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#1
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controlling hogweed
I mean regular hogweed, not the giant variety thank goodness.
Over the last 20 years (there was none at all then) it has installed itself in the fields and likes to come up in cleared areas around trees and shrubs. I've not had much luck with glyphosate, the huge root seems to laugh it off. I've tried cutting the flower heads off, on the theory that since it's biennial (I think) it will go away, but the seeds seem to set anyway. Yesterday I dug a bunch of it up as best as possible, but of course there was a lot of root left in ground. Is it likely to come back, or is this a good method. Lots of info on the giant variety but not so much on regular hogweed; it has the same chemical that causes sunlight activated burns, just not so much of it, and the flowering stems can get to about 6 ft. Thanks for any tips, -E -- Gardening in Lower Normandy |
#2
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controlling hogweed
On 28/05/2014 11:15, Emery Davis wrote:
I mean regular hogweed, not the giant variety thank goodness. Over the last 20 years (there was none at all then) it has installed itself in the fields and likes to come up in cleared areas around trees and shrubs. I've not had much luck with glyphosate, the huge root seems to laugh it off. I've tried cutting the flower heads off, on the theory that since it's biennial (I think) it will go away, but the seeds seem to set anyway. Yesterday I dug a bunch of it up as best as possible, but of course there was a lot of root left in ground. Is it likely to come back, or is this a good method. It should be good enough to hit it with any broadleaf specific herbicide assuming it is in grass or glyphosate if you don't mind a bit of collateral damage and scythe it down in flower before it sets seed. -- Regards, Martin Brown |
#3
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controlling hogweed
On Wed, 28 May 2014 11:27:10 +0100, Martin Brown wrote:
On 28/05/2014 11:15, Emery Davis wrote: I mean regular hogweed, not the giant variety thank goodness. [] It should be good enough to hit it with any broadleaf specific herbicide assuming it is in grass or glyphosate if you don't mind a bit of collateral damage and scythe it down in flower before it sets seed. I haven't found glyphosate to be effective, possibly I've been a little late in the season. Do you have a particular boradleaf herbicide to recommend? (If it kills dock and too, that would be just fine...) Thanks, -E -- Gardening in Lower Normandy |
#4
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controlling hogweed
In article ,
Emery Davis wrote: On Wed, 28 May 2014 11:27:10 +0100, Martin Brown wrote: I mean regular hogweed, not the giant variety thank goodness. That's not a major problem, despite the tabloid hysteria. Yes, it's a thug. It should be good enough to hit it with any broadleaf specific herbicide assuming it is in grass or glyphosate if you don't mind a bit of collateral damage and scythe it down in flower before it sets seed. I haven't found glyphosate to be effective, possibly I've been a little late in the season. Do you have a particular boradleaf herbicide to recommend? (If it kills dock and too, that would be just fine...) The normal problem with using glyphosate is following the instructions on the bottle :-( It works better if you use it at HALF strength, and possibly repeat it a few weeks later (in cool weather). And, yes, start as soon as there is enough foliage. Glyphosate is actually grass-specific, and will kill grass at levels that leave most other plants alive. The only one more effective that I know of is brushwood killer - but even that doesn't kill established trees and shrubs in one go. Regards, Nick Maclaren. |
#5
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controlling hogweed
On 28/05/2014 12:46, Nick Maclaren wrote:
In article , Emery Davis wrote: On Wed, 28 May 2014 11:27:10 +0100, Martin Brown wrote: I mean regular hogweed, not the giant variety thank goodness. That's not a major problem, despite the tabloid hysteria. Yes, it's a thug. It should be good enough to hit it with any broadleaf specific herbicide assuming it is in grass or glyphosate if you don't mind a bit of collateral damage and scythe it down in flower before it sets seed. I haven't found glyphosate to be effective, possibly I've been a little late in the season. Do you have a particular boradleaf herbicide to recommend? (If it kills dock and too, that would be just fine...) The normal problem with using glyphosate is following the instructions on the bottle :-( I agree, but it is in the manufacturers best interests for people to use more of the concentrate than is needed for optimum kill. You have to wait a bit longer for the weeds to die but it gives the glyphosate more time to translocate around the root system on pernicious weeds. They sell a fast acting prediluted "Roundup" that contains something else that kills the weeds before the glyphosate has time to act! Selling impure water has very high profit margin (windscreen wash too). It works better if you use it at HALF strength, and possibly repeat it a few weeks later (in cool weather). And, yes, start as soon as there is enough foliage. Absolutely agree - slower but a more complete kill that goes deeper. Actually persecuting any pernicious weed with whatever means you happen to be using at the time is not a bad strategy. You don't have to leave it for long growing unmolested with good leaves in the sun to lose control. I find a combination of chemical attack followed by either scorched earth or physically digging it out the most effective method. YMMV It is easier to spot any green regrowth or weed seedlings against a charred black background. Glyphosate is actually grass-specific, and will kill grass at levels that leave most other plants alive. The only one more effective that I know of is brushwood killer - but even that doesn't kill established trees and shrubs in one go. The one thing apart from waxy plants I find it ineffective against is buttercup. I have killed some larger areas with glyphosate and always noticed that afterwards the buttercup is quickly back in business. -- Regards, Martin Brown |
