I've inherited some land and am trying to figure out my timing on some pervasive tree issues and where the focus should be.

Mesquites
I've got two pastures (one is 10 ac and the other is much larger but I'm only worried about 3-5 of the acres) of mesquite that have gotten out of control. Some are 15+ feet tall and you can see how the progression is moving across the pastures. I presume this is dozer level work, but is there a time of year that is better? If I do it now, I'll destroy a good amount of pasture that has good grass in it. Is the winter a better time so you can jump on the spring growth after all the work is done? I don't cultivate these areas so I wont be using them for something else but I do want healthy pastures for the land quality itself, deer, and any cattle that end up on the property.

Cedar
Everywhere. Not in the large groves that run for acres you saw in many places, but they are interspersed amongst all the other trees. I currently carry a chainsaw, a small handsaw, and some larger loppers. I cut down whatever I can easily get with those tools, but I'm probably just barely slowing the growth. Many of them are in areas where I'm worried about the equipment tearing up the tearing. Its hilly with rock/clay under the topsoil and I worry about the longer impact of erosion. The cedars are likely causing the same issue as they destroy all the undergrowth so it seems like something needs to be done. I've seen properties in the area do full scale cedar clearance but it only seems to last for a short period of time which makes me keen on saving money here.

Live Oak with oak wilt
We've been battling this for years but its taken a couple big groups of trees out. When's the best time to knock these down or does it even matter? I had heard in the past that you wait for the winter as the virus is less likely to travel and infect new trees. I've heard wait several years after the tree dies so there's no risk to neighboring trees. I've heard about cutting culverts to keep the root travel from happening. Seems like its just a bunch of ideas people have tried but I haven't seen real hard information on this. My big worry here is that when I clear these out, I'm just opening the door to mesquite and cedar infill. So I'm also trying to figure out what to do with these areas to slow the spread.

Any and all help is greatly appreciated.

For the mesquites, I guess it all depends on how much you're wanting to spend and quickly you want it done. If you cut them off flush with the ground and treat the stumps with Remedy/diesel mix, you can kill them deader than dead. The issue is you now have a stump. But if they're closely trimmed, I'd leave them and let them rot.

For the cedar, cutting them off at the ground is the cheapest route. They don't need treating as long as you take out every piece that has a green leaf on it. If they're on a hillside and you're concerned about erosion, you might be best to take out some small pockets to allow for grasses and small shrubs to stabilize things. The only good thing about cedars is they are pretty good at holding soil together to prevent erosion.

I got nothing on the live oaks.

I have cleared, raked and reseeded with native grass right at 300 acres total in the last two years on my parents place. I had to lease an excavator for 70 acres of the thickest hackberry stand you've ever seen and then 230 acres of really thick mesquite stands with a 100 HP skidsteer and grubber. I just grub in the evenings after I get home from work and on the weekends. You should do it yourself, it's great therapy after a crappy day at work. Once you get the hang of it, you can get rolling pretty fast and get a lot cleared in a day. A skidsteer isn't near as fast as an excavator, but I don't have to lease an excavator for 7k a month for the duration of the project and with this brush clearing and perimeter fencing program I'm enrolled in, I'll end up with a Skidsteer and a ton of attachments paid for by doing it myself.

Check with your local NRCS agent about getting enrolled into the EQIP program to help cost share it with you.

I Hate trying to pull out the Hackberry bigger trees with an excavator. Often having to dig on several sides.
Same with decent sized Yaupon.

aggiedata said:

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My brother got the skid steer and went to work focusing on cedars. I don't think chain sawing will kill them. You need to pull them up from the roots.

There are several programs you may qualify for depending on the county to offset some of the expense. Talk to your county agent. There are also people who clear land as as business, but why should they have all the fun.

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just have to cut below the lowest branch. Don't need to pluck them

Trenching to prevent spread of oak wilt through roots has been done for decades & it works.
It's not permanent.
You need to get an oak wilt specialist out to direct you on where to trench. If the trees are far enough apart from other groups, it isn't necessary.

No reason to yank ash juniper and leave bomb craters. If you cut/shear it close to the ground and leave no green branch they're dead. Red berry juniper, on the other hand, will crown sprout.

My understanding is that oak wilt can survive in a dead tree for a year. There are more knowledgeable people on here than me about that.

The skid steer has Air Conditioning and music!

He estimated he pulled 2000 cedars up over the summer. A few had a surprise rattlesnake in them.

Good to know on the stumps. I figured they would just come back like a mesquite.

What attachment is that?
I've been eyeing a mesquite grabber xl from I Dig Texas. Any recommendations?

