Woody plant control

[Alan W.]

Short of napalm the only way to control that much woody growth is with herbicides.

There are clay pelleted varieties that you spread onto the ground and release with moisture. The plants take them up in the root system and die.

Graslan is one variety that comes to mind. Im sure there are others. These will only kill the woody growth.

 

[RalphVa]

We just finished about 1500 ft of old roadway at the base of the slope behind the house. The old roadway was the maintenance road between the upper fields and lower field down here along the creek. Had barbed wire along each side of the road, and some gates that we're finding some of the old hardware too.

Some huge vines in there and some autumn olive. Just cut and daubed.

Daubing is A LOT more user friendly and plant friendly than using a brush and can of herbicide. I was forever dumping the can of herbicide and losing it when I used that method. The brush drips, too. The dauber is great. It's called a Buckthorn Blaster because it was developed where they have a lot of buckthorn to deal with.

Works this time of year. Just may not work in spring because the juices are flowing out and up to cause leafing and flowering. May not suck the herbicide in. It's slow in the winter. You will not see any results except that the woody stuff won't sprout or anything.

The other way of reducing and more safely using herbicide is to wholesale flail/bush hog or goat (by hiring a herd of goats) it out. Then go back when the bad stuff sprouts from the stumps and spritz it with a tiny bit of herbicide or daub the leaves. You waste a lot of herbicide and pollute the land and streams by spraying it on big plants. Don't waste your $ on that high dollar stuff. Just buy some generic glyphosate. Use full strength.

Ralph

 

[Jstpssng]

I used a sprayer, I would cut for about 5 minutes then go back and treat the stumps. That was last year so I won't be sure until spring how effective it works. We've mowed the old hayfield every year so the plants there are much smaller. This spring as soon as they leaf out I plan to foliar treat them, using the dauber as you suggest. I will never eradicate but by next year should have them under control. Next is the bittersweet which is growing up underneath the apple trees so it will be all mechanical, no herbicides.

 

[fried1765]

I used a sprayer, I would cut for about 5 minutes then go back and treat the stumps. That was last year so I won't be sure until spring how effective it works. We've mowed the old hayfield every year so the plants there are much smaller. This spring as soon as they leaf out I plan to foliar treat them, using the dauber as you suggest. I will never eradicate but by next year should have them under control. Next is the bittersweet which is growing up underneath the apple trees so it will be all mechanical, no herbicides.

I am besieged with bittersweet, mostly climbing up my holly trees.
I am going to try a Mid-State Attachments root rake this year.
Their root rake has a unique deep tine arrangement, that I think will hook, and pull the vines from quite high.

If you have bittersweet on open ground, I think a ratchet rake might work for you.
I have a ratchet rake, but it cannot work for my problem.