Is roundup or similar safe near palms?

[Palmfarmer]

Hey I am so tired of having weeds pop up in my garden despite mulching the hole garden with tons of woodchips. I like to try and go a more aggresive route, so i was thinking roundup. If roundup is not a good idea please come with other suggestions. I dont care if it is somewhat toxic chemicals as long as my palms dont react badly.

[WaianaeCrider]

I spray it all over my 2 acres.  Just DON'T spray the palms.  It does NOTHING to the soil, only PLANTS.

[Palmfarmer]

  On 4/2/2021 at 7:16 AM, WaianaeCrider said:

I spray it all over my 2 acres.  Just DON'T spray the palms.  It does NOTHING to the soil, only PLANTS.

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okay but a small amount near the trunk is fine?

[Gonzer]

  On 4/2/2021 at 7:16 AM, WaianaeCrider said:

I spray it all over my 2 acres.  Just DON'T spray the palms.  It does NOTHING to the soil, only PLANTS.

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  On 4/2/2021 at 7:40 AM, Palmfarmer said:

okay but a small amount near the trunk is fine?

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Waianae's quote is all you need to know. Spraying a small amount or a large amount, what's the difference? You need to follow the dilution rates listed to get effective control. For tender annual weeds you can lessen the rate if you're skittish about Roundup. If you inadvertently happen to get a bit of spray on the woody section of trunk you're still OK as long as you don't bathe the palm with it. 

[Palmfarmer]

Of course amount could make a difference, you even write it making a difference in your last sentence. Anyhow thanks for the info

[Merlyn]

I use generic glyphosate mixed at the "shrub and hard to kill weeds" level, which is stronger than the generic spray concentration.  Add a squirt of dish soap to a 1 gallon sprayer to help it stick to the weed's leaves and absorb better.  If you don't use the whole gallon at once time the soap will form a scummy goo in the container over time.  Just shake it back up before using it again, to keep it from clogging the spray nozzle.

Glyphosate is safe to use around palms, cycads and agaves.  Just don't spray any part of the palm that's green, i.e. don't hit the green trunk of a young palm.  Cycads have "corraloid roots" that look like little brain corals.  They are near ground level on many cycads, and they'll absorb glyphosate too.  So just don't spray around the base of a cycad.  Agaves are relatively tough, I sprayed one potted Americana that I was going to throw out.  It got spots where each droplet hit the leaf, but it didn't die.  Don't spray on a windy day, since it's tough to control direction and accidental overspray.  And if you do accidentally spray a good plant, immediately rinse it off with a hose.  I've done that more than a few times, and as long as you wash it off immediately it won't have time to absorb and kill the plant.

 

[NorCalWill]

Do we really know if Round-up is safe?

Adding any toxin to your garden may have a longer term effect on some level beyond killing the weeds.

I'll admit that I use Round-up very selectively on certain weeds, such as blackberry, poison oak, and the Campsis radicans that continually pops up everywhere...

About 15 years ago, I doused my front lawn (bermuda grass) with roundup over a season to get rid of it, and then rototilled everything under. I notice that plants struggle a bit out there compared to the back yard.

If you're going to use it, I'd use it lightly and rake up the dead weeds.

[BayAndroid]

The idea of Round-up makes my skin crawl. Big Agra etc... I can't trust that stuff. 
 

Trying to keep my property as natural as possible and allow whatever happened before me heal and re-naturalize. 

[Gonzer]

  On 4/2/2021 at 6:23 PM, BayAndroid said:

 

Trying to keep my property as natural as possible and allow whatever happened before me heal and re-naturalize. 

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Ask BS Man how that's workin' for him

 

[richnorm]

I try to avoid pesticides and herbicides but do use glyphosate sparingly as I have a large garden and just couldn't keep up otherwise.    I have noticed fasciation in palms a couple of times yet the leaves would never have been sprayed. 

[Tyrone]

I always hand weed an area about 50-60cm clear around every plant and make sure I mulch that heavily. The rest of the open grown can be sprayed. As others have said don’t get it on anything green on your plants and cycads, even a green trunk, as some palms in the early stages at least have green chlorophyll on the trunk. It will absorb it through green tissue. If you do get it on immediately wash it off with copious water. 

Now roundup has developed a bad name. I only use it where I have too. Of all the herbicides out there it’s the most user friendly. Others aren’t so nice ( have a look at Paraquat to see what I mean). Always follow directions and use the correct personal protective equipment. Don’t get it on your skin. If you do, wash it off immediately with copious amounts of water. 

Unfortunately if you have a larger property you will have to spray at some point, or your landscape will spiral out of weed control. Smaller gardens may get away with none. 

[WaianaeCrider]

  On 4/2/2021 at 7:40 AM, Palmfarmer said:

okay but a small amount near the trunk is fine?

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Yea I don't think trunks are gonna absorb much.  Just keep it off green parts of palms.

[WaianaeCrider]

  On 4/2/2021 at 11:45 PM, Tyrone said:

I always hand weed an area about 50-60cm clear around every plant and make sure I mulch that heavily. The rest of the open grown can be sprayed. As others have said don’t get it on anything green on your plants and cycads, even a green trunk, as some palms in the early stages at least have green chlorophyll on the trunk. It will absorb it through green tissue. If you do get it on immediately wash it off with copious water. 

