Spraying weak roundup solution around bushes/trees

[CTyler]

I can't remember for sure but...There was a poster that stated something about spraying a weak roundup solution to kill grass and not the plants.

We have several hundred small bushes and trees that the grass is choking so they're not growing well. This is the second year for a lot of them. We can't weed wack around these cause thier to small and one slip would kill them. Using the push mower around these to get up close every few weeks is a killer.

What would be the proper ratio to do this and not have it get into the ground and kill the bushes and tree saplings?

Thanks
Chris

 

[BB_TX]

Roundup kills on contact with the leaves, not the roots. You will have to spray it on the grass leaves to kill the grass. I don't think you could mix it so that it would only kill the grass and not damage the other stuff if it got on them. Sort of like the weed wacker, one slip and you got the good stuff also. Sounds like a hand shear to me. But for <font color="red"> hundreds </font> of bushes and trees? /forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif That would be a lot of work.
Now if the trees and bushes leaves are high enough off the ground that you can spray under them and get the grass without hitting the tree and bush leaves, then you should have no problem. Again because it kills on leaf contact not root contact. It will not hurt the trunk if it has developed a hard bark.
I have accidently hit some small oak and pecan trees when spraying my fence rows before I realized what they were. Some died, some survived but were damaged pretty bad. But that was at recommended strength.

 

[Panache]

What kind of grass? Fusilade will kill some kinds of grass without hurting other kinds of plants. It is also marketed under the name of Grass-B-gon.

 

[Piedmont3]

We bought and sprayed some stuff called "Grass Getter" (POAST). It worked great. It killed all the grass in the flower bed of our new house and didn't bother the flowers/shrubs/plants. It was expensive $35.00 for the package that covered about 700 sq ft.
It came from the local OKC office of:
"Estes Inc."
Which is in
Ft. Worth TX.

 

[1bush2hog]

Hey Chris -

Have you considered tree mats or weed block material instead of herbicides? Might be more cost effective and achieve better results for you too.

I personally think herbicides have mix ratios that should be adhered to. WIth that being said, you may also want to consider a shield if you do spray herbicide. The shield would allow the spray to be more controllable during application, as well as, reduce drift. Shields can be found as an accessory for most hand held sprayers, or you could make your own. A piece of thin stiff cardboard could be a cheap shield if you don't have too many to spray.

 

[teg]

Depending on what trees you are trying to keep alive will determine if you *might* be able to use roundup. Roundup is not the best choice, the other two chemicals are better to kill grass, yes there are more expensive.

Shallow rooted trees, like dogwoods will be killed if you spray too much under the canopy (ie. where the roots are.)

 

[Birdhunter1]

Mix your Roundup solution in a bucket, mix it as strong as you would anywhere else (like for grass in your driveway) and use an old sock to put in teh bucket then drag the soc over teh grass you want to kill without touching your trees and bushes. Just a touch of Roundup is all that is needed on grass to kill it and as long as you don't touch your bushes it won't hurt them.

 

[CTyler]

I can't remember everything that was planted but here are a few, Honeysuckle, Lavender, Rose of Sharon, Cherry,Oak, Maple, Cottonwood, Poplar, Various Pines, Spruce, Sunburst Locust, and Walnut.

Most of the grass is a mix called non-destruct II and has various fescues.

Sounds like I should go with something different, the POAST sounds really promising.

We may put some weed fabric down and mulch as well. Most of the mulch is gone from last year.

 

[deere755]

We have wild flowers in an area of our yard and the grass is really choking them out so My wife found some stuff on the internet from a place called Wildseed Farms and the name of the chemical is Ornamec. It is 23.50 plus shipping for a quart and a quart will cover 5000 sq. foot. You can find them on the web at www.wildseedfarms.com

 

[HRS]

Chris, I use R-up around my wax leaf legustriums to kill grass under them etc. If you have a hand sprayer that allows you to spray up close, you will be fine. Mix it at a healthy strength, and go kill some grass. I have actually killed a few bushes with the Roundup for grass, but I sprayed it directly on the entire bush, covered all the leaves. Outside of intentionally trying to kill something, I also use it in the garden. I spray fence line and have even attacked weeds in the rows with it. Neither touched the plants I was trying to grow. the wands on the hand sprayers offer a lot of control. And that grass and such is a lot harder to kill than you think.