Is now the time for RoundUp?

[N80]

I've got a steep bank that is overgrown in small gum trees and briars. Too steep to bush hog. I've hand cut it several times and gums just come back thicker. Is now the time (i.e. right time of year) to try an herbicide?

 

[ToadHill]

You need to wait until the plants are actively growing. Roundup needs to be taken up by the leaves and transported through the floum into the roots to kill the tree. The only way to get it to work without the leaves being on the tree is for you to cut several blaze's into the trunk and apply the roundup directly into the open wound.

 

[heehaw]

i use roundup, increase the mixture, and spray it on the stumps right after cutting...seems to work...if its in the "growing" stage of the year, roundup will
usually work: with the sap moving up as it is now, i would think it would do a good
job now.
heehaw

 

[N80]

The gums here are just starting to leaf out a little so I'll give it a week or two. Thanks guys. I have used it on fresh cut stumps (or brush-b-gone) and it works great, but I've had it with cutting these things. Too much work!

 

[foggy1111]

The gums here are just starting to leaf out a little so I'll give it a week or two. Thanks guys. I have used it on fresh cut stumps (or brush-b-gone) and it works great, but I've had it with cutting these things. Too much work!

I dont have any experience with gums.....but....FWIW we have buckthorn up our way that is hard to kill. Instead of the roundup we went to Tordon RU (a brush killer) that has been dynamite on our buckthorn problems.

What we have done is cut the buckthorn and "paint" the stump with it...for the most part....as my wife wanted it GONE. But when we have sprayed the foilage that worked well too. The "RU" stands for "Ready to Use" I'm told. I think I paid about 12 a quart at a seed / fertilizer store.

You may want to google it. Good luck. Now....if I could just get my neighbors to use it too.

 

[DIRTROAD]

If you want to save a little $$, Try "Honcho" instead of roundup. It is considered the generic version and works just as well. Usually runs about half price too. If that is not strong enough mix in a little "Grazon" and you could kill just about anything. It is expensive though. Also a small controlled burn on your hillside will kill most hardwood species. Just my .02

 

[Patriotic Stabilist]

I have a lot of stuff to trim around here and at a couple of rentals so we bought me a little pull behind tank that holds the weed killer you mix. It connects to your lawntractor battery for power and has the choice of a hand held sprayer or a strip across the back that sprays. I use it for the fence rows, really handy, came from Tractor Supply. It's a bit early yet to spray, I will soon.

You can tell my husband is never home, only every 8 weeks. I told him I will take care of things, just get me good equipment and he has.

 

[N80]

I was looking at Tractor Supply and they have a product called "Groundwork". It is glyphosphate just like Roundup except that it is 32% glyphosphate compared to 18% glyphosphate in Roundup brush killer. It costs about 1/4 less than Roundup. I wonder if the difference between 18 and 32% makes that much actual difference in killing power?

Edit: Honcho Plus is 41%

 

[Kfbeal]

Another alternative to Roundup is Eraser, I think it's spelled that way. There's many variations of Roundup now, much cheaper and just as effective so don't be fooled into spending the extra money for the name. Many people don't know of the alternatives.

 

[Barton]

George, I had the same problem with Sassfras trees. I had cut down the larger ones and small ones would pop up all over from the roots of the larger one. No problem, I thought, I'll just spray them with regular Roundup. Well, 2 or 3 new ones popped up right along the side of the ones I killed with Roundup.

I could tell real quick that this was a loosing deal so I called the county ext. agent. His recommendation was to use a product that had triclopyr, triethylamine salt, as an active ingredient. It worked.

Most of the sprays that are labeled as brush killers, including the roots, have this ingredient.

 

[MMagis]

Are you sure you want to spray gly and kill everything? I’m picturing a washed out hillside in a few months. Maybe a woody plant specific herbicide that will not harm the grass would be a better choice.

 

[forgeblast]

Ive used eraser too....its nice. We have a lot of that japanese knot weed on our property, looks like bamboo but isnt. After three years of trying to kill it i think i may have it on the run. I have one small spot to take out and then i can replant. some trees in there.

 

[MossRoad]

I've got a steep bank that is overgrown in small gum trees and briars. Too steep to bush hog. I've hand cut it several times and gums just come back thicker. Is now the time (i.e. right time of year) to try an herbicide?

You mention a steep hill. Just be sure you don't kill so much that the soil starts to erode. We have steeply sloped sandy soil and the state forester cautioned us about harvesting too many trees off the slope. The root systems keep the soil in place.

 

[N80]

I'm going to be applying the herbicide with a hand held sprayer so I won't be covering the whole hillside so I don't think there is much of a chance that it will kill everything.

And if it does, and if it erodes badly, that might be all I need to justify getting a dozer in there to grade the whole hillside into a gradual slope which is what I want anyway.

 

[MossRoad]

Now that sounds like a plan!

 

[jimg]

I can certainly understand wanting to kill off the gums. Dow makes what looks like a pretty good product thats selective. Glyphosate isnt selective and will kill everything it touches + it has no residual. I think the product is Rodeo or Milestone...just a guess though as I don't recall the exact name. Anyway, I know they make a selective herbicide that targets plants such as gums and blackberries but leaves grasses unaffected. Couple that w/ the residual component and you only have to fight the 'weeds' once a year and perhaps you can even lengthen that to every couple of yrs.

ETA: You'd need to look at the product specs to determine the optimal application time. Some work only at particular stage(s) of plant growth.

 

[N80]

Now that sounds like a plan!

I actually thought of another plan. Not exactly what I want but probably very effective. In my yard we have lots of monkey grass. It is a large/tall variety and it is practically invasive (it is now out of the beds and popping up in the grass part of the yard.)

So if I kill everything, I could plant a few clumps of this mutant atomic monkey grass and it would not only prevent erosion but also prevent anything else from growing in it.

But I'd rather hire a dozer.

 

[Pilot]

First, there are several generic versions of Roundup sold under various names. Check the label and you are looking for 41% (or maybe 43%, I don't remember exactly) glyphosate. That's the imitation Roundup. But it doesn't work as fast as the real Roundup which got modified and the mod patented a few years ago. The imitation is a copy of the off-patent version which went off patent years before, which is why there are so many copies.

Secondly, for some hard to kill plants, the time to spray is in the fall when they are tranlocating nutrients to the roots for the winter--most effective on deciduous plants that store their stuff in the roots. Around here, the fall is the best time to spray glyphosate to kill blackberries growing among Douglas-fir. Doesn't hurt the DF, but kills the berries. A spring spray will hurt the DF & isn't very effective on the berries.

 

[heehaw]

i've always heard its best to spray when the vegitation is young and tender: fresh budding leaves would mean young an tender to me..
heehaw

 

[N80]

Right, but what Pilot is saying is that with some herbicides you want to get them when they are drawing nutrients down into the root system where they kill the whole plant.

Bottom line, I need to read some labels.