Look at the roots and you will notice that root size mimics the stem size. This is almost always the case. The 3.5" (diameter) is what I call 'solid stem', the 4" and 8.5" are 'multi stem'. The 3.5" solid and the 8.5" multi take about the same ammount of effort because of the difference in the roots.
Almost everyone will be able to get out the 4" multi stem (6-8ft tall) in a single pop with either popper, and solid stems up to 1-2" (6-10' tall). My wife has taken out some over 10' tall with the Popper-Lite. Its laughable how easy all the ones smaller than this pop out, so I'm not wasting any time on them.
The 8.5" multi (8-12' tall) and 3.5" solid (10-15' tall) are Popper H-D territory, and I remove ones like this regularly with relative ease. Both of these will usually take 2-6 'pops' and 2-5 minutes to totally remove with some experience. These are the ones that the felco saw I sell comes in really handy to sever stubborn roots.
Once you start getting to ones larger than the above, you definitely need some experience with the popper. I have popped out some whoppers myself. I'll go to work on a big one, but if I get past 15 minutes or so, I give up, cut it down and smother the stump with plastic which kills the stump. The ones over 5" (diameter) solid stem and 10" multi stem are too big for me, so I saw them off and smother without attempting using the Popper.
Women, Boy Scouts and high school boys can and are using the Popper H-D. Generally though, I say (hoping not to offend you stronger ladies out there) that the Popper H-D is the mans tool, the Popper-Lite the ladies tool.
Soft Ground - Hard ground
The softer the ground, the easier they pop out.
It doesn't take a rocket scientist to figure that one out, that's why The Popper was designed with a large platform to prevent sinking in during use. I have tested The Popper in hard soil conditions and have found that it will penetrate the softer soil directly under the root ball and easily removes suckles that require a single pop, however, it is difficult to use the Root Breaker. I usually let the big ones go until the after the ground has softened.
Limitations
The way I talk sometimes, you may think all you have to do is 'show' a honeysuckle The Popper and it will jump out of the ground and run away! I wish that was true.
It requires some strength and physical exertion to be successful. The H-D weighs 28 pounds and it can start getting heavy after a while. I think the physical exertion required is similar to cutting and splitting firewood. Myself (55), I go out and pop for 1-2 hours at a time, then thats about enough of that for me for the day. Typically, I average 16 (yes, I've kept track) honeysuckles an hour. Some take 10 minutes, some pop right out. It took me 20 minutes to pop out the big one on my pictures page. CLICK HERE to see pictures of popped honeysuckles.
The main limitation on the size of honeysuckles you can remove is the physical strength and weight of the operator.
KILL HONEYSUCKLE BEFORE THEY DESTROY YOUR WOODS!
Thank You,
Mister Honeysuckle - "A Man With A Tool"
Invasive bush and shrub removal tool to be exact.
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