Expert: Jim Hyland - 10/8/2003

Question
Is there an effective way to kill a 50' loblolly pine? I have one in my backyard in an area where I would like to place a garden but our homeowner's association seems to take the position that it cannot be removed unless it's diseased or dead.

Thanks!

Answer
Pines are not that hard to kill. You can either girdle the trunk cutting down to the wood or take a small axe and cut into the bark and spray a herbicide (Roundup) into these cut places. The girdling will have to completely around the trunk and at least 1/2 inch wide.The cut and spray method- make the cuts about 2 inches wide and spaced about every 4 inches around the trunk (spray roundup into the cut until the it runs out the sides of the cut). Of course these methods will kill the tree but will leave marks on the pines that might indicate the tree just did not just up and die (IF this makes a diffeerence). IF it was me I would kill the tree.