Using "Round Up" around trees

[Bob Weis]

Before extending mulch circle around some trees, I would like to kill the grass/weeds in this area first. Hopefully to keep the grass from growing back through the new mulch. Is there any potential danger or problem with using a product like "Round Up", as long as I am careful not to get any on the leaves or trunk?

 

[John Paul Sanborn]

If the bark is thin and green , if there are sprouts coming up, if there are exposed roots with with fresh mower wounds. thses situations can casu damage.

I would just cut the grass short and lay som news paper down, put some compost down first then a layer of fresh ship or decorative mulch.

Another method of turff kill is torch it with sulfer.

Leave off the pesticides till the are realy needed. Grass is easy to kill, just take it's light away.

 

[Kneejerk Bombas]

John gives good advice.
I recommend you cut the grass as short as your mower will go, add a single layer of newspaper, a thin layer of compost(the bagged stuff works fine, and has application rates on the bag), then woodchips, with the total depth not exceeding 3".
Use the roundup sparingly if any grass comes through.

 

[John Paul McMillin]

Even though i operate an organic farm at home, I have to say that roundup ( though not organic) is hardly toxic. Table salt that you put on your food is more toxic than roundup. Just throwing my 2 cents in here and though i dont use it at home i do use it at work. If there are no exposed roots under the tree , roundup would work fine in killing the grass under a tree. jpm

 

[TNTreeHugger]

This is my question also.
Two vote no on the Round up, one vote for okay.

I don't have enough newspaper to go around all the trees I want to mulch in my yard - but this morning I just bought a large jug of Round-up.
If I spray sparingly on just the grass/weeds and not on any exposed roots, or other parts of the tree, is it okay to spritz with the Round-up before layering with compost and mulch?
I have several pecan trees I want to work on first. I'm also thinking it might be a good idea to hit the drip line with Seven dust before the mulch to kill any critters that could harm the pecan crop. Yea, or nay?
Here is what I'm working on...

I'm working my way to that "jungle" area to the left of the pecans. Above photo shows what I have cleared out so far around the pecans, and the area I want to spray and mulch.

 

[ropensaddle]

This is my question also.
Two vote no on the Round up, one vote for okay.

I don't have enough newspaper to go around all the trees I want to mulch in my yard - but this morning I just bought a large jug of Round-up.
If I spray sparingly on just the grass/weeds and not on any exposed roots, or other parts of the tree, is it okay to spritz with the Round-up before layering with compost and mulch?
I have several pecan trees I want to work on first. I'm also thinking it might be a good idea to hit the drip line with Seven dust before the mulch to kill any critters that could harm the pecan crop. Yea, or nay?
Here is what I'm working on...
View attachment 509408 View attachment 509409 View attachment 509410 View attachment 509411
I'm working my way to that "jungle" area to the left of the pecans. Above photo shows what I have cleared out so far around the pecans, and the area I want to spray and mulch.

3rd vote for neigh the absorbing roots are found in upper soil level and are small some microscopic. Will it kill the tree, probably not but it can stress it! As far as seven dust and your tree; pesticides are only needed in infestations. Trees with a good mulch bed and watered in droughts will normally never need a pesticide. Pests unless borers are mostly cosmetic!

 

[TNTreeHugger]

Nuts! I was afraid you would say that.
Something ruins the pecans, every year, on one of the trees. The nuts develop and look great, but then they get black spots on the hulls and the nuts are rotten inside. What would cause that if not a pest? The other pecan trees don't have this problem. Out of 22 years, only one year did I get a nice batch of pecans from that tree.

Back to the Round-up. I guess spraying the weeds/grass that emerges from the mulch is out of the question?

 

[BC WetCoast]

Glyphosate (Round up) binds with soil particles and becomes inert. However, as others have said, there is the chance you could spray feeder roots just at the soil surface. I would say the likelihood of killing the tree is very low, the likelihood of stressing the trees is low-med. We've given you the data, you need to make the decision.

If you don't have enough newpaper to cover the ground, you can always use landscape fabric. Newspaper is cheaper.

Glyphosate sprayed on weeds and grass emerging through the mulch is highly unlikely to affect the tree. However, I would suggest trying corn gluten first.

From ehow.com
Rotting Diseases

• 
  Phytophthora shuck and kernel rot is a fungal disease that attacks many types of trees, particularly the pecan tree. When it infects a pecan tree, it tends to attack the shuck (the hard, green shell around an immature nut) and the nut kernel. The infected nuts tend to turn black and spongy. The disease is caused by the fungus phytophtora cactorum. The disease usually spreads with rain in the humid climate of the Southeastern United States. It's a relatively new disease, discovered in the late 1980s.
  
  Pecan scab, consider the pecan tree's most virulent disease, is another fungus that causes the pecan to rot on the tree. Caused by cladosporium caryigenum, this fungus infection attacks the shuck, twigs and leaves of the tree. Scab is a common problem for pecan grows all over the continent. It was discovered in 1888.
  

