IVY root removal

[Nish]

The roots of the ivy may be connected with the roots of the tree. Triclopyr amine (e.g. brush be gone) or any other herbicide applied to the cut ivy stump may travel to the tree this way

I have heard of root grafts between tree species, but I've not heard of this happening. Triclopyr amine persists longer than glyphosate, but unless there's surface runoff I don't see it getting into the tree. Do ivies or vines of any sort transfer water or nutrients back into the host tree?

 

[colb]

I have heard of root grafts between tree species, but I've not heard of this happening. Triclopyr amine persists longer than glyphosate, but unless there's surface runoff I don't see it getting into the tree. Do ivies or vines of any sort transfer water or nutrients back into the host tree?

I believe triclopyr is not soil active at the label rate...

 

[colb]

I'm a natural areas applicator.

Usually, glyphosate is used on herbaceous plants as a foliar spray. Before air potato beetles, I sprayed 1% with a leaf-penetrating surfactant into tree canopies to selectively kill elevated air potato. The tree leaves might burn off under the surfactant exposure, but the trees would just releaf.

Triclopyr is great for treating most woody-tissued vines and trees, except Albizia/mimosa, and wisteria. Triclopyr usually comes to homeowners through big box stores in a dilute amine form, because it's fairly safe that way for both the people and plants (still, the amine is presumably not great for your eyes). The dilution renders it ineffective for cut stump application, but it is often over twice as concentrated as I use for most foliar treatments... The different ways to formulate and mix triclopyr make it hard for a homeowner to use, both to get results (which manifest around month 2) and to avoid off target damage. At day's end, best to get a professional out with anything that isn't glyphosate...

These two herbicides are primary go-tos, but there are lots of other herbicides and adjuvants used in specific situations.

Anything starting with "imaza" likely means that it will slay everything but pines, at label rate, and be soil active for 6 months. It is very "hot" to handle. It is also a great killer in combination with other herbicides. In an herbicide cocktail, Imaza-whatever can be mixed up at low concentration to give a boost to the main herbicide, greatly reducing its half-life decay time to bring your soil out of scorched earth status.

In general, it's hard to sell herbicides of any type with bark penetrant to homeowners because the bark penetrant is an ester and oil-based formulation that soaks through bark/skin, but also floats on water surfaces, creating a hazard for amphibians and other wildlife in that surface habitat zone. Bark penetrants are great for vectoring herbicide into rough woody-tissued trees and woody vines.

Hth

 

[GregManning]

Thank you, Thank you !!!

 

[Nish]

Triclopyr is great for treating most woody-tissued vines and trees, except Albizia/mimosa, and wisteria.

I'd be interested to hear why you say this. I've heard/read differently and I've got a lot of wisteria to treat this summer. When we're not near water or redbuds, we'll probably spray the low wisteria vines with 0.5% clopyralid, another auxin mimicker that's more selective, persistent, and less expensive (but effective on legumes).

 

[colb]

I'd be interested to hear why you say this. I've heard/read differently and I've got a lot of wisteria to treat this summer. When we're not near water or redbuds, we'll probably spray the low wisteria vines with 0.5% clopyralid, another auxin mimicker that's more selective, persistent, and less expensive (but effective on legumes).

I don't have experience with clopyralid. To be honest, I think guys in my work community are always looking for the unicorn herbicide with which to treat wisteria. It is *so* persistent and the underground tubers are massive on established vines.

I've applied milestone, which is cheaper than it looks by the time it's mixed, to scraped stems in a heavily-infested natural area, but did not have an opportunity to revisit it post-treatment.

It's hard to bring milestone into a landscaped setting because of the intense soil activity. I've tried, with sponge paint brushes to scraped stems, but when the azaleas start looking droopy it's hard to tell if it's lack of water or herbicide, lol, especially when the wisteria leaves are curling like they're supposed to... In the end, I think digging up the tubers with a Blue Diamond stump bucket, if they're big (football +), might be pragmatic versus herbicide control, or in tandem with it... Usually you can tell where the big tubers are based on the entry path of the vines, and by resprout patterns if they've already been treated or hacked at once. Let me know what you do, and how it goes, if you don't mind...

