How to remove a large bush with regular tools

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Күн бұрын

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@jenniferharper5236 7 ай бұрын

I appreciate the information about your dimensions. I’m a short midlife woman and I often say that a small tool CAN get the job done, it just might take a little longer or creative approaches may be deployed!

@growitbuildit 7 ай бұрын

You are welcome Jennifer. I'm not a small person, but I'm certain you can do the job. Just make sure you sever the roots, and you will be fine. Also, placing a wooden block or rock (something to get more leverage) under the shovel handle will really help you out.

@jefff6167 4 ай бұрын

Thanks for taking the time to create this excellent video. You’re a very good presenter and teacher.

@growitbuildit 4 ай бұрын

Thank you very much! I appreciate the kind words.

@dianeladico1769 7 ай бұрын

Thanks for the video. You made a daunting project doable. My favorite tool for removing shrubs and trees is a mattock. It's great for digging, prying and cutting. The longer end lets you really swing it to build up some speed and the shorter end functions like a hatchet. Since the ends are 90 degrees from each other you can get to just about any angle you need. The long handle gives good leverage. Plus I want your super pointy shovel-that's cool.

@growitbuildit 7 ай бұрын

Thank you Diane - that was the exact purpose of the video. To show that a big job broken into smaller parts can be done in a reasonable amount of time. That shovel I use is simply known as a spade, and is available in most gardening stores. If there is a 'Fisker' brand near you, buy that kind, as they always come with a lifetime warranty.

@ThistleKing 7 ай бұрын

Thanks for the tips. I have some exotic non native bushes I’d like to replace with native bushes like indigo bush, elderberry and choke cherry.

@growitbuildit 7 ай бұрын

You're welcome - I'm still debating what will go in these bushes place, or how many....Inkberry, Winterberry, and possibly Ninebark

@threeriversforge1997 7 ай бұрын

Good stuff, as always. If I might offer some tips that I've learned over the years.... The standard spade is nice, but a "trenching" shovel is an order of magnitude better. The narrower blade makes for a shorter frontal cross section, which means you can really sink it into the ground! When digging up shrubs, the trenching shovel is able to get around those roots, between obstructions, and will even cut through smaller roots because all of your force is applied to a smaller area. Even for general digging tasks, I find the trenching shovel to be better. Sure, you don't get a huge load of dirt with every move, but that's a small trade-off for the ease of penetration and more erganomical blade/handle angle. Tip Two - the pressure washer. Learned this one just last year and couldn't believe how easy it made removing two shrubs. Both shrubs were about the size you show here, with a similarly stout root ball. My pressure washer is one of those cheap types from the big box stores, only 1600psi and no heating element. With the jet nozzle, I was able to excavate both bushes in about ten minutes by simply washing the soil away. It wasn't nearly as messy as you'd imagine. Excavating down the full length of the wand takes about 2 seconds. Then it's just a matter of moving over a few inches and making another hole. In no time flat, you've got the root ball surrounded and can feel all the larger roots that will need the loppers to cut through. It's easy to even angle your attack so you can excavate directly under the shrub. There are a lot of videos on YT about using a pressure-washer to excavate fence posts, and the process doesn't change for bushes. Quick and simple, and fun. It's a little mesmerizing, I'll admit. Digging holes and making mud with power tools? What guy wouldn't get a kick out of that?!?!

@growitbuildit 7 ай бұрын

Thank you! I fully agree regarding the shovel - all your points are right. And I had not heard of the pressure washer. That is a good idea (I don't have one though).

@threeriversforge1997 7 ай бұрын

@@growitbuildit I hadn't heard of the PW trick until last year. 50 years of aggravation behind a shovel, and it's only once I'm a geezer that somebody invents a better way of doing things! Within a minute of plugging it in, I had dug 10 wholes for 4" pots. Only needed three of them for the Carex pensylvanica I was putting under the oak, but was having so much fun that I decided to 'aerate' the ground just because I could. 😁

@growitbuildit 7 ай бұрын

@threeriversforge1997 that's cool

@dianeladico1769 7 ай бұрын

Agree about the trenching shovel. Absolutely love the pressure washer idea-that made my day as I have a few small trees to take out. That's going to make the job so much easier, thank you! I also have a swale that needs to be reshaped. Now I'm wondering how it would work edging a new flower bed. This is going to be fun... One quibble-girls get a kick out of making mud with power tools, too ;)

