How thick is the dirt on them. Most probably they will just push their way through. Some plants are just tough. I put a black plastic cover over a Bougainvillea stump but it took about 4 years before it died off. If you're not adverse to poisons, you could drill holes down into it and pour in some glyphosate (Roundup). You'd still have to wait for the plants remains to rot away but the longer they stay alive, the longer it will take before they're decayed.

I'd say probably no more than 3-5" of dirt? If I mound more dirt on top, do you think would that help? I guess I'm not opposed to poisoning them either - would Roundup work on the stump though? And if so, what % concentrate would I need for that? I have the classic spray-on RoundUp that I was trying to use and all it would do is rot the leaves and shoots, but they'd still come up.

Thanks for the info! I guess if it starts shooting back up through the dirt maybe I'll think about digging and drilling in to apply some Roundup. I noticed Roundup offers a stump killer as well - would that be pretty effective?

BTW: Did you use a combination of Roundup and covering the plant with dirt/tarp for killing off the Bougainvillea?

I'll look into getting something to cover it up - would landscaping fabric be effective? Before I buried the plant, 90% of it was browned from when I tried killing it off beforehand. There were a few green shoots and leaves that grew back out though.

I'm just wondering if it'll take a long time to get rid of these since they're probably closer to 15 years old at least...

Try pouring a big pot of boiling water on the stump and roots. That should kill it, especially if you dig a little moat around it first, so the heat really gets to it.

Thanks for the suggestion! I think I read about pouring hot water on from searching around on the web. I was actually thinking about that after I covered up the stumps with dirt. I guess if I notice more stumps popping up, I'll give that a try. I still have two BOPs left to handle as well as a giant BOP stump (I cut down it down to 2-3 feet high but there are some shoots starting to come up from the side of the base now).

The main ingredient in Round-up is Glyphosate, but the stump killer might have some other additives such as 2,4D. That ups the ante a bit because that's more toxic than just the Glyphosate. The Glyphosate is broken down in the soil by micro-organisms and in fact breaks down into a fertiliser after a short while. Some of these other compounds last a lot longer. But be mindful that before any of these things do actually break down they can be very harmful to other creatures, especially frogs and fish.

For covering up, anything which prevents light from getting through would be okay. Letting water in is good because it encourages growth which makes the plant use up its stored reserves. The sooner the reserves are depleted the sooner it dies.

Interesting, I knew Glyphosate breaks down but didn't realized it would break down into a fertilizer. My in-laws came yesterday for the 4th and my father-in-law ended up helping me start digging out the other BOPs. the yard is a crazy mess right now. There's a couple large Jacaranda trees right outside the yard wall and we discovered, while digging trenches around the BOPs and rose bushes, that the Jacaranda roots have invaded the yard! They're relatively shallow but some are thicker and required using a saw to remove. It seems like there's an endless rabbit-hole of landscaping obstacles in our yard!

I think I'm going to a need a new shovel and spade soon too...

Good luck with this! I'm so on your side. My late mother in law had 6, 5' wide clumps of these invasive things, and they were so shaggy and ugly! The flowers were few and the clumps so large, you couldn't hardly reach them to pick them. We sold the house, so it's the new owner's problem!

I got rid of a bouganvilla too by using roundup on it's green leaves. Never dug it up, and it never came back. Every time it would put out new leaves, they got the Round-up treatment. That was two years ago. It's gone!

Now, I'm doing the same thing with invasive mint! Talk about tough!! Never again, in-ground. Love mint, but not how it creeps everywhere...

Good luck with your bird of Paradise!

Man it's been a hot summer here in SoCal! Anyway, I've slowly grown my garden tool collection over the past several months and ended up getting a 5lb pick-axe/mattock from Harbor Freight tools for under $15 after coupons, etc.

Over the weekend, I went at the BOPs next to the AC condenser and removed pretty much all the stems. The mattock works wonders! My only concern now is if the BOP will keep sprouting back up. I'm pretty sure I got the pick deep enough in so that it penetrated the crown - I've heard that if you can damage the crown, that might be enough to kill it off... I only hope in as much. Anyway, now that the stems are at least cleared out, it gives a much greater sense of relief and accomplishment. And definitely a better visualization of how we'll ultimately end up utilizing the space. There's still a couple rose bushes and other plants I'm hesitant to uproot at this point. Of course, I've noticed there are multiple rose bush shoots that have sprung up in random places all over the yard.

Oh and the giant BOP stump is still there from when my father-in-law came. I think I'll be able to get that out with the pick-axe eventually. But it was hard work getting the normal BOP stems out - I was sweating like crazy and drenched afterwards.

I'm glad I picked up this tool - it really works wonders! I'm just hoping it doesn't break on me anytime soon! Actually, there's one 5-star review on Harbor Freight's site where the guy bought one and also got one from Home Depot. He said the Home Depot one broke after using it a few times but the HF mattock was still going strong after pretty strenuous use.

