"culprit" wrote in message ...
"simy1" wrote in message
om...

If you can tell the foliage of one species versus the other (and I
really would not know the difference between himalaya and cascade, but
I do think you should be able to tell the thimbleberries at least), an
efficient method to kill only the canes you don't want is to go around
with a small paint brush and a bottle of roundup. Touching one or two
leaves with the paintbrush, dipped in straight roundup, is usually
enough to kill the cane. I do this mostly with poison ivy,
and after several years my 4 oz bottle of Roundup is still more than
half full.

they're actually quite easy to tell apart. as far as i can tell, the
himalaya have green three leaf clusters and grow in a great bushy mass, the
cascade have reddish multi-lobed leaves (at least they're red later in the
summer), and trail on single vines through the himalaya bushes.
thimbleberries have fuzzy leaves that look like maple leaves, and grow in
tall canes. i may try this selective roundup idea, but i fear it could take
years.


not true. When you touch a leaf, the whole cane goes (try to do it
when the weather forecast is no rain, else it could wash off). Unless
you have tens of thousands of square feet... one thing to keep in mind
is that this method keeps the area shaded (as the good canes continue
to grow and prevent seeds from taking). If you were to weedwhack the
patch, you would lose the good guys AND himalayas would come back. You
are just helping the good guys win the competition. If you decide to
do it, now is the best time, with a second tour in a month to finish
off those that escaped the first round. Next year in the spring you
should be able to see the shoots from the roots that survived. Hit
those as well. After all, you can turn a field of weeds into a lawn
just by mowing.