Building in Nanawale

[Royall]

to kill the albizia, drill about 4-5 1/4" holes around the base and put about 5ml of Milestone in each hole. It will defoliate the tree in about 2 weeks. Milestone is not cheap. 130 bucks a quart

[VancouverIslander]

I got avocados started accidentally by tossing the seeds off the deck into the weeds. Before long, lo and behold, trees had sprouted. Maybe 2 inches of soil there.

Me ka ha`aha`a,
Mike

[Vic]

Thanks

Cant wait to live in Puna!

[SoCal_to_Hawaii]

Regarding the Albezia --

-You do not need to drill deep, you only need to get to the cambium layer just below the bark. A hatchet or machete could be used as well. See the link below.

-Note where that big Albezia is in relation to a future home site and driveway. You poison it as is and it will rot and drop limbs where it stands. If some of those limbs will drop in spots you don't want them, you may want an arborist to remove the offending limbs first. But, if you don't plan on doing much for 8 years this may or may not be an issue, my understanding is a large Albezia successfully treated with Milestone is pretty much gone in 5 years. However, I'm not sure that is something I would want to bet on.

-Milestone is expensive and a quart may be more than you need. Maybe some of your neighbors or Punawebbers already have some and would be willing to sell you a small amount from their bottle.


Here are some useful links:
Big Island Invasive Species Committee http://www.biisc.org/albizia/
Milestone (Not eligible for prime, but even with shipping it may be cheaper that buying it local) http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00C4Y22EM/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o04_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Injection instructions (application starts on pg 3) http://www.ctahr.hawaii.edu/oc/freepubs/pdf/wc-11.pdf

9/29 14:45, edited to account for Vic's 8 year plan.

[terracore]

I noticed that some of the albizia I killed came back to life after 2 years and they are probably more dangerous than ever because there is new growth coming from a half rotten standing tree. Frankentree. I imagine it will eventually die completely but the moral of the story is some trees will need follow-up treatments.

Milestone is also useful for killing a clump (or whatever they are called) of bananas. If you get the bunchy top virus you can poison the one with symptoms and the whole clump will turn black and melt away.

All that said, use the stuff judiciously and treat the poisoned plants as if they were hazmat, and keep it out of your compost: https://agdev.anr.udel.edu/weeklycropupdate/?p=649

ETA: The following is from the Milestone label:

* Do not use Milestone-treated plant residues, including hay or straw from treated areas, or manure from animals that have grazed forage or eaten hay harvested from treated areas within the previous 3 days, in compost or mulch that will be applied to areas where commercially grown mushrooms or susceptible broadleaf plants may be grown.

* Do not spread manure from animals that have grazed or consumed forage or eaten hay from treated areas within the previous 3 days on land used for growing susceptible broadleaf crops.

* Manure from animals that have grazed forage or eaten hay harvested from Milestone-treated areas within the previous 3 days may only be used on pasture grasses, grass grown for seed, and wheat.

* Do not plant a broadleaf crop in fields treated in the previous year with manure from animals that have grazed forage or eaten hay harvested from Milestone-treated areas until an adequately sensitive field bioassay is conducted to determine that the Milestone concentration in the soil is at level that is not injurious to the crop to be planted.

[ElysianWort]

Yeah thanks for the hazard warnings terracore, the stuff does need to be taken very seriously. I have a couple of good friends who have been arborists for more than 15 years and they were telling me about a friend of theirs who used this and various other types of these poisons without the proper precautions and now he is unable to work and going through serious nerve problems and other health issues because of it.
I would like to treat several trees in my area and play albezia assassin with some trees my thoughtless neighbors leave standing but I second guess it because of the poison hazards, not the trespassing.