Poisoning buckthorn - mixing herbicide?

shop deals on amazon
Treestuff
Rugged made
Shop deals on ebay
Arborist Forum

Help Support Arborist Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
Z

zuren

ArboristSite Operative
Joined
Sep 16, 2005
Messages
108
Reaction score
22
Location
MI
I've spent a bit of time cutting down buckthorn on my property and I'm looking to take my fight to the next level. I'm one man and I have acres that are overrun, so I need to be efficient with my time and effort.

Everything I read recommends trichlophyr for buckthorn mixed at 10-20% final concentration. Most articles suggest using diesel fuel as the surfactant/vehicle. There are other environmentally friendlier surfactants available (MSO - methylated soybean oil) but it tends to be expensive by the time you get enough to do the job. I don't love the idea of spraying straight diesel fuel around the woods but wondered if biodiesel (99%) would be a happier compromise? I could also go to Costco or Walmart and but the cheapest vegetable oil by the gallon as that seems to be an acceptable, safer alternative.

Just wondering if anyone has experience and what they used.

Thanks!
 
You already cut it and now you are looking to spray?

If that is the case, I'd consider waiting for it to sprout and treat the sprouts with glyphosate (Round-up).

If you are looking to do basal bark spray with triclopyr I haven't seen great success with just vegetable oil. No reason bio-diesel won't work.

Midwest Arborist Supply (treecaresupplies.com) used to have a mix for triclopyr, but I don't see it on their website. Pretty sure it was Alligare. You might call them to ask if they can still get that. (or contact manufacturer to see if there is another distributor that can get it to you) The 2.5 gallon jug is expensive, but you mix it with a lot of water, so it is not as bad as you initially think. More expensive than diesel, but it doesn't smell like diesel, and you aren't spraying diesel in your woods.
 
that is good for cut stump treatment...but basal bark is a LOT faster way to take care of this. The bark is smooth enough for a long time that it is very effective.
 
How large are these Buckthorns?
For smaller ones cut them down with a brushcutter and immediately spray with either Glyphosate or, if you want to be more selective, Triclopyr. Gliphosate kills everything it touches, while Triclopyr only kills broadleaf trees.
For larger ones, I suggest cutting them down and covering the stump with tin can and letting them die.

The best timing is to eliminate the large ones during the Fall or early Winter and the small ones in the Springtime, after they have sprouted and are growing and hence very sensitive to herbicides.
 
1 1/2 ounce Triclopyr/Crossbow mixed with 1 quart diesel fuel and applied immediately with a small sprayer to a freshly cut stump top. That is how I do it and if you dig deep into the product literature containing Triclopyr you will likely find I use a bit more chemical than recommended in this method. That is a slow process for a large area and 1 man.
Be careful with Tordon and any Triclopyr product when you are near plants you want to save.
 
tordon tends to move in the soil more than triclopyr...but not as bad as it used to - they must have changed something in the mix.

Note about mixing triclopyr and crossbow: Crossbow is triclopyr and 2, 4-D....they are trying to keep the better kill you get from triclopyr but make it cheaper with 2, 4-D. I hadn't heard of people mixing - I guess you are kinda "splitting the difference" by doing that. They way I see it, use the more effective product. Labor is worth more than chemical.
 
I'm bringing this topic back up to the top. I've had mixed success with cut-stumps treated with glyphosate (Roundup). The larger stumps (2-3"+) tend to need a second dose. I have killed a few very large trees by girdling the trunk, then treating the cut area with Roundup. Anything 1" or smaller seem to succomb with little trouble.

Back to my questions around trichlophyr - once trichlophyr is mixed with the oil (diesel or other), does it need to be used immediately or is there shelf life I need to keep in mind?

Thanks!
 
I don't know what the shelf life is for the mixture but I have used some that was a year old and it seemed fine. Incidentally, an agriculture chemical salesman once told me that most herbicides have about a 6 year shelf life in the original containers. FWIW
 

Latest posts

Back
Top