I find mattocks are great, but just don't let your feet get in the way .......OUCH!!!!!

LOL I know what you mean. When I think about using mine, I always envision the worst-case scenario and the pick/cutter landing wrong and hitting my foot. That would really be horrible. I'm not a tall guy though and found that the length of the mattock is pretty substantial, so I figure there's not much room for error. Of course, anything can happen!

Just a quick update. I've been making a lot of progress with the mattock I got from Harbor Freight reciprocating saw I'm borrowing (also from HF... I may just go buy one - they're only $20 right now w/ a coupon and work reasonably well). The pruning blades I picked up for it really do the trick on smallish roots; just make sure you wear safety goggles/glasses!

I pretty much hacked out most of the BOPs - I'm pretty certain I pierced the crowns on all of them too but I'll have to do some double-checking. That and I guess I'll know in a few months if I don't see any shoots coming out of the ground. *crossing fingers*

I also took the mattock and reciprocating saw to the giant BOP stump yesterday. Those tools are lifesavers - the mattock worked really well with splitting the stump down and loosening the packed soil and roots. And the reciprocating saw cut through parts of the stump and roots in the ground almost like butter.

There's such a feeling of accomplishment and relief getting [most of] it out of the ground. I still need to go back and get rid of as many extraneous roots that I can though.

Looks like you're well on your way to being rid of them. Any bits of shoot that may turn up should be easy to control.

I sure hope so! These things have been a thorn in my side for the longest time...

I attended a SFG workshop this past Saturday and ended up buying the book by Mel Bartholomew. So I'm thinking/planning towards setting up at least 1-2 4x4s to get started, hopefully. I guess that means I won't need to worry much about amending the existing soil too much but it's good to clear all the plants out since I think I'll end up just laying some pavers or bricks around parts of the yard.

Hi all. I have a huge Bougainvillea that is in a atrium in the middle of the house. I've cut the stump down to the ground and now am planning on placing 4 inches of concrete to make floor level with the surrounding floor in the house. Will this kill it????? I know how hardly these things are and am concerned about it making is way through the concrete. Thanks for any insight. If I don't have to I'd rather not use poison.

I'd let it go for a while, keep breaking off any new shoots until the plant is weakened. That's a good thickness of concrete, but how wide will it be? If it's only a small 'plug' the plant could still lift it. Also, the shoots could grow along underneath and come up around the edge if there's a gap, or even a crack. You'd need to keep those points in mind.

Jplee3, I'm in the same boat as you. Bird Of Paradise plants are a NIGHTMARE! They are impossible to kill. Prior owner planted one in an 8' x 8' square between my bedroom, my lanai, and neighbor's unit. I cut it every 3 months, and it grows to 12 ft tall, again & again. It jumped across the 6' grass into another landscaped area, and has invaded and killed all the other plants in that area. I can't stop it. Last week I dug up 5 rootwads, which were wrapped around foundations and around irrigation pipes. But the MOTHER ROOTWAD I can't even budge. The rootwad is almost the WHOLE 8' x 8' plot of earth. I am desperate. I broke my shovel on it. I cannot possibly dig it out... At 5' sea level, I'm sure the roots go to sea level, and there's irrigation piping all around the edge of the 8' x 8' plot. Based on tips given here, I will use a hand-drill to drill a bunch of holes into the MOTHER ROOTWAD and fill them with Roundup. I'll vigilantly spray the new shoots. Beyond that, I'm helpless. That plot of land is seemingly useless because of the invasion.

on_fire_for_fire, wow! That sounds crazy... it's been a while since I removed the BOPs but they were a major PITA to get rid of. I literally spent the weekends and almost every day after work for several weeks straight to get them out. Several people recommended a couple things that I think helped: A) pick-axe and B) pour boiling hot water on the plants. When it's that huge though I dunno... if you have an open yard you may just need to rent a backhoe or something! Or perhaps just pay a professional service to come in and remove it. Once you crack the crown of the BOP though, it should slowly die thereafter. I'd say crack and expose as much of the crown as possible and then pour boiling hot water on it and I think that may do some major damage.

Good luck!

Your posts were late last summer... I'm encouraged because you sound like the episode is now PAST TENSE... is that correct? That gives me hope. Tomorrow after work I'll try to damage & boil the rootwad. Thankyou

Hm, I think you're mistaking my posts for others - my last post before the ones in 2015 (from other ppl) are from back in October of 2012 haha. But either way, it is a definite past tense. In fact, we had patio pavers installed back there not too long ago where it was just a dirt patch since 2012 pretty much. Good luck! There will be sweat ;)

Damn. And here I am, in the UK, so proud of my pot-grown Strelizia, and how good it's looking at 18" high.... It's an indoor plant in the winter and outdoors in the summer.... I used to have a huge one when I lived in France, in a 3' x 3' pot (it was 3' high, too) and it looked majestic.... I guess one man's pest is another man's pleasure....

