On Apr 14, 8:17*pm, wrote:
On Tue, 14 Apr 2009 19:34:07 -0400, "





wrote:
Jon Danniken wrote:
Hi, I have a number of dandelions in my yard (PNW), too many to spot treat,
and I'm not going to rip out the yard and resod it.

That leaves me to looking for an herbicide. *The only problem is that I have
a few trees (oak, maple, walnut), and I don't want to kill the trees.

Looking at the labels, I see 2,4-D and Dicamba, both of which seem to be
toxic to trees.

My question is, for those of *you who have used these products around trees,
what has been your experience? *Have you been successful in keeping the
trees alive?

Also, is there perhaps a different formulation which might be less toxic to
the trees?

Thanks,

Jon

We have southern lawn and did lawn care for our condo for several years.
*For first all-over treatment, we used Weed-B-Gone. *For really
persistant weeds, I used Roundup with a spray bottle (no drift) or a
brush. *Using a paint brush makes quick work of the occasional weed and
keeps herbicide from contacting anything else.

When we did all-over treatment, we weren't particularly careful about
root zones, as some labels say not to spray. *As I recall, WBG works
through the leaves, not the roots, so nothing is really getting to tree
roots. *Need to be careful not to spray on windy days, or herbicide will
drift. *We also fertilized a week or two prior, so weeds were actively
growing, which is what you want them to do so they take up the
herbicide. *Good idea not to apply herbicides when lawns are stressed by
hot dry weather.

Not an issue in Ontario any more. In about 2 weeks it becomes illegal
to use chemical pesticides of any kind on our lawns------
Yup - time for ASTROTURF- Hide quoted text -

That is exactly what my wife keeps wanting me to do but I keep
thinking the neighbors will object. What I did at my prior home and
am in the process of doing at my new home is to replace most if not
all of my grass with landscaping using a lot of stone, bolders, slate,
and landscape plants. I was 100% successful at my prior home and did
not require any chemicals for either pesticides or fertilizer. Both
the front and back yards were shade covered gardens with slate and
epoxy-stone walks, lots of moss rock, bolders, decks, and natural
areas. The plants were all perennials with various textures and
colors. Maintenance was limited to one weekend in the spring and late
fall with about an hour of monthly maintenance to blow and sweep the
tree trash.

I can say that it is a LOT of work to get your yard to that point but
once there you get to sit back and enjoy watching the neighbors weed,
mow and trim.