@threeriversforge1997 7 ай бұрын

@@dianeladico1769 I'm honored that you liked the idea! My pressure washer is just a cheap 1600psi type I got from Lowes, and it didn't flinch at the task. You might jam up the turbo nozzle with grit while you're excavating, so that's something to watch out for. Here's a short video that shows just how fast the pressure washer can dig down -- kzbin.info/www/bejne/ppvNdmaMetSbe5I 20 seconds, and he's got a hole that's 16" deep and probably 3" diameter! It really is that fast. There are plenty of videos of guys using pressure washers to cut trenches. The edge isn't very neat, but it goes so fast that you really can't complain. I used the fan nozzle to slice through the sod creeping over the road edge and it left a very sharp line. Sliced right through the grass, but I think a lot of it was due to the ground there being very sandy and easy to cut because it was only a couple inches before you hit the pavement underneath. When I pulled out those two shrubs in the front yard, I thought about using a shovel and mattock, but they were right under the awning and I wouldn't have been able to get a good swing with the mattock. All the roots promised to be a bear, too, so I oped to follow this guy's model. In just a few minutes, I had both bushes completely removed. I'll bet it wasn't even 20 minutes total work, and I didn't sweat a drop. You can easily feel when you hit a root, and the water washes all the dirt from around it, so it's super easy to get the loppers in there to cut the roots if you need to. The only negative is that the dirt's magically gone so you'll need to have something to fill the hole. I don't know where the dirt goes, honestly, because it's not splashing all over the place. I almost want to say that the water just compresses it down, removing all the air pockets. Some washes away, sure, but it's amazing just how much disappears! Being able to clean out the root ball while it's still in the hole means it's really light and easy to lift out. Overall, I can't recommend it enough. So get out there and make some mud!

@SeahawkAz Ай бұрын

I have used similar methods, when working with dry and hard soil I have used water to soften the soil usually takes at least a 5 gal bucket. To make quick work of root balls I will dig around to expose the roots and use a sawzall to cut root ball from roots

@growitbuildit Ай бұрын

That is a good tip. A sawzall would definitely help make quick work of the root ball.

@horozco26 Ай бұрын

On the first shrub you removed, you cut the roots and left the ones that had spread throughout. Will these roots eventually sprout?

@growitbuildit Ай бұрын

With this particular species, no. With others like Rose of Sharon, yes it would resprout.

@francestaylor9156 7 ай бұрын

Yah I've done this with the boxwoods in the front of the house. Just used a saw and large pruners to cut the shrub down and then used a shovel to remove the root ball. Saw is helpful in this case too because sometimes you have to cut the roots to get the root ball out. It's an absolute pain but I'm 5'3" and 140 lbs. I did like 5 of them so seriously anyone can do it lol. Remember to clean your tools off or use tools you don't care about because digging in dirt when cutting up the roots is going to lead to rusty tools. I would jump on the trunk like you did to get the plant moving too. Just gotta make sure to have good working boots. Branches I would put through a wood chipper. Good for a nice mulch. At least I have that to put on the new beds. As for the trunk and root ball... I still have them lying around. Maybe they'll be good as firewood now.

@growitbuildit 7 ай бұрын

Great tip on cleaning tools - I forgot to add that. Dirt contains little bits of hard material that will scratch and dull anything too

@lhh1084 4 ай бұрын

What brand of brush killer did you use?

@growitbuildit 4 ай бұрын

Hi - this is the exact stuff (affiliate link) - amzn.to/3dh5LVh Just use the concentrate. No mixing at all for killing the stump.

@Simsane 6 ай бұрын

I have two Rhododendrons that were very large and very old that I had cut down but I need to get the roots and root balls out so I can plant something else where they were. Hopefully I can succeed, thank you for this video.

@growitbuildit 6 ай бұрын

You can do it - just go slow, and be deliberate when you cut. And use a lever! It really helps for loosening and finding the remaining roots.

@Jasmine-qv9gq 2 ай бұрын

Great info, Thank you!

@growitbuildit 2 ай бұрын

You are very welcome

@Vezmerize 7 ай бұрын

Weird I didn't get notification of a new video!

@growitbuildit 7 ай бұрын

Hi - I didn't have this one send out notifications, as I figured most people wouldn't be interested in this video. You should get a notification for the next one though (tomorrow morning).

