strawberry guava

[Wao nahele kane]

What was the name of that tool for extracting strawberry guava, root and all?

E ho'a'o no i pau kuhihewa.

[MarkP]

A weed wrench is one. I considered one but now I don't know how well it would work. Guava has a very extensive and interconnected root system and uprooting a single tree might not be possible.

[Rob Tucker]

I have a weed wrench and it works fairly well on brush and small trees. I haven;t tried it on guava yet as all my guava is in a`a lava/forest. No matter what you do with guava if even a small piece is left on the ground.... even cut off pieces laying on the ground, it will resprout and grow anew.

People have tried using them for fence posts. They cut the posts to length, dig a hole and end up planting a tree. The guava posts starts sprouting branches. This $hit is hard to kill and pretty much worthless.

Best bet is to chainsaw it off close to the ground as possible and immediately poison the stump. A product called Crossbow is good.

[Wao nahele kane]

You're probably both right on this one...
I've cleared a substantial amount with my backhoe and found many of the roots to be in excess of 6' and greater. The areas cleared with the backhoe keep cleared with the exception of a few stragglers not extracted.
I have a region not accessible by backhoe but I may have to rig them via rope under the base and pull them out with the backhoe from a distance. I need the stumps gone, so poison isn't really an option on this one. It's going to be a long repetative task. I hate the stuff.
Thanks for the replies.

E ho'a'o no i pau kuhihewa.

[Royall]

I stuck about a 10" x 12' guava log in a hole for a pole shed at Pam's ranch and I was shocked to see it had sprouted limbs in a very short time!!

Royall

[Wao nahele kane]

Royall that's pretty cool when you think about it... it's one tuff plant.
If one wants to use the stock/trunk for something in ground related immediatly, they'll need to strip the bark completely off the stock/trunk or allow it time to die while off the ground after cutting it down. I know once it has sat and dried for a few months after cutting, it won't come back even if burried (I had a giant pile of them). It's similar to Ti, Ginger and several other plants in this manner. The cambium layer must be dead or removed. The root remains are limited with regard to re-sprouting if left in the ground when the majority root has been extracted.
They're extremely hardi with regard to taking damage but by no means invinsible.
I think we're more accustom to tree type plants to act like trees and not to have the qualities of other plants. These things are out of the ordinary in some ways and that's what catches us off guard.

They have extremely impressive characteristics with regard to fiber bending (would make excellent woven furnishings/products) and the density of the wood is pretty impressive also. I'd say they have value if you're set up to make a desired product with them. Unfortunatly, if all you want is to get them off your property, it will take some hard work.

E ho'a'o no i pau kuhihewa.

[Bullwinkle]

I use an Alligator from Black and Decker to cut this stuff down to ground level, follow up with poison on the stump .. a year or two later the roots rot out

[EightFingers]

Seems like they'd make good canes or hiking poles. Being a woodworker, I think it would be great to see if I could make something out of one. I also know about "twig furniture" but that's not really my style. Anyone know if it's possible to steam and bend the stuff?

Oh, I have plenty of this on my land, I don't need any "donations" Thanks!