Buckthorn Removal & Land Clearing in the Southeast Twin Cities
Cutting out buckthorn and overgrown brush, hauling it away, and putting a plan in place for what grows back.
Getting the back of the lot back
Evergreen Landscapes clears buckthorn and overgrown brush for property owners across the southeast Twin Cities, working out of Rosemount. If the back of your lot has quietly turned into a wall of green you can’t walk through, this is the work that gets it back.
Common buckthorn is the reason a lot of wooded Minnesota yards look the way they do. It leafs out earlier and holds its leaves later than almost everything native, so it shades out whatever is trying to grow underneath it. Over a few seasons a woodland edge that had oak seedlings, shrubs and ground layer becomes buckthorn and bare dirt. Bare dirt on a slope is how erosion starts.
What land clearing involves
- Buckthorn and invasive brush removal — cutting and removing the stems rather than just knocking them back
- Overgrown lot and woodland edge clearing — opening up ground you haven’t been able to use
- Debris removal — hauling the material out so you’re not left with the pile
- Grading and underground drainage — where clearing exposes a water or erosion problem that was hiding under the brush
- Replanting — plants and mulch to put something back where the buckthorn was
Clearing is the first half of the job
Cut buckthorn resprouts, and cleared ground with nothing planted in it is an invitation for the next wave of whatever blows in. The clearing is worth doing, but it works best when there’s a plan for what goes back — a planting bed, a restored woodland edge, mulch and shrubs, or simply grade and drainage handled properly so the hillside stays where it is.
That’s the part we’d rather talk about at the consultation than guess at now. What should replace it depends on light, slope, how wet the ground is and how you want to use the space.
What this work opens up
Most people clearing buckthorn aren’t doing it for its own sake. They want the back of the lot usable again — a firepit in the trees, a path through to the back, a view they used to have, a yard that doesn’t end in a thicket. Clearing is the step that makes the rest possible.
We work from Rosemount across Lakeville, Eagan and the east metro, including Woodbury, Afton, Cottage Grove and Hastings. Our gallery has photos of completed landscape projects.
Request a consultation
Tell us what you’re looking at and we’ll come walk the property with you.
Evergreen Landscapes
Phone: (952) 324-0481
Email: office@evergreenlawnmn.com
evergreenlawnmn.com
Buckthorn removal: common questions
What is buckthorn?
An invasive shrub that leafs out early and holds its leaves late, shading out the native plants underneath and leaving bare soil that erodes.
How do you remove buckthorn?
We cut and pull the stems, treat the cut stumps so they do not resprout, and haul the brush off the property.
When is buckthorn easiest to clear?
It can be cleared in any season. Late fall and early winter are often easiest, because buckthorn is still green after everything around it has dropped its leaves, so it is simple to pick out.
What happens after the buckthorn is gone?
Bare ground fills in with whatever reaches it first, so it is worth planning what goes back. Native planting or seeding can be part of the same plan.
Tell us about the wooded edge
Send us the details of what needs clearing and we will get back to you.
(952) 324-0481 · office@evergreenlawnmn.com