Anyone suggest a mixture to control Sweetgums

[tdarden3k]

Clearing a 40 acre pasture-to-be, which is infested with Sweetgums. 1/2" thru 5" in diameter. For the larger ones I am looking for some kind of cut stump treatment. For the smaller ones I would like to just spray.

Also I live 300 miles away and don't get there very often so I need something that I can apply from now until they go dormant in October.

Is there anything good out there ?
Thanks

 

[skyhightree1]

I use these Garlon 4 or Tordon 101

 

[Jogeephus]

Are you in the process of clearing it now and going to treat whats left or do you have plans on clearing it and haven't touched it yet? You need to be careful with your timing of herbicides because if you've cut them or injured them then they go into some sort of protective mode and herbicides won't do a good job if they've been disturbed.

I'd look your soil type and see if Velpar would work well on the site and apply this now and before you do any clearing. On clay and sandy soils it works well on sweetgum but if you have a lot of organic matter then it won't do well. Once you apply it leave it alone till late summer and they all should be dead then do your clearing. Running an offset harrow over the site after clearing should get any stubborn residuals.

 

[Bigfoot]

I like to wait till the sap is falling to try and kill a tree. might not be anything to it, but I think it will carry the chemical to the root, and maybe not sucker out.

 

[Jogeephus]

I like to wait till the sap is falling to try and kill a tree. might not be anything to it, but I think it will carry the chemical to the root, and maybe not sucker out.

I agree except in the case of Velpar. For trees, Velpar is best applied in spring. Tree sheds its leaves then tries to re-leaf and uses up the food in the root then sheds again and dies. Thing you have to be careful with is doing a lot of damage to a tree then expecting a herbicide to kill it. Doesn't work that way unless you apply herbicide to a "fresh" cut stump. After a couple of days you will be disappointed.

 

[tdarden3k]

Thank you All
Looks like I have quite a bit of research to do.

 

[skyhightree1]

Jo anything wrong with what I use? Its worked well for me when clearing customers land as well as my own.

 

[greybeard]

I like to wait till the sap is falling to try and kill a tree. might not be anything to it, but I think it will carry the chemical to the root, and maybe not sucker out.

I agree except in the case of Velpar. For trees, Velpar is best applied in spring. Tree sheds its leaves then tries to re-leaf and uses up the food in the root then sheds again and dies. Thing you have to be careful with is doing a lot of damage to a tree then expecting a herbicide to kill it. Doesn't work that way unless you apply herbicide to a "fresh" cut stump. After a couple of days you will be disappointed.

I can attest to that. The first year and 1/2 after my place was cleared I bushogged all the resprouts and new saplings of gum and tallow. Mistake. took another year and 1/2 for them to repair themselves enough to accept herbicide.
To kill bigger sweetgum, I girdle and squirt them with a 25% diesel:75% Remedy in late summer to early fall but always before leaves change colors. The biggest, I saw down and IMMEDIATELY spray the cut stump with the same mixture. The smallest ones I foilage spray with remedy/2,4d/water in late spring-like now--(only reason the 2,4d is in the mix is to kill goatweed, and I'm not real sure it's doing anything that Remedy isn't already doing--but it's cheap) I get a pretty good kill and those that don't die don't grow any that year. I've pretty much got them under control now. Hard to kill sweetgum because the leaves are so slick and waxy. Use the best surfactant you can afford.
Joe however, is the resident expert, and he says Velpar. I haven't tried it, but I'd bet money he is correct..

 

[kucala5]

Believe it or not, 20 years ago we PLANTED 1/2 dozen sweet gums in our yard. Thank God an ice storm eventually took out 3 of them and 2 were in the way of the garden spot so we gladly cut them. We have one left and it was the the first one planted and was put in to shade the room of our 3 year old...we still call it Shannon's tree and guess it will stay until something takes it out. At least we are down to one.

 

[Jogeephus]

Jo anything wrong with what I use? Its worked well for me when clearing customers land as well as my own.

No its just the time of year and how he worded the question lends me to Velpar. Garlon works best in the fall. I don't like using Tordon unless I have to.