I just had an extremely tall, large BOP whacked down at soil level, but figured I might have to do more to get it to die. What about vinegar and salt solution -- it kills weeds, might it kill BOP quite well? Thinking it might be more effective (faster) than just boiling water, but concerned about how long it would be in the soil and kill anything else planted in the area. I can definitely take my mattock to the stubs -- I think there is more than one root ball. Thoughts on the vinegar/salt residual?

I haven't yet tried the new attack on the mother ROOTWAD... too many work obligations. My plan is still to drill into it and pour Roundup in there. I was disappointed to see that the Bird of Paradise plant 5' away started sprouting vigorously,,, I was sure I had dug up that whole rootwad completely Spraying roundup on the resprouts had ZERO effect on Bird of Paradise. I have permission to borrow a Pulaski from work... that's the tool used by firefighters to dig up burning tree stumps. It's NOT easy. I have considered pouring gasoline on the rootwad and lighting it, but because of the proximity to buildings I would probably be held liable for any unforeseen damage. Roundup DID NOT WORK AT ALL ON THE ROOTS.

One week after my BOP was sawed off to ground level, many new sprouts, several inches high, have appeared! Dang, this stuff is unbelievable ... someone ought to figure out something that can be made from it, since it's so naturally renewable!

The weather in the UK has been utterly abysmal. So bad. Cool temperatures, rain every day for the past 3 weeks, and occasional storms. Had one last saturday. The hail was horrendous. it strafed a few of my plants and I had left my BoP outside, as the weather had been clement, I figured any good natural light and ambience is better than none.

Well, the hail really went to work on the leaves, and now I have a sad and sorry-looking BoP with every leaf split along the veins... Brought it back in now, and it's back in its old familiar spot. However, I have had to raise the pot off its saucer by a good half-inch though (stood it on 3 pieces of cut wine-bottle cork) because the thick fleshy root has worked its way out at the bottom.

(After I did this, the pot drained off around a quarter-inch of water into the dish....)

I think this plant - from what you all report - is a lot damn tougher than it looks, because it actually enjoyed a daily soaking, it seems.... If I had left it out any longer, it would have driven its root into the ground, I'm sure....

Two separate applications of Roundup on the resprouts didn't stop this plant in the least. So I'm trying to mechanically destroy it. Last night & today I dug up tons of the periphery roots, 5 to 8 ft from the center. Then I dug a moat 1.5 ft deep, all the way around the 10 sq ft rootwad. The roots go deeper. I'm not strong enough to lift it or dislodge it. Hmmm. Can anyone vouch for the gasoline & light-it-on-fire technique? I'm not even sure it would burn... When I cut the plant stems, they drip water like a running faucet.

Tara, the good news is that if you cut off all the damaged leaves, new untattered ones will soon appear! The rampant regrowth I got on mine was after several days of pounding rain. Good luck!

on_fire, a friend of mine had 5 of these taken out by pros ... told me the deep holes left were shocking and now I know why.

Round-up isn't going to do it, at least on its own - I tried. You need to go at it from multiple angles. Pick-axe/mattock the crown and try to split it and put holes in it as much as possible to expose it. Pour round-up in there. I also tried boiling hot water, which may have helped. But I would only count on doing that *after* exposing the crown. The crown will be the hardest part to get to, after spending a lot of time taking down the stems. I decent chainsaw might make quick work of things though :) If you have access to renting one of those red stump machines, that may also be effective with tearing up the crown and rootball.

New progress! Today I dug a wider moat around the "mother rootwad" crown. Then I moved some of the dirtpiles out of the way, so I could get better leverage with my shovel. I kept pulling out dirt from underneath the crown, about 1.5-ft deep. I kept working around it on all sides, scooping out from underneath. Around and around and around. One time, it almost looked dislodged (like a child's loose tooth which is probably just hanging on by a thread but you don't know for SURE...). So I bent down and tried to lift and shove with my whole body, and my back was killing me but it finally gave way, about 6 inches! I got the crown disconnected from the dirt!!! Long story short: I took another 30 min for me to figure out a way to lift it out of the hole and roll it across the lawn to a place strong men could pick it up. It's an oval, 2ft x 3ft. I rolled it on its edges like a tire. It's impossibly heavy, and now my back is killing me. The beast is out of the ground, but my battle wounds are many. Please tell me it won't grow back without the crown.

Ok.

"It won't grow back without the crown".

I hope that makes you feel better, but I cannot in all honesty - from what I have read both here and elsewhere - vouch for the veracity of the statement. But I hope it's correct....

