Question about Roundup
 

The description on the container is a little confusing.

Is Roundup supposed to kill the weeds but not the grass? or is it supposed to kill both?

Roundup is a non-selective vegetation killer so it will kill the grass as well.

Yes. Very effectively as well. Me Mum once spritzed Roundup on a few weeds on her front lawn. Much havoc ensued.

Yes, Round Up on windy days is also a very bad idea.

A friend of mine has some veg killer that works for 5 years.........5 friggin years.

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.

Any idea what it is? The strongest stuff that we carry which is Restricted (need a Applicator License to purchase) will only give you 6-8 mos. control. I wonder if it's been kicking around for awhile.

OTOH I spilled some used motor oil in a spot in front of my shed and 7 yrs. later it's still barren.

That's a big D'OH!

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

Should see wilting within a day or two I think.

I will get the name, I know its common because I had a Horsetail weed issue and two landscapers mentioned the same stuff. I had to remove the dirt 6 feet deep and replace it to get the problem under control until I learned that my pond algacide whoops its ass after an accidental spill.

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.

I'm pretty sure that Tordon, Grazon, Reclaim, Spike, Redeem and Surmount (Dow trade names) all require a license in Texas.

Remedy (also Dow) does not require a license. I can testify that Remedy is worth every penny of the $90/gallon you spend on it...the stuff is incredibly effective on woody plants. Around here we have mesquite and huisache and you can apply a band of Remedy around the trunk and it will kill that plant in a week.


R

Roundup works fastest when plants are growing fast, in hot sunny times. I don't know where you are, but here in zone 7 midatlantic region I won't try roundup for at least another month. I spent several hours Sunday on hands & knees with my garden claw de-weeding some beds.

I spilled some branke fluid on a nice little patch of lawn about 9 months ago....

Its still dead.

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.

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.

Sounds like some good stuff. No doubt it would be restricted from most states in New England. Soil residuals are a big concern with the anti-pesticide groups and the politicians they control around here.

There's an echo in here...

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.

"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.

There's an echo in here...:)

You should probably hold off handling Roundup for at least one more trimester. It's not exactly Snapple.

Concur.

*** Roundup -vs- Crossbow ***
 

I've used Roundup Concentrate (for the woody plants) and have experienced excellent results with it.

It works best when daytime temps stay above 60° and the plants are "active" in their growing cycle.

Yellowing/death is usually 1-3 days, total die-off is within the 10-day period after the initial spraying.

Last year, I decided to try Crossbow at my northern transmitter site...it took a longer time for it to even show yellowing, let alone death. I started seeing some re-growth of thistles and prairie grass about 4 weeks later...I sprayed again and then it seemed to stick. I'm still out on the final decision about the Crossbow stuff.

But, so far, I'm stocking up on the Roundup for this year. If the Crossbow takes as much time to kick in like last year, then I've got the backup ready.

Ya' got to go with what works!

BTW, what are you paying per quart? I'm getting it for about $25.50, at the local Wal*Farts.

.

Hadn't thought about that. I wouldn't want to be messing with it while pregnant.

I use it for agricultural weed control and buy in slightly larger quantities from the co-op or ag supply. Last year, glyphosate in the form of RoundUp or Honcho Plus was running from $48-52 for a 2.5 gallon jug. The tab is usually a bit higher because we add surfactant and marking dye to the mix.

*** Roundup's Makeup and Application Data... ***
 

I just brought the stuff in. Here's the chemical breakdown as it's written on the bottle:

Roundup Concentrate
Poison Ivy & Tough Brush Killer Plus

Glyphosate, isopropylamine salt.....18.0%
Triclopry, triethylamine salt........... 2.0%
Other ingredients........................80.0%

The price was $25.63/quart. Last year I was finding it for around $18.00-$19.50 per quart.

If your stuff is the same makeup, what's the correct name and approx. price you're paying for what quanity?

The Crossbow stuff I used, last year, didn't react as soon and as completely as the Roundup did. I don't want to go that route, again, if I can help it.

Thanks again.

BTW, on the directions, it just says that pets and people may re-enter the sprayed areas AFTER the spray has dried.

Also, do not use Roundup on/near edible plants and feedstuffs for livestock.

Pretty much common sense stuff. This must mean some idiot sprayed his apples before he picked them for his roadside stand, somewhere in Numbnuts, Outer Swobodia.

The lawyers have done their part for humanity's sake!

"Let it be spoken. Therefore, let it be done."

See post #26

AFIK Roundup = Honcho

Roundup, from those wonderful people who bring us genetic modifications.

Randy -
Ever use the concentrate Remedy (mixed with diesel fuel) ?
It’s the only thing we’ve found that will kill a Mesquite tree around here.
It’s sprayed about a foot above ground level, all the way around the trunk.
No ground contact, or water run-off issues.

