Can You Use Glyphosate Around Trees? Yes, But . . . .

[@RodrigoMtzs]

Awesome information! How close to the bark of mature trees would it be safe to spray glyphosate?

[@GreenShoots]

Thank you! How close can you spray? That's hard to say. However, I would use low pressure and coarse spray drops. You might even experiment with your sprayer by putting white paper at the base of a tree and spraying to see how much goes off-target.

[@alexckelly1]

I love my weed killing flame thrower! It melts and chars the weeds, then the food stored in the roots sometimes causes it to grow back once or twice, then you're pretty much done for the season.. When you use it by a tree, or any other desirable plant, you need to keep the flame pointed parallel to the thing you want to keep, not shoot it at the weed with the good thing behind it. Not only is it relatively inexpensive, it is also very clean of harmful chemicals, easy to use, and a lot of fun! ☺️❤️

[@GreenShoots]

Thank you for those comments! Fire and heat are certainly time-tested ways to deal with weeds.

[@alexckelly1]

@@GreenShoots Thanks! Yeah, and it may sound dangerous, "flame thrower", but the flame is adjustable, low for around trees, etc, and a little higher for larger areas, so it is very safe to use.. but I guess there is probably someone out there who could prove me wrong in his case. :)

[@GreenShoots]

@@alexckelly1 We have thought about selling them on our website. Prescribed fires as you know is essential in ecological restoration. However, in dry climates and with untrained operators, as you note, fire can be very unpredictable.

[@alexckelly1]

@@GreenShoots If the weather has been very dry, it's best to use them in the morning when there is still dew, also you can sprinkle the area with water. If you use a low fuel setting and aim to only melt and char weeds, you will see only a few weeds actually catch a flame, which will go out quickly, and you can step on it. It is as safe as kitchen knives, cars, and cigarette lighters. 🙂

[@GreenShoots]

@@alexckelly1 Sensible tips!

[@darja25]

I almost bought picloram until seeing this video! You saved my trees!❤ Does flashback include Triclopyr as well?I have wild blackberries very old and very close to my fruit trees. They cannot be taken out manually only herbicide.I wanted to try with basal oil and triclopyr but fear if it will kill plants nearby?

[@GreenShoots]

Triclopyr is a little more prone to flashback than glyphosate. However, not nearly as bad as picloram. You probably are fine if you apply a very targeted amount of herbicide and oil. I would do cut stump treatments if you can in the fruit tree root zone area.

[@AJNpa80]

Trying to rescue 3 massive oaks from very mature Ivy. Ring cut them, the English is almost ready to rot off, leaves are falling. This other stuff I don't recognize, bushy stuff, not poison, it rings the tree all the way up with 6 to 8 feet of bush. Some of its base were 6 and 8 inch around, cut about 10 on the one tree. Been a few weeks and it's still shiny green. I may shoot a line if I can find a safe crotch. Just can't distinguish to be certain of life from the ground as bushy as it is.

[@GreenShoots]

You are saying you girdled (removed a circle of bark around the stem) this unnamed vine, and the vine can be 6-8 inches round? If it's that big, it may take some time for the girdling to be effective. You also have to be sure that you got all the phloem removed all the way around. I take it you don't want to use herbicides? An herbicide will kill the vine within a few weeks. However, girdling can work too.

[@AJNpa80]

To clarify, every vine coming down the tree, I cut through, full sever with a gap of at least an inch, not harming the tree underneaths bark. The one that is giving me trouble, a type of vine I didn't recognize, hasn't started to die yet. 3\4 of this big oak had vines on the worst one. I cut through each fully and either painted salt and vinegar or bagged a mixture on the stump of the vine. The English Ivy started dying fast. Seeing the difference daily whenever it wasn't raining. I am open to herbicide and have tried to carefully apply. I need to know how careful to be with the trees bark. Unfortunately the ivy that won't die starts to bush out at about 20 feet. The ivy I can spray easy. The bad stuff goes clear to the top and bushes pretty far the whole way. I'm amazed the tree still has life, a couple years and it won't. Wondering if I paint its stump ends where I cut it with herbicide if it will uptake. May as well try.

