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View Full Version : Any idea how to get rid of this thing?


caliboy1994
09-16-2013, 10:40 PM
It's a creeping fig. And it's choking out my banana plants and fig tree.

http://i1061.photobucket.com/albums/t464/musamaniac/Other%20plants/20130916_154450_zpse3dd507d.jpg

http://i1061.photobucket.com/albums/t464/musamaniac/Other%20plants/20130916_154406_zps4fb0048e.jpg

http://i1061.photobucket.com/albums/t464/musamaniac/Other%20plants/20130916_154321_zps3f902a01.jpg

momoese
09-16-2013, 10:55 PM
Fire

Richard
09-17-2013, 10:48 AM
Cut the vegetation away from the plants you want to live.

Over the counter you can buy "Turflon Ester", or under-the-counter (online) "Triclopyr 4E". For the former, I would use 2 fl.oz. per gallon, and the latter follow directions on the label. In either case add to the mix a horticultural oil that contains a penetrant. A teaspoon per gallon is plenty. Finally, if the pH of the water source is neutral or alkaline, add a teaspoon per gallon of something acidic that does not contain electrolytes (copper, zinc, iron, etc.). Ammonium sulfate (e.g., sold as hydrangea blueing) is a good example.

Spray the plant, wait two weeks, cut back the dead growth and spray again. To avoid hitting nearby desirable plants -- don't spray but instead dip a rag in the mix and wipe the plants.

Anywhere the mix or spray touches the ground -- avoid watering the ground (or protect from rain) for two weeks. Triclopyr breaks down to inert compounds in 7-10 days.

Creeping Fig is on my list of noxious plants.

caliboy1994
09-17-2013, 12:00 PM
The issue isn't the leaves, it's the roots. It's invading the root system of my plants and preventing them from growing properly. My Namwah has barely grown this year compared to my other plants, and my fig tree has barely grown since I planted it two years ago (it has actually only produced 3 figs this year, last year it produced around 10). And it choked out a Raja Puri that I planted to the point where I had to remove it. When I dug it up, its roots had completely invaded the soil around the corm. That's why I need to kill all or most of it. And I fear that if I don't remove it it's only a matter of time before it gets to my nearby Pisang Klotek and Raja Puri. If it wasn't doing that, it wouldn't be an issue.

Lemmysports
09-17-2013, 02:13 PM
I hate to say it, but I find the most effective (and least damaging to everything else) way to remove something like that is manually. Unfortunately it's going to take at least half of your Saturday, but you need to just get in there and start clipping, snipping, pulling, etc. Get the majority of it, some may spring back in the coming weeks but just keep up with it.

ez
09-17-2013, 04:53 PM
It's a creeping fig. And it's choking out my banana plants and fig tree.


http://i911.photobucket.com/albums/ac317/1tvg/abf7a759-38f8-4d82-b5e1-22fc406182fb_zps870c577b.jpg


There is a product at WalMart called "Eliminator"
which is 41% glyphosate. I have used it for several years.


Cut Stump or Stem Application

Stump treatments are most effective during periods of active growth. Stems of shrubs, trees, or bamboo should be cut close to the soil surface. Immediately after cutting, herbicide should be applied with a paint brush or with a plastic squeeze bottle. Delaying application will result in poor control. For small stumps, completely cover the cut surface; for large stumps, it is only necessary to wet the cambium (the outer ring of wood, next to and including the bark). For vines or small-stemmed shrubs, stems can be cut with loppers or clippers and herbicide solution painted or sponged onto the cut end.

Treatment solutions should contain 8% to 10% triclopyr (the 8% material available to homeowners in nurseries and other stores will work fine, undiluted) or 8% to 10% glyphosate. (If using a brand that has 18% glyphosate listed in the active ingredients, make a 1:1 solution of the product and water. If the product contains 41% glyphosate, use 1 part product and 3 parts water.)

I use appropriate hand/eye protection, disposable paint brush and container.

Richard
09-17-2013, 05:02 PM
The issue isn't the leaves, it's the roots. ...

Exactly. This is why you want to use Triclopyr.

Olafhenny
09-17-2013, 05:52 PM
Send it up here, it will freeze in winter. :ha:

Despite resenting deeply anything coming out of Monsanto, Round-Up has its uses if applied
sparingly. I would spray it on the leaves and then again a few days later. It does have the
reputation to spread from there into the roots and subsequently kill the whole plant.

You may want to check out their website to make sure, that this applies to woody plants
as well.

caliboy1994
09-17-2013, 06:17 PM
Send it up here, it will freeze in winter. :ha:


I would gladly. :ha:

I was actually thinking about the glyphosate method, but here's the issue that I have. It is literally right next to my banana plants. The main pseudostem of my Namwah is less than a foot away from the foliage of the plant. That's why I wanted to use the glyphosate, because it wouldn't require me using herbicide on the leaves, which I might accidentally end up getting on my banana plants and fig tree.

sunfish
09-17-2013, 06:18 PM
I know a better way

Olafhenny
09-17-2013, 06:20 PM
I have just looked up Triclopyr, because I had never heard of it and it appears, that its availability
in the States is rather iffy from the information gleaned here:

http://www.epa.gov/oppsrrd1/REDs/2710red.pdf

and here:

http://tinyurl.com/m6f6u8y

Round-Up is manufactured in the US. That gives that poison a leg up over the other one, Triclopyr,
which is manufactured in India

caliboy1994
09-17-2013, 06:20 PM
I know a better way

Why not enlighten us on your wisdom? :)

Olafhenny
09-17-2013, 06:30 PM
I would gladly. :ha:

I was actually thinking about the glyphosate method, but here's the issue that I have. It is literally right next to my banana plants. The main pseudostem of my Namwah is less than a foot away from the foliage of the plant. That's why I wanted to use the glyphosate, because it wouldn't require me using herbicide on the leaves, which I might accidentally end up getting on my banana plants and fig tree.

