We have 3 of these trees in my horse pasture. One of my friends said she was told they are toxic and to remove them. Now those trees have been in my pasture for 10+ years and no one has gotten sick from them. Just wondering if I really should have them removed? I’ve never seen the horses bother them other then sleeping in the shade.
It is invasive and a problem in Louisiana. Check this link - Chinese Tallow Tree | Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries
Oh I believe that. Just chopped down 4 little ones out in the pasture and drylot. I think we have 4 full sized ones yet. Not sure if I should use round up as I have a feeling they will grow back.
They are toxic, supposedly my rescue donkey got into some I guess in a situation without other food options and couldn’t stand for a week/had to be picked up with a tractor. But I have several in my pasture and they don’t partake (including previously afflicted donkey), they are freakishly invasive. Every fence line, if I don’t stay on top of it will have lines of saplings within weeks. So once I get some other more pressing tasks done around the farm I’ll likely look for some shade replacements/try to get the big ones removed.
Removing trees like this, where they tend to produce lots of new shoots in response to being cut, there are generally 2 methods:
1 - cut and immediately apply an herbicide with triclopyr, or dicamba + 2,4-D, and even then you may have to deal with shoots for a few years
2 - “hack and spray” which means making various hacks/cuts into the trunk and spraying the chemical (you can look up more details, it’s literally called the “hack and spray” technique This one is less likely to induce new ground shoots
These same tecniques are used to remove highly invasive Tree of Heaven
Well the farm I bought a year ago has about 20 of them so… I won’t be cutting them all down anytime soon.
IME, horses typically stay away from such toxic plants/trees unless they have nothing else to eat. I provide free-choice hay 24/7 and there’s grass so, I’m not really worried.
Thanks @JB I didn’t realize the tallows are a hydra type, good to know if I ever try to take them down in the future.