Spraying Paint to Stop Trees from Growing
Fruit trees such as apples (Malus pumila), hardy in U.S. Department of Agriculture plant hardiness zones 3 through 9, and”Bartlett” pears (Pyrus x”Bartlett”), hardy in USDA zones 5 through 8, are favorite garden additions. Suckers are frequently produced by them in their foundations, however, as well as put out branch shoots, called water sprouts. Water sprouts and suckers can be controlled with a mixture of paint and the plant growth regulator naphthaleneacetic acid, or NAA. Although you may see directions to”paint” other trees and stumps, those instructions usually refer to painting them with herbicide, not actual paint.
Mixing the Formula
Sometimes NAA is applied as a spray, but paint it on with a brush when you’ve mixed it with paint. Mix either 5 or 10 fluid ounces of NAA with 1 spoonful of white, inside, water-based, latex paint and enough water . Use the mix if sprouts are growing, remove the sprouts and paint the wounds on. The paint mix containing 5 fluid ounces of NAA is helpful for water sprout and apple sucker control, and the paint mix containing 10 fluid ounces of NAA is useful to treat pear suckers.