#6
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controlling hogweed
In article ,
Martin Brown wrote: Glyphosate is actually grass-specific, and will kill grass at levels that leave most other plants alive. The only one more effective that I know of is brushwood killer - but even that doesn't kill established trees and shrubs in one go. The one thing apart from waxy plants I find it ineffective against is buttercup. I have killed some larger areas with glyphosate and always noticed that afterwards the buttercup is quickly back in business. It has never killed regrowth from stumps for me, and kills field bindweed only after several years' use. I have heard that horsetail is also essentially immortal. Regards, Nick Maclaren. |
#7
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controlling hogweed
On Wed, 28 May 2014 13:07:05 +0100, Martin Brown wrote:
On 28/05/2014 12:46, Nick Maclaren wrote: In article , Emery Davis wrote: On Wed, 28 May 2014 11:27:10 +0100, Martin Brown wrote: I mean regular hogweed, not the giant variety thank goodness. That's not a major problem, despite the tabloid hysteria. Yes, it's a thug. It's pretty invasive. There's now enough of it in the area that it will probably be impossible to eliminate entirely. It should be good enough to hit it with any broadleaf specific herbicide assuming it is in grass or glyphosate if you don't mind a bit of collateral damage and scythe it down in flower before it sets seed. I haven't found glyphosate to be effective, possibly I've been a little late in the season. Do you have a particular boradleaf herbicide to recommend? (If it kills dock and too, that would be just fine...) The normal problem with using glyphosate is following the instructions on the bottle :-( I agree, but it is in the manufacturers best interests for people to use more of the concentrate than is needed for optimum kill. You have to wait a bit longer for the weeds to die but it gives the glyphosate more time to translocate around the root system on pernicious weeds. I know how to use it. But the weather is not always propitious, and I'm not always here. So sometimes it is catch as catch can. They sell a fast acting prediluted "Roundup" that contains something else that kills the weeds before the glyphosate has time to act! Selling impure water has very high profit margin (windscreen wash too). True. I buy it from the ag coop. There may be a cheaper place but not so much so that it's worth putting the time in to find. [] It is easier to spot any green regrowth or weed seedlings against a charred black background. I don't think burning the fields to spot new hogweed growth is a solution that fits the size of the problem. But it is easy to see when it comes into any mulched areas. Glyphosate is actually grass-specific, and will kill grass at levels that leave most other plants alive. The only one more effective that I know of is brushwood killer - but even that doesn't kill established trees and shrubs in one go. Glyphosate wont kill shrubs outright, but it certainly does knock Japanese maples back, and weakens them so that they're much more vulnerable to verticillium. But, it won't kill even sycamore seedlings... The one thing apart from waxy plants I find it ineffective against is buttercup. I have killed some larger areas with glyphosate and always noticed that afterwards the buttercup is quickly back in business. I agree completely: glyphosate is not very effective against buttercup. Sadly. Or, for that matter, yarrow. -E -- Gardening in Lower Normandy |
#8
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controlling hogweed
On 28/05/2014 13:20, Emery Davis wrote:
I agree completely: glyphosate is not very effective against buttercup. Sadly. Or, for that matter, yarrow. It's very slow against Enchanter's Nightshade as well. -- Jeff |
#9
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controlling hogweed
On 28/05/2014 11:15, Emery Davis wrote:
I mean regular hogweed, not the giant variety thank goodness. Over the last 20 years (there was none at all then) it has installed itself in the fields and likes to come up in cleared areas around trees and shrubs. I've not had much luck with glyphosate, the huge root seems to laugh it off. I've tried cutting the flower heads off, on the theory that since it's biennial (I think) it will go away, but the seeds seem to set anyway. Yesterday I dug a bunch of it up as best as possible, but of course there was a lot of root left in ground. Is it likely to come back, or is this a good method. Lots of info on the giant variety but not so much on regular hogweed; it has the same chemical that causes sunlight activated burns, just not so much of it, and the flowering stems can get to about 6 ft. Thanks for any tips, -E Have you tried Pathclear yet? It should persist for longer than straight Glyphosate and it inhibits germination of seeds. -- Spider. On high ground in SE London gardening on heavy clay |
