I have a tree-like plant popping up all around my yard that I can't get rid of it. Instead of a normal root system, it has a woody tuber. You said the plants were shoots coming from a black gum tree we cut down, but I just can't believe it is the gum tree's last gasp for survival. I have gums popping up over 30 feet away from the stump.
It's within range. Roots of a tree can reach out 11/2 times the height of the tree. Your tree was 50 feet tall, so you could conceivably see root shoots pop up 75 feet away from the stump. Immature foliage can look different from mature leaves. The "tuber" was a result of the shoot being mowed many, many times. Repeated mowing over time can weaken shoots, but they are very persistent, even with chemical controls. Fall is often the best time to use systemic herbicide with the active ingredient triclopyr that will travel down to the roots. Only spray directly on the shoots. Black gums have excellent fall color and wildlife value. You could let one of the shoots grow into a new tree.
A bug I call a Halloween bug is attacking my kale. I saw several on my obedient plant, too. Any idea what they might be, and what I should do about them?
The bright orange-and-black harlequin bug is active this time of year in both its nymph and adult forms. They pierce plant leaves and suck out contents, making the foliage stippled and bleached, weakening and even killing plants. They are generalist feeders. Besides kale, they feed on cabbage and many other vegetables and ornamental perennials. Weeds, too. So remove weeds, especially pigweed, mustard and lamb's-quarters. Insecticidal soap or oil give control of nymphs, breaking the life cycle. Harlequin bugs overwinter as adults in plant debris, so be sure to give your garden a good fall cleanup to reduce next year's population. Search harlequin bug on the HGIC website for more tips.
University of Maryland Extension's Home and Garden Information Center offers free gardening and pest information at extension.umd.edu/hgic. Click "Ask Maryland's Gardening Experts" to send questions and photos.
Digging deeper
Gourds gone wild
When fall decorating ends, gourds don't have to go in the trash. The gourds pictured sprouted where last year's gourds were purposely tossed simply to see what would come up. This plant sprouted beneath a dwarf Alberta spruce and climbed up with no harm to the spruce and to the entertainment of the gardeners. Gourds are perfect candidates for spontaneity because they hybridize, i.e. interbreed with other plants of the same species. Many decorative gourds are in the cucurbit family and will cross with summer squash and many pumpkins and winter squash and, of course, other gourds in their array of sizes, shapes and colors. All these plants can be grown together without impacting the squash, pumpkin, or gourd crop that year, because the mixing-up of DNA is occurring inside seeds inside the fruit. But their seeds grow into offspring with some characteristics from each parent and, like children, can be full of surprises. — Ellen Nibali