Some years ago I purchased a lot of Buffalo Grass sod for a rental property. After a year and within the warranty period, there were huge numbers of weeds in the sod. After consulting with the seller, he told me to spray everything with RoundUp early in the season when the weeds were active and the grass still dormant. Gave me a precise week to do it. Unfortunately, he lived about 75 miles north of me, and at my latitude the grass had already come out of dormancy that week. He ended up refunding me the full price of the sod and I had to resort to new Buffalo Grass seed.

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1977 300d 70k--sold 08
1985 300TD 185k+
1984 307d 126k--sold 8/03
1985 409d 65k--sold 06
1984 300SD 315k--daughter's car
1979 300SD 122k--sold 2/11
1999 Fuso FG Expedition Camper
1993 GMC Sierra 6.5 TD 4x4
1982 Bluebird Wanderlodge CAT 3208--Sold 2/13

That's a big D'OH!

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1980 300TD-China Blue/Blue MBTex-2nd Owner, 107K (Alt Blau) OBK #15
'06 Chevy Tahoe Z71 (for the wife & 4 kids, current mule) '03 Honda Odyssey (son #1's ride, reluctantly) '99 GMC Suburban (255K+ miles, semi-retired mule) 21' SeaRay Seville (summer escape pod)

so how quickly does it work. i sprayed it last weekend and the weeds are still there and still green.

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Jennifer
90 350sdl

Should see wilting within a day or two I think.

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1977 300d 70k--sold 08
1985 300TD 185k+
1984 307d 126k--sold 8/03
1985 409d 65k--sold 06
1984 300SD 315k--daughter's car
1979 300SD 122k--sold 2/11
1999 Fuso FG Expedition Camper
1993 GMC Sierra 6.5 TD 4x4
1982 Bluebird Wanderlodge CAT 3208--Sold 2/13

In the last couple of years, I've sprayed a few gallons of glyphosate and always have the same moment of doubt when nothing seems to be happening.

Because it disrupts the plant's ability to produce amino acids, efficacy of glyphosate herbicides (ie RoundUp) depends largely on the amount of sunlight and the rate of plant growth. If you mixed and applied it properly, you generally see results in 7-10 days.

Possibly so on large, broadleaf plants in a growth cycle. Grasses and other kinds of weeds take longer.

For selective control of noxious plants, I've rigged a wick-type applicator so that I can place roundup directly on the plant's leaves..time consuming but, I con't have to worry about killing the grass around undesirable plants.

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Never a dull moment at Berry Hill Farm.

Application tricks I've used to effectively stop accidental herbicide drift include a paint roller, wick tube, and have even used rubber gloves covered with a cheap cotton glove. Just dip into the roundup solution mixture and roll or wipe to your hearts' content...of course only make contact with the items you intend to erradicate. As a caution, I convince myself and advise any users to think than one micron of the product will do some damage if not actually kill...that makes you think twice about using the Lazyman's liquid approach to weeding around your prize Rhododendrons or Peonys.

Also, roundup contact with the stems or exposed roots will kill just as completely as foliar application... so know where you go with this stuff.

AND NO, ROUNDUP AND OTHER GLYPHOSATE PRODUCTS ARE NOT SELECTIVE IT WILL DAMAGE ANYTHING THAT IT TOUCHES.

However, is does not have a residual effect in the treated area soil...although I typically try to wait a few days or 12 before planting there.

If you are looking for the right stuff to use for specific application, stop by an Independent Professional Nursery or Garden Center and ask their guidance. Look for those who are associated with Ferti-Lome, HiYield, or Nature-Gard Products. You can look up the FertiLome Web address and search for a local source.

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Bama1


2008 SLK 280, Firemist Red - "Hurricane"
2001 F150 Lariat 4x4, Black on Black - "Badboy"
1982 240D 4 speed survivor -"Pearl" - Donated to Vietnam Veterans
1962 Oldsmobile Dynamic 88 -"Gertrude"

1954 model original owner - ~2.5M
Gray softtop/solid exterior/modified chassis

Perfect, R Leo.

Another useful thing one can do is add a tiny amount of detergent to the sprayer. I know, I know: Round-Up already has a surfactant. But if you hit something with a heavy cuticle like Portulaca, Sedum or Euphorbia; or something very hairy like Cnidosculum (bull-nettle), etc, the normal glyphosphate & surfactant just isn't we enough to reach into the stomata -- the easiest point of entry for the herbicide. Put a couple of ml's of detergent per liter and you'll have some sticky herbicide that will kill dang=near any plant it touches.

Oh yeah, DO NOT use glyphosphate anywhere near your tomatoes. They are especially sensitive to it. Best time to apply is late evening. Glyphosphate is photoreactive and so quickly breaks down in sunlight. Apply it overnight and it stays liquid longer, which enhances it's translocation and without sunlight, it will last longer.