Look after your back. God allegedly created the very first people as gardeners. I can't believe he didn't design their backs in cast iron, with a hinge in the middle. Considering the number of their so-called descendants who adore gardening, this is an oversight of the most behemothic proportions....

Congrats on_fire_for_fire, it sounds like you did much damage to the beast. I feel your pain as far as battle wounds, sweat and tears are concerned. I had to deal with several of these bad boys.... at least I got a good workout from it LOL. At this point, you *might* see more shoots come out of the ground but I think you've gotten a majority of it taken care of at least from the sound of it. Unless there's some other crazy hidden rootball in the area, you can probably deal with the rest on a smaller case-by-case basis without breaking your back much more. Good luck!

"oversight of the most behemothic proportions", LOL TaraMaiden, I agree! Jplee3, there is another plant in a landscaped area 5 yards away. Even worse scenario because its rootwad it interwoven with roots of several other trees. I don't think I have the strength or knowledge to dig it up too... I'll try your pick-axe method and pour Roundup in the holes. Regardless, I conquered the biggest offender, the one blocking all my back windows. THANK YOU FOR THE SUPPORT!!! I think I'd have given up if not for the help from this forum. BOP is the hardiest plant species I've ever seen.

I had the same issue with roots wrapped and intertwined with roots from a Jacaranda tree outside our walls. That was a crazy beast to deal with as well. I had to use and probably ruin a friend's reciprocating saw to deal with those roots, which were basically solid wood branches sometimes 4-5" thick. A reciprocating saw may be of great help to you too. If there are any harbor freights nearby, its worth the $30 for one of their saws.

My neighbor hired a backhoe operator to take his out. Left a huge hole which he filled in with every manner of leaves, twigs, sticks and buckets upon buckets of free county compost and mulch. There is now a beautiful, healthy plum tree growing there. I've seen people dig moats around and put in copper sulfate crystals. Those are the blue crystals you flush down your commode to kill tree roots in your sewer line. They don't stick around in the soil for long, but they'll kill the roots of everything around them. I had to kill a small pindo palm here, and I just cut it down to the ground, hacked up the top as much as I could with a shovel, then poured a whole box of salt all around and over it. I figured the salt would eventually leach out and I was right. I have something growing there.

Could someone enlighten me as to what kind of fertilizer glyphosate eventually breaks down into? I can't believe that. I think it's just more Monsanto trickery.

If anyone is interested:

Meanwhile, here in the cloudy, damp and decidedly unseasonally cool UK, my Strelizia is currently pushing up a brand new leaf. If you recall, it did suffer a degree of leaf-shredding by getting inadvertently left outside during a severe if brief hailstorm...Well there's obviously life in the young girl yet. Oh, and the root poking out of the drainage hole? That's now visible poking its 'nose' beyond the base rim of the pot....

Step by step instructions for removing large bird of paradise.

Tools needed: pic-axe, chain saw, recipical saw (with longest blades you can get), spade shovel with strong handle, 4' 4x4 pressure treated post, come-along, 1' of heavy duty metal chain with stong "S" link for connecting chain ends together.

Instructions: Step#1. Use chain saw to cut plant stems down to about a foot above the ground. Step#2. Dig around and under root ball of plant as much as possible. Step#3. Starting on an outer side of the plant that has at least a 5 feet of clearance; cut down and around a section of the plant / root ball (not too big about 1') with reciprocal saw. Step#4. Put the 4x4 post down in the ground about 4' from plant section in step#3 with a slight angle away from the plant leave about 1' above ground and pack dirt tightly. Step#5. Put chain around exposed 4x4 post, wrap section of plant to be removed with cable end of come-along, connect other end of come-along to chain and ratchet come-along to put pressure on plant section to be removed. Step#6, pic-axe to seperate root ball section or maybe use shovel; add come-along pressure as needed. Use care when working with come-along cable under tension.

I used this method yestetday and its working good for me, I'm about a fouth of the way done. My back is sore, for these plants are hard a heck to remove; just know your limitations and be safe. Also try not to cut into the dirt with chain saw, it will dull the chain, but for the cost of a chain verses a chiropractor and pain, I'm using chain saw down deep.

Hope this helps

Eddie K.

Palm Bay, Fl.

Wow ! I didn´t know how bad these BOP plants are to get rid of them. Can you believe I have purchased about 35 of them a few years back. They were now huge and tall. I had a man planted them for me. How ironic, that I paid somebody to have this "plague" now for me to handle. But like I tell my husband ( a retired physician) "we all make mistakes" . He does understand that too well. I have had a couple of Lawn Service men cutting them down, to the ground level. After all I´ve read here today, I am hiring a professional to tackle this project. I take it as a loss.... A big loss. Just cough up that bill .... "It ainta going to be cheap" Yick :(