Dead Huisache

[coyote creek]

We have finally killed our beloved huisache. Now that it is clearly dead and you can actually break the stalks with your foot. How long do we wait before shredding the dead stalks and burning them? Any suggestions will be helpful.

 

[chetski]

Hisache are tough, persistant little critters. A friend of the family had the same thing a while back. If practical, pile them in a central location and burn them. If you shred them in place, the "beans" and thorns will scatter all over. You will have new plants, all over. If you pile and burn, you will have a small area of new plants that you can find while they are still very young. Unfortunately, it will happen. Even if it's only one plant.

PS: If you are in old Washington, be sure you disc around the pile before lighting it. It's pretty dry noe and Huisach is a very hot fire.

 

[novatech]

If the stalks are brittle they are dead.So shred anytime.
Do not drive back over pasture after shreding until the stubs have decomposed. Those stubs are worse on the tires than the thorns.
What did you kill them with?

 

[coyote creek]

We chose not to shred rather to clip the stalks with the front bucket of the tractor and actually the roots came up too on some. Put them in a pile and will burn. We used a combination of Tordon, Grazon P+D, Remedy and a surfactant.

 

[novatech]

Sounds like you covered all the bases. Can you give me your mixing ratio? And when do you spray? I assume you spot spray, bushes less than 5'? I have been useing grazon p&d at 1% with water in the fall. I have been getting about a 90% kill.

 

[coyote creek]

We actually sprayed in June. 3 cups Grazon P+D, Tordon & Remedy, 1/2 cup surfactant to 20 gallons of water. My uncle supplied the chemicals and once we ran out just didn't get anymore, wanted to see if that was going to do the job. Once I received my applicators license it was too late to spray, the ground cannot be below 75 degrees, so we will wait til the spring to finish.