Fighting Pecan Disease

• The most common way to fight these rotting diseases is by spraying orchards with fungicide. Pecan scab requires that farmers spray their crops about nine to eleven times per growing season, starting when the leaves first bud on the trees in April, all the way through the end of the harvest. It is extremely expensive for farmers to spray this often. Scientists are researching ways to reduce costs associated with fighting the disease. Phytophthora begins infecting pecan trees in September, so it requires fewer fungicide treatments through the year.
  

 

[redlawn 78]

Where I'm at landscape fabric becomes more of a headache than mulching without. The grasses here grow right through it and the weeds that seed on top hang on to it with kung fu death grip with their roots. Over time when those weeds get pulled out it ends up tearing the fabric making it useless anyway. (I wont even get into the hassle of plastic sheeting- just don't. Ever. For any reason. But Thats a whole different thread.)
Try stopping by your local tavern or coffee shop or other such gathering place and see if maybe they have a stack of news papers that haven't yet been discarded.
And the corn gluten is an a MAIZEing idea as well!

 

[capetrees]

Roundup lightly and according to instructions will work fine. A tree hat size shouldn't be affected all that much. Premixed roundup is probably te safest route. If mixing it down from concentrated or super concentrated, don't make it stronger than recommended. THAT will do damage to the tree by way of the roots.

 

[TNTreeHugger]

I agree completely on the landscape fabric. I tried it one year, all around the house and then topped with pea gravel. Looked good for a year. then, as you said, things started growing in it, through it, and on top of it. What a mess. Now the ants are enjoying it. One of these days I'm going to pull it all up and resort to Round-up instead.
For the longest time, I haven't been a fan of any chemical pesticides, or herbicides, but the older I get, the more tolerant I become.

I'll get the newspapers for around the trees. Heck, I can buy one paper per tree, that should cover it. I probably won't be doing more than one or two trees per week anyway.

 

[TNTreeHugger]

Roundup lightly and according to instructions will work fine. A tree hat size shouldn't be affected all that much. Premixed roundup is probably te safest route. If mixing it down from concentrated or super concentrated, don't make it stronger than recommended. THAT will do damage to the tree by way of the roots.

I bought the Round-up for weeds and grasses. I would think the one for brush would more likely harm the trees.

 

[wrx-snowdrift]

Roundup lightly and according to instructions will work fine. A tree hat size shouldn't be affected all that much. Premixed roundup is probably te safest route. If mixing it down from concentrated or super concentrated, don't make it stronger than recommended. THAT will do damage to the tree by way of the roots.

+1

Roundup can sometimes struggle with broadleaves but it is very effective on grasses. The small amount necessary to kill the grass will not harm a tree that size. It would be preferable to spray on a nice sunny day and give the roundup time to fully absorb and start to work. I wouldn't spray and then cover it with mulch the same day. Roundup is a much slower kill than other herbicides such as growth regulators (2,4-D) so don't be alarmed if even after a few days the grass isn't completely dead.

 

[ATH]

I'd mulch it first and Roundup the grass that comes through the mulch. However for clients I do the Roundup first because they want to to see weeds coming up through the new mulch. Spray it, wait at least 4-5 days and put mulch right over the sprayed area.

If you spray lightly on the grass and don't drift, I wouldn't think twice about harming the tree by killing the grass...that will be helping he tree!

 

[TNTreeHugger]

I remembered I had a stash of newsprint and newspapers in the attic I had saved for shipping materials, maybe enough to do two trees... how thick does the paper need to be?
I was thinking, maybe double layer then spray wet, then cover with the mulch.
I'm doing this on several trees I have already cleared about a foot of grass and weeds from around the trunk and already planted some flowers - definitely don't want to use the Round-up there.
I'll spray the Round-up around the large pecans and then do the mulch after the grass dies back, about a week, or so.
Picked up a load of mulch and will go back in a couple hours for another.
Here's todays subjects (if I have enough mulch):


What about cardboard? I have quite a few used boxes. Can they be used in place of the newspaper?

 

[ATH]

Only use one layer op paper. No cardboard..you want it for do its job then go away as quickly as possible.

 

[TNTreeHugger]

Just got home with the second load of mulch... wanted to find out about the cardboard. I should have enough newsprint to go around one more tree today. Will get more for the others another day.
I'll post the "after" photos in a bit when I get finished with tree number three.

 

[TNTreeHugger]

Whew! ... and I've got 15 minutes to spare before I have to leave for "work." (If I didn't have a "real job" I'd never get any rest from home work!)
WoW. What a difference $20 worth of mulch makes!!
I even sprayed soil and mulch off the root flares on the trees when I was finished.

Thanks for all the advice!

 

[TNTreeHugger]

Mulch is highly addictive.
I want to mulch everything in my yard now.
Must have newspaper!!!

 

[ropensaddle]

Whew! ... and I've got 15 minutes to spare before I have to leave for "work." (If I didn't have a "real job" I'd never get any rest from home work!)
WoW. What a difference $20 worth of mulch makes!!
I even sprayed soil and mulch off the root flares on the trees when I was finished.

Thanks for all the advice!
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Omg I created a mulch monster Looking good; I never spray or use newspaper as the weeds growing out of a well mulched bed pull very easy. I do know roundup is weak and eraser is good too for weeds and grass.