Question
Hi Tom,
We are located in the SF Bay Area.
This plant has filled its space and ceased to flower so I decided to remove it. It is placed in a very small bed, surrounded on three sides by concrete and the fourth side is the concrete slab of the house. When I went to try and dig up the roots I find a very fibrous trunk-like (~ 15" diameter) structure which is imbedded into hard pan clay on the under side. Would you have any thoughts on the ways to get this root structure out of the bed so something else could be planted there? Maybe I need a power boring tool but I need to be careful because there is a 6' X 10' picture window right next to the bed, and there are decorative stones mixed into the dirt which would be likely to fly out. Or should I let it dry and decay and then try to dig it out? Or treat it chemically?
The flesh of the root is very fibrous and tough.
Thanks for any ideas you can give me. By the way I am a volunteer expert in the Auto Repair category.

Answer
Hi Roland,
Thanx for your question.  Glad to hear from a fellow "expert".  I would take some Roundup to this plant.  It will take several applications and be careful not to get the Round up on anything else.  Roundup will kill the plant and biodegrade quickly.  You'll know when the plant is dead when all the leaves have shriveled and collapsed.  Let it sit a few days and then dig around to see if the root has softened.  Because of its size it make take several weeks for decay to set in to make it more pliable for removal.  To me, this would be the easiest and safest way to extract this root.  I know the root systems on these things can get very tough and fibrous, especially the old ones.  Good luck.
Tom