Buckthorn spring spraying
Wisconsin
I checked a patch of small buckthorn yesterday and it is leafed out almost enough to spray the foliage. Gonna rain today but tomorrow they should be ready. So if you were thinking about doing that this is the time, at least at my latitude in Minnesota which is roughly Tomah/Oshkosh.
For those who spray buckthorn via foliar spraying in spring, be careful that non-target plants are not present or emerged.
An alternative if non-target species are present is to spray during an approximate two week window starting about October 20 each year. Look for conditions where the forest floor is dormant, native trees are leafless or dormant, but buckthorn leaves remain succulent. The period lasts approximately two weeks provided hard freezes are limited, so timing is critical.
Water-base mixes containing herbicides incorporating Triclopyr or Glyphosate can be used. Additional caution when using Glyphosate is avoid when grasses are present as they have late dormancy.
Yes, it occurs during fall hunting.
Treefarm, the patch I am thinking of doing foliar on is only about 30x15 yards and it is so thick that there is virtually nothing under it. But the BT has also grown a lot since last year so I think I will do basil treatment on in anyway. I will miss a lot of it just because it is so thick, will need to do a second and probably even a third pass on it anyway. The email you sent me made it sound like I should wait a while to get an effective kill with base treatment. Did I understand that correctly.
In the situation you describe, it falls under the situation of “no non-target” plants being present. It is all about risk vs. gain. If buckthorn remains, nothing grows anyway, even if some desirables are present. That’s when I spray.
Basal treatment can work in springtime but not 100% effective. The reason is because of plant vigor. All that stored energy in roots helps power the spring flush.
So, in a pinch, spring basal application can work but always best during dormancy.
Cut stump application is always to be avoided in spring as herbicide washes away.
Today was the day to walk, scout, and carry paraffin-base oil mixed with Triclopyr ester. My main target was Elderberry, which I scored well. Also found occasional buckthorn seeding, Ribes sp., and Box elder. I thought I would find a shed, but no luck. The understory is looking good.
I spent about 3 hours each of the last 3 days treating a patch of small stuff, mostly under a foot tall but some up to 4' with a couple of 8 footers mixed in. Most of the small stuff is confined to about an acre surrounding one of my deer stands. I hope to finish today. The whole woods is only about 4 acres. I should be able to finish it today.
I am trying to mix in a permanent colorant to the mixture. (so I can really see if any of what I treated survived, the dye made for this is made to break down in sunlight in a few days so that doesn't help much) But the paint colorant I am using is not mixing well with the diesel fuel, it floats on top of the diesel. I tried to thin the dye with Xylene first, not much luck. I added some MSO and that helped but still not great. But as the tank goes near empty I do get a brilliant blue coming out of the sprayer.
On the bright side, the buckthorn is nearly the only thing with any foliage so it is easy to spot them.
Treefarm, so now that leaf flush is over for buckthorn does that mean that basil treatment can be used the rest of 2019? (I know that October through at least January is good.
Also, does anyone know of a good dye that does NOT fade away and can be used in the diesel/triclopyr mixture doing basil application? All the ones I have seen or tried fade away in a week or less. I would like to be able to tell how effective my work is. i.e. when I find a live one in an area I treated I would like to know if I just missed it or if the treatment failed.
Full leaf development is a ways off yet so energy from photosynthesis is not quite there. Basal treatment can be used year round ( no frilling or cutting). Basal treatment is best during dormancy however. An alternative this time of year is using cheap vegetable oil and Triclopyr so when you see a thick patch you can flip to foliar/stem spraying and not worry about contaminating soil with diesel with overspray.
Here is an article to review on dye factors.
I wanted to do some spraying tonight, but I don't remember the ratio of oil to glyphosate.
Glyphosate is not compatible with oil. Only use water.
I plan on doing some foliar spraying in the next couple days. The battle continues.
Glyphosate is not compatible with oil. Only use water.
I always add AMS.
I suggest MSO (modified seed oil) as an adjuvant. MSO acts like a tackifier and helps herbicide penetrate cuticle. I use 2-3 oz MSO/gallon. Be sure buckthorn leaves are succulent. Now is great time when native species are dormant.
I used 2.5 oz glyphosate per gallon water and added 1oz per gallon surfactant. Hope it works, I sprayed several gallons today.
Is Gly really as efficient on buckthorn as a Garlon4/diesel blend which is what I always have used? If so, I can really save some money.
Happy, too many variables. Triclopyr is what I consider best “all purpose” because the ester form can be used with water 2-5% for foliar spraying and in oils, at 20% for basal bark or cut stump. Glyphosate in water is not the best for foliar spraying but works. You can increase effectiveness by adding 2,4-D (ester best). Glyphosate also works for cut stump at 25% in water, applied to stump immediately after cutting.
I pay $54.50 per gallon of Triclopyr 4E (ester).
Thanks for bumping this.
Southeastern WI is still plenty green. I'm guessing mid November will be the time to spray for me. Thoughts from you more experienced guys? I have gly concentrate.
Thanks Treefarm and others for the continued edification.
The area I did foliar spray this spring (on stems mostly less than 1 foot tall) did not pan out for me. I think pretty much all I sprayed is still alive and another 10 inches taller. Not sure what I did wrong.
Treefarm, I am curious where you can find Triclopyr 4E for $54.50 per gallon. I can not even buy it that cheap as an employee of a company that sells it. I will need to start buying it from your supplier instead of my place of employment.
That's cheaper than I bought mine for as well. I bought six 2.5 gallon jugs for about $60. I found 30 gallon jugs for less but I didn't need that much.
Here is cost/gallon for Triclopyr 4E and MSO.
Thank you for the information. I will look into getting some from them.
Alligare is where I buy all my tryclopyr. Good prices, fast shipping. Down side I think you have to get 4 1 gallon jugs or 2 2.5 gallon jugs. I tried to go local but just doesn't pan out most of the time. I have gone local if I needed it real fast.
I like the 1 gallon jugs because I can mix a batch and put it in empty jugs and take that out with me, so no need to mix 'on the job site'. Just mark the jugs that are already mixed.
If you do much spraying you gotta get this ultra low volume wand. Expensive $165 but works AWESOME. Took me a while to get Treefarm to buy one but he loves it too. Longer shaft so easier to reach the ground. Strainer where the hose connects to catch junk without plugging up the nozzle. Another tip, get rubber fuel line hose to connect from the tank to the wand. Way more flexible, especially in cold weather.
http://www.arborchem.com/products/ulv-wand.html
Here is the same link where you can just click on it.
I couldn’t hunt tonight so I did some foliar spraying this morning. Probably start cut and paint after the gun opener. I have some big buckthorn, I’m going to get some use out of it for firewood.
Get on it, shoot a nice buck first so you feel more 'free' to hunt buckthorn.
Buckthorn is useless for fire wood I wouldn't waste my time with it. Even when dry it just smolders.