 

[greybeard]

Believe it or not, 20 years ago we PLANTED 1/2 dozen sweet gums in our yard. Thank God an ice storm eventually took out 3 of them and 2 were in the way of the garden spot so we gladly cut them. We have one left and it was the the first one planted and was put in to shade the room of our 3 year old...we still call it Shannon's tree and guess it will stay until something takes it out. At least we are down to one.

Oh, I believe it--some folks do plant gum because they grow fast and provide shade--have also heard of people that intentionally buy and plant chinese tallow for the same reason. But just one? Hard to believe--gum trees are like the potato chip--nobody can have just one.

Just what is the difference between Garlon4 and Remedy Ultra? Both appear to contain the same active ingredient (triclopyr) and the same %.
Garlon4:
http://www.cdms.net/ldat/ld7in006.pdf
Remedy Ultra:
http://www.cdms.net/ldat/ld7NR005.pdf

 

[ga.prime]

Just what is the difference between Garlon4 and Remedy Ultra? Both appear to contain the same active ingredient (triclopyr) and the same %.
Garlon4:
http://www.cdms.net/ldat/ld7in006.pdf
Remedy Ultra:
http://www.cdms.net/ldat/ld7NR005.pdf

Garlon is labeled for forestry use and Remedy is labeled for pasture use, that's the difference. Element 4 is also labeled for forestry. http://www.cdms.net/LDat/ld8R2001.pdf Element 4 has a slightly higher percentage of triclopyr and costs significantly less than the other two on a per gallon basis.

 

[greybeard]

So, the label is the only difference?

 

[skyhightree1]

Jo anything wrong with what I use? Its worked well for me when clearing customers land as well as my own.

No its just the time of year and how he worded the question lends me to Velpar. Garlon works best in the fall. I don't like using Tordon unless I have to.

Oh ok . Why don't you like tordon?

 

[ga.prime]

So, the label is the only difference?

That is correct. My understanding is herbicides must be tested at great expense in the area in which they will be used and are approved accordingly. It would double the cost of testing to gain approval for use on both pastures and forestland.

 

[ga.prime]

Jo anything wrong with what I use? Its worked well for me when clearing customers land as well as my own.

No its just the time of year and how he worded the question lends me to Velpar. Garlon works best in the fall. I don't like using Tordon unless I have to.

Oh ok . Why don't you like tordon?

There's two things I use Tordon for. One is for spraying around the cambium ring of the stump of a freshly cut down tree. Very, very effective for stump kill. The other is for killing prickly pears, also very effective. Tordon kills through the roots as well as foliage so you run the risk of collateral damage anytime you use it.

 

[Jogeephus]

There's two things I use Tordon for. One is for spraying around the cambium ring of the stump of a freshly cut down tree. Very, very effective for stump kill. The other is for killing prickly pears, also very effective. Tordon kills through the roots as well as foliage so you run the risk of collateral damage anytime you use it.

And its very very persistent. Great stuff for kudzu too.

 

[Jogeephus]

So, the label is the only difference?

That is correct. My understanding is herbicides must be tested at great expense in the area in which they will be used and are approved accordingly. It would double the cost of testing to gain approval for use on both pastures and forestland.

That's right and every so many years they have to be re-tested at the same expense again. This is troublesome because once the patent comes off the pesticide someone has to pony up the money to re-certify the label. This is why you will see a pesticide hit the market at $120/gal then a few years later the patent runs out and you can buy the same stuff for a fraction of that cost. Then a few years later its taken off the market because "its not safe". Its not that it wasn't safe. It was as safe as it ever was it was just the government couldn't find anyone to pay them to re-certify the label and we in turn are stuck paying for a higher costing patented chemical and the public is lead to believe pesticides are more dangerous than they really are.

Last I heard it cost something like a quarter million dollar per labelled crop.

 

[Jogeephus]

If they get rid of Garlon I'll be upset. I'm sortof partial to it.

 

[skyhightree1]

thanks I appreciate the info I was trying to figure out if I should discontinue the usage.

Jo :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol: I don't think you have enough better buy another drum