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Matt Meiser
05-10-2008, 3:24 PM
This is some kind of bushy plant that seems pretty common around here. The grow fast--this one is maybe a year old and is about 3-4' high. Left alone they'll grow 10'+ high in a few years. First, I'd like to identify what they are. Second, I want to try to find a way to control them.

Brush hogging them doesn't seem to kill them--maybe even makes the spread. Plus brush hogging knocks down the grasses and and trees I want to encourage. So I'd like to find something I can spot spray to try to kill them (knowing that the overspray is going to do some damage, but I can live with that.) Preferably something that's not too expensive since I have about 7 acres to spot spray.

Ken Fitzgerald
05-10-2008, 3:28 PM
Matt....I don't know what it is but if Roundup won't kill it....it's tough. I haven't seen any plants here that Roundup wouildn't kill. A few can be tough if they have a waxey leaf as they don't seem to absorb it as quickly. However, all have eventually died.

Tom Veatch
05-10-2008, 3:32 PM
.. So I'd like to find something I can spot spray to try to kill them (knowing that the overspray is going to do some damage, but I can live with that.) Preferably something that's not too expensive since I have about 7 acres to spot spray.

Like Ken said, "Roundup". It seems expensive at first glance, but a little goes a long way. Just don't get any overspray on anything you don't want to kill. And read the label!

Ron Jones near Indy
05-10-2008, 7:01 PM
It looks like a woody plant. Roundup Brush Killer will get it if the grass/weed product doesn't.

Butch Edwards
05-10-2008, 7:06 PM
if you can find it(try a Sothern States store if ones' in your area):
2-4-D ester or ammine (water or oil base)..it WILL kill whatever it touches

Brian Brown
05-10-2008, 7:22 PM
We have a couple of weeds here that Round up won't kill. Morning Glory and Mallow weed. It will make them sick, but they always survive. My brother swears that Round up will kill anything if you take a insulin syringe and inject it directly into the stems. I'm too lazy to try it. The best gardener I ever met, says she has excellent results killing Roundup resistant weeds by spreading Mayo onto the leaves. I am always too worried that the neighbors will see me putting mayo on the leaves, and have me locked up. Give it a try and if it works, let us know. It may be a new weed killer we can market.

Greg Peterson
05-10-2008, 7:47 PM
Matt, looks like English Laurel. Makes for big, quick growing hedges. I could be wrong. but that is what it looks like. If you could snip a small branch and place it on a sidewalk and take a picture of it we could get a better idea of what it looks like.

Jeffrey Makiel
05-10-2008, 8:19 PM
Matt...It's a rare ebony tree! You're gonna be rich! :D

I killed my zoysia lawn with Roundup last year. Worked well, and zoysia is a tuff grass (or rather, a tuff weed). However, any overspray will kill anything around the target plant. So, be careful when applying it.

-Jeff :)

Michael Morgan
05-10-2008, 8:50 PM
Best weed killer out there. Mix a little with water and spray. One quart will make probably 15 gallons and even at that it's several times more powerful than round up

Steve knight
05-10-2008, 8:55 PM
crossbow HERBICIDE will do it. hard to find outside commercial use but well worth it. see results in a a few hours. best to use it when it is cool and keep mixing it as you use it.

Matt Meiser
05-11-2008, 9:18 PM
Someone PM'd me on another forum that the name is Autumn Olive. When I Googled that name I found numerous pictures of attributes I'd forgotten about since I removed all the big ones a couple years ago--big thorns during part of the season and a red fruit.

According to a couple pages (like this (http://www.inhs.uiuc.edu/chf/outreach/VMG/autolive.html)), cutting plus Roundup is the answer, apparently an 18% solution which is what Roundup Concentrate is out of the bottle. Luckily, Monsanto's patent on Glyphosate has expired and generics are commonly available at a lower price than Roundup.

For example, this product (http://www.tractorsupply.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay_10551_10001_36639_______14414|14454 |36639?listingPage=true) from Tractor Supply would make about 2 gallons of the equivalent to the Roundup Concentrate fro $20 as opposed to $23.99 for Roundup.

Bryan Berguson
05-11-2008, 10:23 PM
crossbow HERBICIDE will do it. hard to find outside commercial use but well worth it. see results in a a few hours. best to use it when it is cool and keep mixing it as you use it.


I'll second this! Mix about 8 ounces with 5 gal kerosene and it will do the job. If it will kill multifloral rose, it will kill ANYTHING!

Bryan

David G Baker
05-11-2008, 11:29 PM
Matt,
A friend of mine purchased some property here in Mid Michigan that had been planted with the plant you have. It was said that is was a great plant for wild life, but what wasn't mentioned was that it will totally take over large areas of land and does so rapidly. The plant has thorns that cause problems as well. Getting rid of the plant after it takes over takes physical removal and herbicides. It will take several years to fully remove the plant once it gets the upper hand.