[@Morecowbell4u]

My driveway is lined with crabapples. The Kentucky Bluegrass crreeps in a couple feet from the trunk and I would like to continue to create a ring where there is no grass. Is it safe to spray glyphosate but I have heard not to use a surfactant? I have read that the surfactant is oftentimes what damages the trees. I was going to do maybe 1% glyphosate which should be enough to kill turf grass

[@GreenShoots]

Good question. I take it you don't want to use a mulch? Mulches as I am sure you know will also help keep down the weeds. Our foam product works best for spot treatments. The nice thing about it is that the herbicide really won't drift. If you are trying to "draw" a ring around a tree by killing the grass, a standard drop sprayer would work best. (We don't currently sell those.) I would use a surfactant but use low pressure and make sure you point the nozzle down, but do not hold it so close to the ground that you create an updraft. You might also consider spraying in late fall after the leaves have turned color (lost all green color) on the crabapple trees. The Kentucky bluegrass should still be green. it will absorb the glyphosate slowly. However, you should have good results the next spring.

[@gregabbot]

where do I get the foam spray herbcide you're using in the video???

[@GreenShoots]

It's available from www.greenshootsonline.com

[@gentlemanfarmer2391]

I'm trying to treat roughly 10 acers of established kudzu, I will be using a tractor sprayer. do you have a recommendation on chemicals and concentrate, I'm not concerned with any vegetation I will be replanting grass in the following year.

[@GreenShoots]

I generally like glyphosate because it doesn't have much soil activity. I take it the kudzu is not climbing into trees in the area you are treating?

[@douglasmaxwell875]

Of course, Milestone is more active in treating Kudzu and Milestone will not hurt most other trees and plants except those that produce legumes (mimosa, red Bud, soybeans, etc )

[@hunnybee677]

i have a empress tree i cut down now i have shoots all over the place they grow at an alarming rate i keep cutting them down but they are like a hydra you cut one down 10 come up. i am going to use this but am worried i have a dogwood about 8 feet from the ground up stump of the empress i am worried about any affects. any advice?

[@GreenShoots]

If you just cut the stem of the sprouts from the empress tree later this summer and fall and treat the cut stem with a dab of foam herbicide, you will have absolutely no problem. Just be careful not to get any herbicide on any part of the dogwood.

[@NiNanda-d8j]

Hi, could you please recommend, how to get rid of Giant Grass Canes with glyposate safely for stray animals, if i cant fence canes, or isolate animals. I wonder if cutting down canes close to soil level, pour little amount of herbicide into cane, then cover all cut area with cut down cane mass will protect animals nearby ? Who might walk the treated area.

[@GreenShoots]

Yes, that should help. Try to keep the animals out of the area immediately after application.

[@Bons_Eye]

Best method I've found to target tough weeds is to put some full strength RoundUp in a small jar and use a paint brush to brush it directly on the freshly cut stem. In my case Lilly of the Valley and Ditch Lilies were my target. Don't wait to apply the herbicide, get it on right after you cut. It's time consuming yes, but you're not wasting herbicide and best of all you're controlling where it goes. A month after using this method for Ditch Lilies I dug a few up and found that the tubers were all dried up and looked mummified. I'm testing different methods of applying the RoundUp, such as using an empty bingo dabber bottle and just dabbing the cut stems. The problem I foresee is that I won't be able to tell if the herbicide is indeed on the stem. Adding food colouring to the mix may help me identify that the stem has been treated. I know there's dye's that can be purchased for this reason but I'm on a budget here. Best of luck!

[@NiNanda-d8j]

​@@Bons_EyeThank you for your advise. Best Regards

[@NiNanda-d8j]

​@@GreenShootsThank you for your answer. Would you know, for how long animals should be kept away from freshly treated area ? (I read on internet few weeks) But its challenging, and i ll try to cover treated cut cane syems with branches or such,to prevent direct contact to animals,

[@country4lyfe365]

I tainted my garden with grazeon treated straw I tilled up in my garden. Plants are sick now I'm worried about my 2 maple trees that are semi mature and more than likely rooted under the garden . Will it cause flashback or can it.