Thanks for the tip Bot...in the past we've used detergent on a couple of occasions when we've run out of surfactant. What do you think about simply dropping the surfactant?

We're particulalry overtaken with simlax (greenbrier), a tenacious thorny, woody vine that is damned near impossible to kill.... when you zap the leaves it kills the nearest part of the plant but pretty soon you'll see another sprouting up close by os I guess there's some connection in the root system. In areas that we want to rehabilitate we've used significant amounts of glyphosate herbicide during the last two years. It appears to have finally knocked out the simlax there because it's not reappearing this spring.

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Never a dull moment at Berry Hill Farm.

Smilax (catbrier, greenbrier, sawbrier) has large rhizomes called lignotubers. They are mostly starch and lignified cellulose with small amounts of undifferentiated bud cells. usually herbicide is not translocated quickly enough in sufficient concentration to kill large lignotubers of Smilax and other species with similar structures.

Smilax also has a very heavy cuticle covering the epidermis, especially on the upper surfaces of the elaves and on the stems. The lower leaf surfaces often have very fine hairs. Both surfaces tend to protect the epidermis by holding the chemical away from living tissue. This is a plant that could stand a little extra detergent to help wet the entire surface of the leaf and stem.

It maybe that Smilax is one of those plants that require digging-out of the ground and hauling away.

there used to be a butt-kicking herbicide that would kill like a neutron emitter, Velpar. It was used to kill plants in surface cracks and would persist in the soil for a long time.

Another chemical that will kill plants and also persist for a long time is copper sulfate. In small concentrations it actually acts like a bit of a fertilizer. But in large concentrations, everything dies. Including microinvertebrates, large animals and even bacteria. Be careful.

Here's the MSDS for copper sulfate: http://www.oldbridgechem.com/msdscuso4.html

A lot will depend on how fast the weed is actively growing, here in southern New England (still in the 40's, cold rain) plants aren't doing much of anything right now. The glyphosate is carried through the plant's leaves to the roots so if there isn't much translocation going in, it'll take a long time for the chemical to get there.

Roundup (glyphosate) will take about 5-7 days to show visible signs even though it starts working within a day or so. Roundup Plus or Roundup Pro (glyphosate + diquat) will show "death" within 2-3 days even though the total kill will take the same amound of time as straight glyphosate. All of that assumes ideal growing conditions.

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1980 300TD-China Blue/Blue MBTex-2nd Owner, 107K (Alt Blau) OBK #15
'06 Chevy Tahoe Z71 (for the wife & 4 kids, current mule) '03 Honda Odyssey (son #1's ride, reluctantly) '99 GMC Suburban (255K+ miles, semi-retired mule) 21' SeaRay Seville (summer escape pod)

If its pretty cloudy and cold where you are its going to take a little while for you to see any death in progress. When the sun breaks out, the weather warms up and the weeds try to grow...boom it kicks in.

There's an echo in here...

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Never a dull moment at Berry Hill Farm.

"Round Up" is a brand. Under that brand they make a few different products. One of the products, the one they got famous for, will kill any live plant it touches. But they do make other products designed for weeds intermingled with grass. You can get this stuff on the grass and it wont harm it. Read the label. It will tell you which one you have. You might have the one that doesn't kill grass, which unfortunately is not as effective on other types of weeds.

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Jonathan

2011 Mazda2
2000 E320 4Matic Wagon
1994 C280 (retired)

There's an echo in here...

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1980 300TD-China Blue/Blue MBTex-2nd Owner, 107K (Alt Blau) OBK #15
'06 Chevy Tahoe Z71 (for the wife & 4 kids, current mule) '03 Honda Odyssey (son #1's ride, reluctantly) '99 GMC Suburban (255K+ miles, semi-retired mule) 21' SeaRay Seville (summer escape pod)

Jen, Roundup is a systemic herbicide. It goes into the roots and kills the weeds (and everything else you get it on) from the roots up. I spray everything in the back of my property with it every spring. There is a lot of poison ivey back there and it is gradually disappearing. I've been spraying for about five years. Roundup is the best herbicide I've ever used, but it does take a little time to work.

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" We have nothing to fear but the main stream media itself . . . ."- Adapted from Franklin D Roosevelt for the 21st century

OBK #55

1998 Lincoln Continental - Sold
Max 1984 300TD 285,000 miles - Sold
The Dee8gonator 1987 560SEC 196,000 miles - Sold
Orgasmatron - 2006 CLS500 90,000 miles
2002 C320 Wagon 122,000 miles
2016 AMG GTS 12,000 miles