@Soulofagreathero 5 ай бұрын

I wish my roots were that shallow lol I’m talking 5 inch in circumference going deep deep down. I was able to get out the root bowl on most but one I had to clip and leave it. It seemed to go below the houses foundation.

@growitbuildit 5 ай бұрын

Wow! That sounds like quite the job. I probably would have just poisoned the stump on that one.

@ToMu29 7 ай бұрын

awh man those boxwoods are great! wish i lived near you to get it

@growitbuildit 7 ай бұрын

You could have had them!

@francestaylor9156 7 ай бұрын

@@growitbuildit - lol for real. I've taken out 5 of them and have like 10-15 of them to get rid of. UGH. I want to replace them with Ilex glabra or maybe even make the front a really pretty native flower garden for pollinators and hummingbirds. The boxwoods do nothing except maybe for the paper wasps that like to use the leaves to make their nests.

@growitbuildit 7 ай бұрын

@francestaylor9156 I'm probably going to get dwarf inkberries for the front, just so I don't have to prune each year, and so I have room for two. I've got 5 winterberry seedlings I'll plant on the side, and hopefully have a male and female within those five, then reduce to just a male and female

@DeciduousSnurb 5 ай бұрын

Looks like they were Japanese Holly and not Boxwood by the way. The alternate leaf arrangement is what Japanese Holly has, Boxwood have opposite. But still were some nice bushes though.

@novelist99 5 ай бұрын

I thought the same.

@bjohnsonutube 5 ай бұрын

Question, I’m looking to removing about 9 shrubs, three are the knockout rose variety, not sure of the other 6 but seemingly just your typical green shrubs. But I was wondering what would I need to do to the soil once I remove them. I want to plant new boxwoods in the rear and possibly some petunias in the front. Also, is there a timeframe that you have to wait before planting after removing

@growitbuildit 5 ай бұрын

Hi - if you get the rootballs out, then you could plant right away. In regards to soil, boxwood isn't too picky, but will want it to drain well. You can test your drainage using this method - kzbin.info/www/bejne/d5-pd6tuqNeFi9U For any other amendments, you could throw a few handfuls of compost in the hole, as that is always a major help. But really you just need to make sure it doesn't dry out but don't overwater it either. If it is extremely hot where you live, you may want to wait until summer winds down and cools off to plant the new boxwoods, as that will be less heat demands on the plants.

@KokoraLife Ай бұрын

Great info... thanks! 🌿💚

@growitbuildit Ай бұрын

You are very welcome! Good luck. Fall is a great time to rip out shrubs.

@TheXerosyn 4 ай бұрын

im only about half way thru the video so sorry if you answer this in a bit. Will the remaining roots regrow the shrub?

@growitbuildit 4 ай бұрын

Hi - that is completely dependent on the species. Some will (like butterfly bush), while others will not. If you want to be sure, just do the cut/paint method I show at the latter half of the video. That method will generally stop all shrubs from re-growing.

@TheXerosyn 4 ай бұрын

@@growitbuildit Thanks, I cut down one of this spiney leaf bushes. May dig a hole and make a water feature in that spot now. Better curb apeal.

@growitbuildit 4 ай бұрын

Sounds good - good luck!

@kher811 Ай бұрын

Very helpful

@growitbuildit Ай бұрын

Thank you - I'm glad I was able to help you out. Good luck!

@Sizlokk 3 ай бұрын

Can i use a machete? 2:53

@growitbuildit 3 ай бұрын

Absolutely. Use whatever tool you think would work best! I was just showing the ones I feel are the most efficient. But on a different type of bush, others might be more suitable.

@trishferrer8209 5 ай бұрын

Fun to watch. I need to get rid of a whole ugly row of nandina/barberry (((what were the landscapers thinking???))) I am not about to get my 64-year old self (female w/arthritic hands and knees) out there and do what I just watched you do. 😂 But, for someone physically able, this was a straightforward instructional video. Still, not sure the barberry would allow you to get all up in its business. Lol

@growitbuildit 5 ай бұрын

Thank you for the kind words, I'm glad you enjoyed it even if you've got to many shrubs to handle yourself! Hopefully they do come out easily. I plan on taking out a 20' tall Chinese Holly later this summer.....that will be a good test!