a black covering which is slightly sticky and a darn nuisance too.
We have a large sycamore which we get pruned about every five years. It's a long way from our house and far enough from our neighbours to not cause any issues. It screens the neighbours and gives them a bit of privacy too. It is worth the shade and inconvenience of the seeds.
Sycamore (often called, the weed of the forest.) Buddleia, butterfly bush. Both of these plants can often be found growing in some of the oddest places. Such as walls, bridges and even gutters and draipipe hoppers.
At the end of my garden there is a line of Sycamores and Poplars. It's not unusual to find fresh seedlings in the lily & fuchsia pots. I've heard of all manner of attemps at getting tid of them, in adition to methods already mentioned. Using caustic soda, spirits of salts even a blow torch, all these methods in addition to pulling the young plants out to cutting them down below soil level with a hoe or spade. When using any chemicals. Please be careful. Perhaps, commercially the seeds could br sold with a hundred per cent guarantee of germination. Enjoy your garden.
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I had about 30 unwanted sycamore saplings in the garden I just inherited.
Had to dig up every one, painstakingly, by hand. Longest roots I have ever seen! It was backbreaking work, I'm telling you.
One of them was so stubborn that it wouldn't budge. Not normally being a fan of chemicals, I had to resort to tree stump killer too, I'm afraid...
I suppose it's because they are such liberal self seeders, the seedlings are a nightmare to pull out once they reach a certain size, not many people want scores of sycamores in their gardens (especially if they are quite small gardens in the city like mine) and...I think that's it, for now!