Buckthorn loses its leaves later than most other shrubs in the woods, making it easy to identify. Follow the link to learn more about identifying and removing Buckthorn on your property…
Common Buckthorn is a non-native invasive plant from Europe that can grow either as a shrub or small tree. It invades forested areas and displaces beneficial native shrubs and understory plants. Its berries do not offer nutritional value to wildlife because they act as a laxative. Many people have Buckthorn growing in their yards because it was once commonly sold as a landscape plant. For these reasons, it is important to remove buckthorn from your yard if you find it growing there.
Fall is one of the easiest times of year to spot buckthorn growing on your property. The leaves of buckthorn tend to stay green and on the shrub/tree longer than other shrubs. So, if you are looking at a wooded area or shrub line and you see a bunch of green where most other trees and shrubs have dropped their leaves, it is a good chance that all that green is buckthorn. You can learn more about identifying buckthorn here www.misin.msu.edu/training.
Buckthorn can resprout from stumps if left untreated; the stumps of buckthorn must be treated with a shrub strength concentration of glyphosate (e.g. Roundup) shortly after being cut to prevent regrowth. Buckthorn can also be removed by pulling out the entire root. Buckthorn pullers are available for Apple Valley residents, just call 952-953-2400. Small buckthorn sprouts can be killed with a shrub strength concentration of glyphosate (e.g. Roundup). Keep in mind that there are probably a lot of buckthorn seeds in your soil, so you may have to go back for a number of years and treat small buckthorn sprouts.