poison ivy near flowers

[timingchainslipped]

i planted hundreds of flowers and baby arborvitaes along the fence line when we bought the house. it was pretty expensive. now poison ivy is growing between it all. i didn't know it was there when i planted. there were no signs.

how can i kill the poison ivy without killing the flowers and trees. i'm highly allergic to the stuff so i'd like to avoid contact with it.

[TimmyG]

I don't hesitate to spray weeds, poison ivy included, that are very close to or under desirable perennials, shrubs, etc. I'm just very careful and good with targeted spraying. Triclopyr is the herbicide of choice for poison ivy. You could also mix it with glyphosate. Conifers are apparently unaffected by triclopyr, but I leave it to you to research that further and confirm for yourself. If you're not comfortable with your sprayer or skill at using it, you could brush on the herbicide.

[timingchainslipped]

Thanks for the quick reply! I ordered Bayer 704640, which according to its EPA# is ~8% triclophyr.

I checked a few .edu sites and they seem to concur that triclophyr does little damage to evergreens if applied carefully.

Thanks!

[ Post made via Android ]

[ken-n-nancy]

Triclopyr is a good way to go for selective control of poison ivy. However, be prepared for the fact that triclopyr is slow-acting and doesn't show much progress at first against poison ivy. It will probably require 2-3 applications at 10-14 day intervals to get rid of the poison ivy.

It will probably not look like the triclopyr has had any effect on the poison ivy for the first 7 days. After about 10-14 days, it will look a little sickish, but nowhere near dead. That's when it should be treated with triclopyr again. Then, 10-14 days after that if it's not looking dead, apply triclopyr yet again.

Three rounds should definitely take it out.

Yes, glyphosate & triclopyr together will be even more effective, but are still pretty slow to show results, particularly if the poison ivy is "old growth" -- after many years, the poison ivy will become very woody and much more resistant to herbicides.

Yours, however, is all new this year (although probably on an old root system) so it should be comparatively easy to eliminate.

Good luck!

I have a similar hatred for poison ivy and do semi-annual expeditions around our entire (wooded) property with glyphosate to eliminate any that springs up.

PS: Also just noticed that the product that you reference (Bayer 704640) contains about 9-10% Ethanol. Before accidentally applying that to your arborvitae you'd be wise to do a test application to a less prominent part of the fence line before applying it everywhere.

[TimmyG]

I have a similar hatred for poison ivy and do semi-annual expeditions around our entire (wooded) property with glyphosate to eliminate any that springs up.

Ditto, except that I have had far greater success with triclopyr or triclopyr+glyphosate than glyphosate alone. This property was overrun with poison ivy when we moved in two years ago, mostly within the first 20 feet or so of the edges of woods, but plenty in plain site and in flower beds. I've got it almost completely under control after many dedicated expeditions. Alas, I will always be battling the pressure of poison ivy from the bordering properties, where poison ivy is still a dominant understory ground cover. Sigh. The old man behind me rubbed some on his face to prove that he was no longer sensitive. He was high at the time, so I don't doubt that he regretted his action later.

[ken-n-nancy]

I have a similar hatred for poison ivy and do semi-annual expeditions around our entire (wooded) property with glyphosate to eliminate any that springs up.

Ditto, except that I have had far greater success with triclopyr or triclopyr+glyphosate than glyphosate alone.

Interesting. I've always been fine with just glyphosate for eliminating poison ivy. Then again, I probably apply way more than is needed when I spray poison ivy -- "die, die, die" is in my thought process when spraying poison ivy!

Alas, I will always be battling the pressure of poison ivy from the bordering properties, where poison ivy is still a dominant understory ground cover.

I know the feeling. I used to have that problem. Then I spoke to my neighbors (with whom we have good relations on all sides) and got their permission to include their property in my expeditions, too. Our family has no love for the stuff, as Nancy is particularly susceptible and doesn't have my (Ken) familiarity in identifying it.

I haven't yet expanded my expeditions to our entire neighborhood -- there's a house about a quarter mile down the street with a great stand of poison ivy out near the street that I've been itching to attack with a backpack sprayer full of glyphosate...

[LTCM]

Thanks for the quick reply! I ordered Bayer 704640, which according to its EPA# is ~8% triclophyr.

I checked a few .edu sites and they seem to concur that triclophyr does little damage to evergreens if applied carefully.

Thanks!

[ Post made via Android ]

If you have lots of spraying to do, look for Garlon 4 or one of its generic brothers. I keep a gallon around for spraying english and poison ivy. It's the standard for forestry management of poison ivy.

As some trivia, triclopyr is closely related to one of the chemicals in agent orange.

[ Post made via Android ]

[HoosierLawnGnome]

Kids - don't do drugs.

At least he didn't use it as toilet paper.

[ Post made via Android ]

[TimmyG]

That would not end well.