#10
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controlling hogweed
On Wed, 28 May 2014 14:08:39 +0100, Spider wrote:
Have you tried Pathclear yet? It should persist for longer than straight Glyphosate and it inhibits germination of seeds. Hi Spider, Does pathclear turn inactive when it hits the soil? I have a lot of surface rooting trees, so don't want to damage roots. Thanks! -E -- Gardening in Lower Normandy |
#11
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controlling hogweed
On 28 May 2014 13:14:11 GMT, Emery Davis
wrote: On Wed, 28 May 2014 14:08:39 +0100, Spider wrote: Have you tried Pathclear yet? It should persist for longer than straight Glyphosate and it inhibits germination of seeds. Hi Spider, Does pathclear turn inactive when it hits the soil? I have a lot of surface rooting trees, so don't want to damage roots. Thanks! -E Pathclear will kill trees very efficiently. That what it's main ingredient was designed to do. Steve -- Neural Network Software http://www.npsnn.com EasyNN-plus More than just a neural network http://www.easynn.com SwingNN Prediction software http://www.swingnn.com JustNN Just a neural network http://www.justnn.com |
#12
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controlling hogweed
On 28/05/2014 14:14, Emery Davis wrote:
On Wed, 28 May 2014 14:08:39 +0100, Spider wrote: Have you tried Pathclear yet? It should persist for longer than straight Glyphosate and it inhibits germination of seeds. Hi Spider, Does pathclear turn inactive when it hits the soil? I have a lot of surface rooting trees, so don't want to damage roots. Thanks! -E I was just about to check, but the others have got there first. Sorry, Emery, it looks as if you can't use it safely near your trees. It might help if you could stop the flowerheads before they form, so that there is no seed to increase the problem, but I appreciate that is difficult when you're not on site full time. It looks like digging it out and laying ground sheets are the only answers. Best to start that at the beginning of the year, when ground sheets will starve it of light. Once the ground is covered, you can mulch thickly to disguise the sheet which will look fairly decorative and keep your trees happy. I can't help wondering, though, if you could use Pathclear as a barrier between the offending field and your own plot to help keep the hogweed at bay? -- Spider. On high ground in SE London gardening on heavy clay |
#13
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controlling hogweed
On Wed, 28 May 2014 15:29:59 +0100, Spider wrote:
I was just about to check, but the others have got there first. Sorry, Emery, it looks as if you can't use it safely near your trees. Thanks Spider and others. I feared that was the case. I'm very leery of 2,4D; I don't use any sort of lawn weed+feed since they usually contain it. It might help if you could stop the flowerheads before they form, so that there is no seed to increase the problem, but I appreciate that is difficult when you're not on site full time. It looks like digging it out and laying ground sheets are the only answers. Best to start that at the beginning of the year, when ground sheets will starve it of light. Once the ground is covered, you can mulch thickly to disguise the sheet which will look fairly decorative and keep your trees happy. OK, looks like more digging is in my future! (The more things change...) I can't help wondering, though, if you could use Pathclear as a barrier between the offending field and your own plot to help keep the hogweed at bay? Thanks, but not practical. Anyway I don't think it would work: deer love the seed heads, then come into the garden and spread them. Not to mention most of the hogweed is upwind of the garden proper, so the wind will probably bring seeds in too. -E -- Gardening in Lower Normandy |
#14
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controlling hogweed
On 28/05/2014 14:42, Martin wrote:
On 28 May 2014 13:14:11 GMT, Emery Davis wrote: On Wed, 28 May 2014 14:08:39 +0100, Spider wrote: Have you tried Pathclear yet? It should persist for longer than straight Glyphosate and it inhibits germination of seeds. Hi Spider, Does pathclear turn inactive when it hits the soil? I have a lot of surface rooting trees, so don't want to damage roots. No. Use Pathclear only on paths (new stuff isn't much cop). From Scott's the maker's website 1. IDENTIFICATION OF SUBSTANCE / PREPARATION AND COMPANY Product Name PATHCLEAR 3 Common name of active ingredient 2,4-D. Amitrole. Diuron Intended use For use only as a Home Garden Weedkiller 2,4D was in Dow's Agent Orange used to defoliate forests in the Vietnam War. That isn't a reason to fear it. They used 2,4-D because it was cheap and effective the problem was they used a really cheap and nasty synthesis route that also produced high levels of dioxins as well. 2,4-D is still used in some broadleaf specific formulations. It is the persistent components of Pathclear that will cause trouble if used incorrectly. My father unwisely used it to spot weed his lawn once. The modern Pathclear is nothing like as good as the original. -- Regards, Martin Brown |
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