[@GreenShoots]

Here's what the label says for GrazeOn Next: "to promote herbicide decomposition, plant residues should be evenly incorporated in the surface soil or burned. Breakdown of aminopyralid in plant residues or manure is more rapid under warm, moist soil conditions and may be accelerated by supplemental irrigation." I would read the pesticide label to figure out what you should do.

[@LovesHighGround]

I put a mulch ring around my mature aspen. Grass kept growing in the area of the trunk of the tree, about 3 feet out. So what did I do? I applied some weed and grass killer on the outskirts of the ring. I'm such an idiot. The leaves of the tree are falling off. Some of them are turning black. Kill me.

[@GreenShoots]

What kind of weed and grass killer? That is the critical question. Was it one of the weed killers that works for an extended period of time? Check the label. The extended control herbicides often contain products like imazapyr. Such products have soil activity for up to a year and shouldn't be applied in a tree ring. In fact, typically, if branches extend 10 feet from the trunk, extended control herbicides shouldn't be applied within twice that distance or within 20 feet of the trunk. (The label will contain the specific instructions.) Extended control herbicides soak into the soil and can easily be absorbed by tree roots. If you did apply an extended control weed killer, you are not alone. I talked with one professional landscaper who lost dozens of newly planted trees because a groundskeeper applied an extended control herbicide to control weeds around the new trees.

[@sandych33ks1]

I have over 40 wild apple trees that are all huge and I have been pruning them for the last 3 years. I want to spray around the trees to keep the brush and vines from growing up. Is it OK to use the Glysophate?

[@GreenShoots]

Be really careful if you decide to do a foliar spray - i.e., spraying of the leaves of the target weeds. Can you do cut stump treatments to the brush and vines? That would be more targeted.

[@Beekind799]

glysophates have made america the sickest country on earth

[@abdelilahbouryal4952]

Can i use Glyphosate near avocado tree ?

[@GreenShoots]

Yes. Just be careful. Obviously don't get it on the leaves or any live tissue - for example an open wound in the bark. If you spray, there will be drift. Don't use high pressure sprayers near trees.

[@tejrajdoddannavar9004]

How to kill mango tree

[@koerttijdens1234]

@@tejrajdoddannavar9004 Always use tha chainsaws for killing mango trees.

[@bowmag803]

Only if you want your avocados to have a little glyphosate in them

[@bowmag803]

Better yet don’t use it at all

[@GreenShoots]

In some cases, that's exactly what I recommend.

[@Drummr88]

1) You said that surfactants can amplify damage, but that's assuming of course that it makes foliar contact, or bark/above ground roots, and NOT if it's applied precisely, correct? 2) Won't a surfactant generally reduce drift, assuming you're being careful and using a small handheld sprayer?

[@GreenShoots]

What I am speaking about in the video is this: Assume you do a foliar application to a weed and there is a desirable tree nearby. If your foliar spray contacts the bark of the desirable tree, the surfactant in that sprayed product can more easily penetrate the bark of that desirable tree than a foliar spray without surfactant. If you do a precise application to the weed, there won't be any contact with the desirable plant and it will not be affected. Does that answer your question?

[@Drummr88]

@Green Shoots Gotcha! Yeah, that was basically what I was asking. One more thing though: I'm being precise and careful, so I'm mostly concerned with drift rather than inaccurate spraying, and a surfactant will reduce drift, right??

[@GreenShoots]

@@Drummr88 Not necessarily. There are some adjuvants that are specifically designed to reduce drift. If you want to reduce drift, the best way to do that is to use a coarser droplet. Use lower pressure, and there are also nozzles that will create a coarse drop.

[@Drummr88]

@@GreenShoots Awesome! Thank you for the video and the detailed feedback!