Now roundup has developed a bad name. I only use it where I have too. Of all the herbicides out there it’s the most user friendly. Others aren’t so nice ( have a look at Paraquat to see what I mean). Always follow directions and use the correct personal protective equipment. Don’t get it on your skin. If you do, wash it off immediately with copious amounts of water. 

Unfortunately if you have a larger property you will have to spray at some point, or your landscape will spiral out of weed control. Smaller gardens may get away with none. 

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To save money, if you can get to an Ag Supply store ask for Ranger Pro.  It's a generic Roundup

[96720]

Strength takes 3-3-4I have used roundup for more years than I like to admit. All the crap about it causing cancer is just that . When it first came out I was at a meeting where Monsanto was bragging about how safe it was and drank some. I have used it for years and generally mix it double strength washintonias are weeds and even double strength takes3-4 applications to kill them.

[Silas_Sancona]

  On 4/4/2021 at 1:29 AM, 96720 said:

 All the crap about it causing cancer is just that .

When it first came out I was at a meeting where Monsanto was bragging about how safe it was and drank some.

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Crap? Not at all.. That's why they just got forcefully side slapped with a massive fine, and must pay it out.  Going to celebrate the day it is fully banned, let alone sign any petition that is set in front of me to help that day arrive as soon as possible.

Trusting Monsanto / big Ag. is about as wise as trusting someone who suggested drinking bleach or Lysol last year. 

[WaianaeCrider]

  On 4/4/2021 at 4:17 AM, Silas_Sancona said:

Crap? Not at all.. That's why they just got forcefully side slapped with a massive fine, and must pay it out.  Going to celebrate the day it is fully banned, let alone sign any petition that is set in front of me to help that day arrive as soon as possible.

Trusting Monsanto / big Ag. is about as wise as trusting someone who suggested drinking bleach or Lysol last year. 

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Well I wouldn't drink it myself, and I think  those that got sick from it were farm workers where they themselves got sprayed over and over again for years.

I've been using RoundUp and now Ranger for over 30 years and have developed nothing but a 2 acre garden under control.  I mix 1 coffee cup into a 4 gallon back pack sprayer.  Only weeds get sprayed.  I don't use it on windy days and I hope to hell it never gets taken off the market. 

And not to get political but I think that bleach comment was not serious. The press just played it up because the hated the president.  Any farther discussion on that should be taken in a different section of Palm Talk. 

[Silas_Sancona]

  On 4/4/2021 at 6:00 AM, WaianaeCrider said:

Well I wouldn't drink it myself, and I think  those that got sick from it were farm workers where they themselves got sprayed over and over again for years.

I've been using RoundUp and now Ranger for over 30 years and have developed nothing but a 2 acre garden under control.  I mix 1 coffee cup into a 4 gallon back pack sprayer.  Only weeds get sprayed.  I don't use it on windy days and I hope to hell it never gets taken off the market. 

And not to get political but I think that bleach comment was not serious. The press just played it up because the hated the president.  Any farther discussion on that should be taken in a different section of Palm Talk. 

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Farm workers are just some of the people effected, and they are extremely important people too..  beyond that, more and more research has shown that stuff is starting to show up in groundwater, and our food.. On top of this, the " weeds " that Roundup, etc targets can / have been shown to develop resistance to it over time, meaning you have to use more of it, which promotes more resistance. Where does it stop? 

Aside from the many benefits of getting out and controlling them, with hand and tool, there are many other, more environmentally correct means of controlling weeds. Nature has been doing it -the right way- for years. No shady man-made chemicals needed..


 

 

[Palmfarmer]

  On 4/4/2021 at 6:37 AM, Silas_Sancona said:

Farm workers are just some of the people effected, and they are extremely important people too..  beyond that, more and more research has shown that stuff is starting to show up in groundwater, and our food.. On top of this, the " weeds " that Roundup, etc targets can / have been shown to develop resistance to it over time, meaning you have to use more of it, which promotes more resistance. Where does it stop? 

Aside from the many benefits of getting out and controlling them, with hand and tool, there are many other, more environmentally correct means of controlling weeds. Nature has been doing it -the right way- for years. No shady man-made chemicals needed..


 

 

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I mulched down with a medium thick layer of woodchips(back to eden) it actually just made it worse weed wise since the woodchips help the soil hold water better. Just removing them once by hand takes hours and they pop up again fairly fast. So i feel like i need something strong. I was thinking perhaps just getting a blowtourch and burning the stuff down, anyone tried that? I am open to other suggestions than roundup if they are really effective also

[Gonzer]

  On 4/4/2021 at 6:00 AM, WaianaeCrider said:

 

I've been using RoundUp and now Ranger for over 30 years and have developed nothing but a 2 acre garden under control.  I mix 1 coffee cup into a 4 gallon back pack sprayer.  Only weeds get sprayed.  I don't use it on windy days and I hope to hell it never gets taken off the market. 

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Birchmeier? At may age I only fill it halfway. Anyway, the debate about the safety of Roundup has taken on the characteristics of the Trump/Biden debacle and the product will always have it's supporters and opponents. Every day we take our health on a joyride doing whatever it is we do. I like the stuff. If you don't? Fine. The way I look at it ( my personal mantra) is: as much crap that I've put into my body and been exposed to, as long as Keith Richards is alive I must be doing something right.