My buddy has a cobblestone driveway that usually get filled with weeds and grass and stuff...well a month or so he converted his pool to a salt water system and had to go to Home Depot for big bags of Morton's salt....he had one bag bust on him in the driveway by the garage...he sprayed it down with water and till now not one weed, not one spec of grass...nothing.....ground zero on his driveway and the edging of his lawn...

Don't know if it will stay that way but it looks like Hiroshima on that driveway right now....he has decided to not let his dog out on the driveway for the moment so we do not know if it will have a long term affect on anything

*** "Would you like a little driveway with your salt?" ***
 

Have him water the edge where the grass died ... eventually it will "leach" the salt out of the soil. Otherwise, he'll just have to dig up the "dead zone" and replant.

As for the driveway itself, if the "salted" area continues to "bleed" over to the edge of the driveway, anywhere the runoff goes, it'll start to look like the edge of the roads up north here...nothing except scrub-brush and deer hanging out on the edges. He may have to install some sort of "edging" to channel any water down to the roadway to keep the runoff "isolated" from the soil.

His other option could be...

He can rent his driveway out as a "cow-lick" for the local farmers. :rolleyes:

BTW, I don't think the dog is going to have any problems. Unless the dog is some sort of brain-damaged runt-of-the-litter.

If I were him, I'd be more worried 'bout the deer hanging out in his driveway. :eek: :P

Roller, sponge, mop or gloves
 

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.

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.

Exactly the system we use (you can also use cooking oil for a vehicle) . Smaller mesquite saplings (mainly what we have to deal with at BHF) are problematic to adminster the minimal killing dose w/o overspray and waste. With Remedy, huisache die even faster than a mesquite!!! ...3 days and they look like someone set a match to them.

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

Watch out how much moisture in the ground is around the weed you use it on. I used it lightly on some weeds around the base of a tree. Almost killed the tree. Thankfully it recovered almost a year later, when I was going to remove it.

Good luck with the mesquite. The seeds (like rattlebox) persist in the soil, sometimes for decades. Disturbing the soil (like tilling) will stimulate germination even years after you think all of the plants and seeds are gone. You'll be like "Jason and the Argonauts" tilling the ground with dragon's teeth and harvesting myrmidons. Cedar, too. Bet you've found that out the hard way, unless you use a pre-emerge.

Thanks for the tip on the veggie oil. I’ll go that route next time for sure.

I do have an area where I’ve dumped out about 15 gallons (over time) of the watery nasty dirty oil that I don’t filter for the car. Nothing has grown there for some time now.
I’ve also used the WVO around the base of our garden fence line. Nothing there but a 6” wide line of dirt.
I never thought to use it as the carrier for Remedy on the trees.

Right on Bot, about those seeds. We try to rake those pods up asap when they fall around here. The horses love them. The rest of the Mesquite issue is just to eradicate them as best as possible. I’m up for the WVO/Remedy mix on the next assault. (Usually about every 2 to 3 years.)

The Kleberg’s (King Ranch) have an interesting way of removing unwanted Mesquites. They run a long length of ship anchor chain (the huge stuff) between two Caterpillar tractors and drive on. Anything between the tractors is ripped out of the ground. Hell of a sight to see.

We're in pretty good shape as far as mesquite, huisache and cedar go...not exactly sure what cedar we have but it isn't the mountain juniper that's so invasive in the hill country. Ours are big tall ones...we leave them be.

The mesquite is a once a season job...there's always several saplings poking up this time of year and a few that we missed the season before. We carry a roll of engineer's tape in each of the farm vehicles and try and mark them when we're cruising the property. That way, in a few weeks when everything is growing full bore, I'll load up the backpack sprayer with Remedy mix up a giant Jack & Coke and get Dad to drive me around the place in his buggy looking for the pink and orange tape. It's great way to spend the afternoon.

The thing I hate is the damned yaupon. The stuff clumps up around the bases of all my trees where you can't get to with the shredder. The only thing we've come up with for control is to go after them using the gas brushcutter. The Domain alone has over 200 trees...it's a job.

If it's any solace at all, yaupon is great wild bird food and cover. I remember deer hunting in yaupon at an uncle's ranch outside of College Station. All you could see of the dang deer was legs! I finally got one. Shot the little buck at probably 20 yds with my .270. I swear, you couldn't see a deer farther much away, even though the woods was loaded with them. I could've used a shotgun but (at that time -- early-'60's) Texans took serious offense at scatterguns for deer.

See the little m-e-r-k-i-n-s at the bottom of each tree? No deer hiding in this stuff.

http://berryhillfarm.us/gallery/albu...asture%202.jpg

http://berryhillfarm.us/gallery/albu...5/44650015.JPG

Jen- Are you the one spraying? Since your with child maybe someone else can do the spraying.

Hey is that Molly under that tree?

As long as there aren't any Gerkins . . .

Tree pubic hair.

*** What??? ***
 

ROTFLMAO!!!!

That's some NASS-S-S-S-T-Y stuff to get out of your teeth!! :eek: :D