Mainly mesquite removal

aggiedata said:

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The skid steer has Air Conditioning and music!

He estimated he pulled 2000 cedars up over the summer. A few had a surprise rattlesnake in them.

Good to know on the stumps. I figured they would just come back like a mesquite.

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Thank goodness they don't. Just below the branches. If you leave even one it can survive. I spent a few summers chopping cedar during high school on the family ranch…

aggiedata said:

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My brother got the skid steer and went to work focusing on cedars. I don't think chain sawing will kill them. You need to pull them up from the roots.

There are several programs you may qualify for depending on the county to offset some of the expense. Talk to your county agent. There are also people who clear land as as business, but why should they have all the fun.

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I'll definitely reach out to the county agent.

What is that implement and will it work on a tractor? I've got a front bucket that can be removed.

from my research, the cedars I have can be cut, you just have to get below the lowest leaves.

Here's a better picture. Skid steer normally has a bucket

For the mesquite, is there any concern about time of year that a big project (involving an excavator and then regrading a meadow after root pulling) is done? This this a winter sort of project or just get it done when you can?

Our place is primarily used for hunting and the areas I'm working on aren't primary food sources. But I probably don't wont the work to happen between October and early January.

Greener Acres said:

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For the mesquite, is there any concern about time of year that a big project (involving an excavator and then regrading a meadow after root pulling) is done? This this a winter sort of project or just get it done when you can?

Our place is primarily used for hunting and the areas I'm working on aren't primary food sources. But I probably don't wont the work to happen between October and early January.

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This is where I'm at. Cousin is adamant that we'd need an excavator to start to reclaim the fields for planting. It's such a whip.

I cleared around 800 acres of thick cedar (ash-juniper). Shearing them at ground level is the best way and the quickest as it doesn't leave stumps and you don't tear your ground up like an excavator or dozer.
Tree pullers will only pull smaller trees and then you have the larger ones left so you have to deal with them anyway.
Understand it's not a one and done deal. You will have regrowth from existing cedar seeds in the ground and birds and animals bringing seeds in from your neighbor.
You will need to continue to keep them under control by either mechanical means or controlled burns.
A skid steer, a tree shear, and a grapple to stack and burn is your best ticket on cedar control.

Gunny456 said:

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I cleared around 800 acres of thick cedar (ash-juniper). Shearing them at ground level is the best way and the quickest as it doesn't leave stumps and you don't tear your ground up like an excavator or dozer.
Tree pullers will only pull smaller trees and then you have the larger ones left so you have to deal with them anyway.
Understand it's not a one and done deal. You will have regrowth from existing cedar seeds in the ground and birds and animals bringing seeds in from your neighbor.
You will need to continue to keep them under control by either mechanical means or controlled burns.
A skid steer, a tree shear, and a grapple to stack and burn is your best ticket on cedar control.

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Napalm all of it.....sigh.

Greener Acres said:

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For the mesquite, is there any concern about time of year that a big project (involving an excavator and then regrading a meadow after root pulling) is done? This this a winter sort of project or just get it done when you can?

Our place is primarily used for hunting and the areas I'm working on aren't primary food sources. But I probably don't wont the work to happen between October and early January.

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I don't think it matters when you grub if you're not reseeding through EQIP. If you go through NRCS they want us to have everything re-seeded by last day of May to avoid putting out seed and not getting any rain to germinate the seed.

I grubbed all fall and winter, even while my dad was hunting and he said he could hear the machine every once in a while but the deer never got skittish from it. Probably because they are used to the sound of it by now after two years of it running most days of the week.

BlueSmoke said:

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Gunny456 said:

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I cleared around 800 acres of thick cedar (ash-juniper). Shearing them at ground level is the best way and the quickest as it doesn't leave stumps and you don't tear your ground up like an excavator or dozer.
Tree pullers will only pull smaller trees and then you have the larger ones left so you have to deal with them anyway.
Understand it's not a one and done deal. You will have regrowth from existing cedar seeds in the ground and birds and animals bringing seeds in from your neighbor.
You will need to continue to keep them under control by either mechanical means or controlled burns.
A skid steer, a tree shear, and a grapple to stack and burn is your best ticket on cedar control.

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Napalm all of it.....sigh.

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This.

Year ago we had a guy take a bunch of dead trees and he started the burn but left and it started a minor fire that spread for about ten acres. I wonder if I can get him out there again...

Right tool for the right job:

We rented a D3 with high flow mulching head earlier this year and I honestly could do that as a part time/semi retirement job. I had an absolute blast and cleared a ton of stuff. It is NOT cheap though…