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ID and help please
Singing Gardener
Posts: 1,237
What is this that is growing on my Robinia tree and how can I get rid of it? It seems be growing out directly from the tree. I've tried cutting it right back but it just regrows.
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That's an elderberry bush (Sambucus) grown from a seed in a bird dropping. It's growing in the accumulation of leafmould that has accumulated in the fork of those branches. It's roots won't penetrate the robinia; if you want to remove it you can just pull it out.
Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.
Thanks Dove. OH says that he's tried to pull it out but he can't (and if he can't then I don't think I'll even try!). Would it be ok to use glyphosate on it or would that harm the tree?
Just pull out what you can and cut off any regrowth - it'll give up.
If it can't be pulled out, there's a chance that there is a hole in the centre of the joint of those 3 main branches and the centre of the trunk is rotting and this is what the elderberry has rooted into. If that has happened, the rot will continue as rainwater will be running into the hole, but it could be many years before the tree succumbs as the living part of all trees is a thin layer just below the bark. Some Oak trees at a park near me have lost virtually all of the heartwood in the centre of their trunks this way, but are still growing after hundreds of years.
Yes, that sounds quite likely. I hope it doesn't succumb in the near future though as it's right next to the conservatory which means it's very useful for providing shade and also that it would make a terrible mess if it decided to collapse unexpectedly...