Matt Meiser
05-12-2008, 8:29 AM
Yes, that's how I removed them from my side yard. Then it took a lot of work with the box blade to get the ground back to something resembling level. But these are small ones.

David G Baker
05-12-2008, 9:30 AM
They show up on my place once in a while and I pull them out by hand before they mature. So far I have been able to keep ahead of them. I am glad I found out how bad they are before they took over.
I have a few bramble plants I am trying to get rid of, Round-Up helps but they sneak up on me once in a while.

Cliff Rohrabacher
05-12-2008, 9:54 AM
A more focused plant killer is a propane torch. Burn off a few of the shoot ends and it'll dehydrate and die.

Jim Becker
05-12-2008, 11:08 AM
Cliff, that works for a lot of things, but not all. Burning will not kill the thistle that likes to come up near our small pond area. Tenacious stuff due to the root system. And I cannot and will not use chemicals in that area. (Only poison ivy gets chemicals and only because Professor Dr. SWMBO is very allergic to it, but never near the house...those I pull by hand) I just dig out the thistle several times per season and otherwise live with it.

Matt, the "weed plant" we have on our property is something like (or is) witchhazel. It likes to come up everywhere, although not as bad as what you have.

Scott Shepherd
05-12-2008, 11:32 AM
http://www.bonide.com/ makes some decent products.

Ted Calver
05-12-2008, 12:02 PM
Matt,
I have good luck removing tenacious woody plants by clipping them off at the ground and applying concentrated brush remover to the cut stem. Has worked every time.

Chris Parks
05-12-2008, 11:16 PM
Something I have done in the past and it is suck and see in each case, use a steam cleaner.

Per Swenson
05-13-2008, 7:57 AM
Sorry don't kill me,

Sure I play a redneck on the internet,

but poison is bad. Bad for everybody.

Good for Monsanto though.

When we have a invasion problem,

we find killin with our bare hands and a pick n shovel

Is much more rewarding.

I won't bore you with the links here, so do a google search on

Monsanto and roundup and discover why in the long run this stuff is a terrible idea. Anytime.

Per

Dennis Peacock
05-13-2008, 12:10 PM
I found out a long time ago that roundup will kill stuff...not good for the wildlife either. I also found out that when the weather is hot and dry that mixing in a regular box of salt in a gallon of water applied to the pesky plant will cause it to die very quickly. I've kill a lot of pesky plants and grass with just a simple mix of table salt and water.

Matt Meiser
05-13-2008, 1:51 PM
Dennis, doesn't that solution come from a very, very old, but still popular book? ;)

Chris Padilla
05-13-2008, 2:09 PM
How about one of these? :D

Matt Meiser
05-13-2008, 2:22 PM
Chris, we already have a dog. I've never seen one that looks like that though. :D

Chris Padilla
05-13-2008, 2:30 PM
That there is a special dog...they eat just about anything I'm told.... :D

Mike Cutler
05-13-2008, 2:49 PM
That there is a special dog...they eat just about anything I'm told.... :D

Yep, including those nice plastic bumpers on new cars. They love those. But then the kiddies start feeding them alfalfa pellets and haylage.....
Next thing you know you're buying 40 lb sacks of Nutrena, or Blue Seal pelletized feeds, and digging the weeds out like Per, and the goat is standing on the roof of your car. :eek:,;)

I use RoundUp, but only on poison Ivy, and Kudzu. It's used very carefully. Everything else is a shovel and a Hoe

Randal Cobb
05-13-2008, 3:09 PM
I've seen those before... I believe they are called "Bulgarian Billy-Dogs." They'll clean up the weeds, grass, small trees, license plates, tin cans, plastic bottles...

I know what will get rid of those weeds... I'll send you some good-ole' southern Kudzu. Within a month, you won't worry about those weeds any more. However, worrying about how the Kudzu has taken over your house, the neighbor's house, small-slow-moving children, and that "Bulgarian Billy-Dog" are another matter.

Seriously, if you can get ahold of anything that is used to kill kudzu, I can just about guarantee that it will take care of that flimsy little weed. But, of course, that assumes you can find anything up there where Kudzu isn't prevalent.

Leigh Costello
05-13-2008, 3:22 PM
We have sumac here and honeysuckle. Both very aggressive root systems. We chop (or this year, pull it out) the roots and get as much as possible. Then we (I) sprinkle on the salt. Kills the root, very inexpensive, and no one has to worry about the well water getting contaminated. Seems effective, but definitely labor intensive. Good luck with your plant invasion!