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Striped Maple is a non-native plant in our area and is crowding out native plants. It has started becoming a problem in my 10 acre forest area.

I am trying to figure out the least invasive way to kill it off. I would prefer one that does not involve Round-Up or similar type herbicide.

Chopping it down and nipping off saplings in the Spring is not working. They just grow back. I tried an experiment last spring by both nipping off a sapling (about 3' high) and then covering the spot with a bucket to block it from getting light. I just checked on it and found the bucket on its side and the sapling had re-grown.

I would really like a method that would cause no-harm to the native plants around the Striped Maples.

Bookaholic
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You best bet, other than completely uprooting all of the saplings, is an herbicide that you brush on to the cut stems/stumps. The best one of these, IMO, is triclopyr (if it's available in your area). So, you cut the stem at a convenient height, brush on the triclopyr, and then return whenever you want to to cut down the now-dead sapling. For larger trees, cut the tree down as normal, then brush triclopyr along the cambial layer (between the bark and the hardwood) the entire circumference of the tree. In the US, this herbicide is commonly sold as "Stump and Brush Killer".

Jurp
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