 

[Nish]

I just got a stump bucket for our SK1550 and ripping out football-sized wisteria tubers sounds like therapeutic outlet for my destructive propensities, always frustrated by the residential restrictions against agent orange, napalm, and bunker busters. Milestone (aminopyralid) looks very similar to clopyralid. I'll try to keep good records.

 

[Roger_Barnett]

NOPE. You were advised incorrectly.
Read the RoundUp instructions.

It should be applied to actively growing vegetation. Not stem ends.
It is very effective on broad leaf plants. e.g. wild grape vines, poison ivy, etc.
It transports from the leaves down into the roots.

I used to buy RoundUp concentrate in 5 Gal. containers before dilution.

It won't harm your Fir tree if you don't let it get on the needles.
I've used it on my property for 25+ years.

There are herbicides that can be applied to the stem ends, but you need a licence.
e.g. Tordon

Greg, I've been using glyphosate for 20 plus years on cut stumps. It works, always. Not diluted, however.

Had a gallon of Tordon long ago. Had it stored in the walk in of my chip truck at the time. A bit must have spilled. The smell was obnoxious and took some time to dissipate. Never bought it again. Switched to Round Up, which works.

 

[colb]

I just got a stump bucket for our SK1550 and ripping out football-sized wisteria tubers sounds like therapeutic outlet for my destructive propensities, always frustrated by the residential restrictions against agent orange, napalm, and bunker busters. Milestone (aminopyralid) looks very similar to clopyralid. I'll try to keep good records.

It would be very therapeutic, lol.

 

[Jehinten]

NOPE. You were advised incorrectly.
Read the RoundUp instructions.

It should be applied to actively growing vegetation. Not stem ends.
It is very effective on broad leaf plants. e.g. wild grape vines, poison ivy, etc.
It transports from the leaves down into the roots.

I used to buy RoundUp concentrate in 5 Gal. containers before dilution.

It won't harm your Fir tree if you don't let it get on the needles.
I've used it on my property for 25+ years.

There are herbicides that can be applied to the stem ends, but you need a licence.
e.g. Tordon

It's possible that I was. I consider the adviser in this case more experienced than myself so I took him at his word. I did forget to mention that he said to apply it at full strength and not diluted. Maybe that makes a difference?

For what it's worth he is an horticulturist at a local university

 

[guymayor]

Wait til a rain then use a pick to pry it out and finish by manual pulling. Safe and effective. I do it a lot with Hedera helix and Rhus toxica. You could get the whooole thing in 5-10 minutes.

 

[GregManning]

Greg, I've been using glyphosate for 20 plus years on cut stumps. It works, always. Not diluted, however.

Had a gallon of Tordon long ago. Had it stored in the walk in of my chip truck at the time. A bit must have spilled. The smell was obnoxious and took some time to dissipate. Never bought it again. Switched to Round Up, which works.

Thanks for the info:

1. "Cut Stumps" means Poison Ivy stumps ?
2. That's good to know.
3. I assume that is an "off label" use ?

4. Tordon is not perfect. I had a "licensed" applicator cut & treat wild grape vine stumps over the course of 3 weeks, many years ago.
He had to come back the next year because it didn't "take". He contacted the manufacturer but never found out what was wrong.
He spent 2 more weeks retreating the following year.

 

[Roger_Barnett]

Greg, I've used glyphosate for years. It even works on populus... best to inject in the fall while the tree is still standing. Best chance of the bad stuff translocating deeper into those pesky roots.

The OP lives near me, in the PNWet, and was referring to English ivy. There's no poison ivy around these parts....maybe a bit of poison oak, though the only time I've run into it was above the Columbia Gorge. I was in shorts and above Hood River, framing the river, town and Mt Hood. Couple hours later, I was scratching up a storm.... took me a while to put two and two together..... I grew up in Va and Arkansas, and was quite allergic. But we moved to the west when I was fifteen... so it had been a half century since I'd experience that sensation..and the fast expanding reaction.....