You do not have to spray that stuff on all the leaves. Just on the ones further away from
the banana should be sufficient since everything is interconnected. Hang some plastic
sheeting over the banana, while you are spraying, if you can get it that high :)

Dangermouse01
09-17-2013, 07:04 PM
I would gladly. :ha:

I was actually thinking about the glyphosate method, but here's the issue that I have. It is literally right next to my banana plants. The main pseudostem of my Namwah is less than a foot away from the foliage of the plant. That's why I wanted to use the glyphosate, because it wouldn't require me using herbicide on the leaves, which I might accidentally end up getting on my banana plants and fig tree.

Using a cheap-o disposable paint brush to apply to the leaves works, then you don't have to worry about spray drift.

DM

Richard
09-17-2013, 07:20 PM
Triclopyr 4E Herbicide - 1 Gallon [42750-126] - $67.95 : Keystone Pest Solutions, Low price herbicides and pesticides (http://www.keystonepestsolutions.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=200&gclid=CMKGiurcxLkCFepFMgod2BoA5w)

http://www.bananas.org/gallery/watermark.php?file=54563&size=1 (http://www.bananas.org/gallery/showphoto.php?photo=54563)

ez
09-17-2013, 08:45 PM
Send it up here, it will freeze in winter. :ha:

Despite resenting deeply anything coming out of Monsanto, Round-Up has its uses if applied
sparingly. I would spray it on the leaves and then again a few days later. It does have the
reputation to spread from there into the roots and subsequently kill the whole plant.

You may want to check out their website to make sure, that this applies to woody plants
as well.





Here are the articles I read years ago before using glyphosate.

Woody Weed Invaders Woody Weed Invaders Management Guidelines--UC IPM (http://www.ipm.ucdavis.edu/PMG/PESTNOTES/pn74142.html)

The Myth of Wandering Weedkiller (This article talks about herbicide translocation through root grafts.)
http://puyallup.wsu.edu/~linda%20chalker-scott/Horticultural%20Myths_files/Myths/Herbicide%20translocation.pdf

Nicolas Naranja
09-17-2013, 09:08 PM
Triclopyr + Diesel Fuel = Dead Plant.

Kat2
09-17-2013, 09:27 PM
I worked as a landscaper for a few years; we used a lot of glyphosate. I thought it only worked on leaves but my coworker, who happened to have her herbicide/pesticide license, routinely cut down errant saplings then painted the 3 or 4" stump immediately with full strength product. And it worked. Not always at first--a second or third or even more fresh cut applications were sometimes needed--but no overspray issues. YMMV.

caliboy1994
09-17-2013, 09:29 PM
Thanks everyone, I think I'm going to go the glyphosate route. I can probably get rid of it without hurting nearby plants that way. :)

G.W.
09-18-2013, 03:12 PM
Glyphos for newbs.

Use soft water ph at 4-5 and some N pref ammonium urea works too
Spreader sticker, oil soap, or bar soap and vegtable oil in magic bullet, 1 tsp each the rest water, blend well, solution can be tested on leaves, if it beads then use more soap until it lays flat and covers.
Optimum time to spray late night or early morning as dew dries. Pref not during drought.
Spray till runoff, larger droplets drift less, low pressure makes less.drift.
Repeat every week until plant is dead dead dead.

Glyphos has Zero soil action so don't waste it on the dirt.

I use 1oz per gallon of 41% but for something that really needs to die 2oz gal yields faster results.
Or full strength and a paint roller. lolz.

Tryclopyr is featured in many "brush" formulas and sometimes works better on woody plants.
I've personally killed large trees with only glyphos, though no speed records were set.

Walmart almost surely sells something labeled brush which contains both glyphos and triclopyr.


grats on not succumbing to fearmongering or lies about Monsanto being the devil.
I'm sure youcll find chemicals to provide a much more leisurely plant removal experience.

sunfish
09-18-2013, 03:57 PM
No need to spray

caliboy1994
09-18-2013, 06:12 PM
It's too hard to pull up on its own. The roots are like power cables. I just found a few roots invading the root system of my Raja Puri, one of them was an inch thick.

Nicolas Naranja
09-18-2013, 06:24 PM
I worked as a landscaper for a few years; we used a lot of glyphosate. I thought it only worked on leaves but my coworker, who happened to have her herbicide/pesticide license, routinely cut down errant saplings then painted the 3 or 4" stump immediately with full strength product. And it worked. Not always at first--a second or third or even more fresh cut applications were sometimes needed--but no overspray issues. YMMV.

The kill maleleuca down here by hacking the bark and exposing the phloem and spraying into the hack marks.

caliboy1994
09-18-2013, 09:15 PM
So, my dad has been giving me a hard time about this whole creeping fig shenanigan, as usual. He thinks that the back wall that it's climbing on needs a cover, and the creeping fig admittedly has done the job really well. When planting a cover crop under my bananas today, I came across these roots from the plant. They were smack in the middle of my Raja Puri's root system, and were even hugging the corms. It's ridiculous. If this doesn't convince him, maybe the only thing that will would be visibly sick banana plants. And I'm not going to let that happen again.

https://scontent-b-lax.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-prn1/v/602903_517717001639210_733134028_n.jpg?oh=23598f2925318cce48b137 c82a53583b&oe=523C85D3

caliboy1994
09-19-2013, 09:56 PM
UPDATE: I got the okay to remove it, and I used the paintbrush method. I used about 3/4 cup of 1 part 18% glyphosate Roundup and 1 part water on the entire plant. I cut back the three main stems that I found (the largest one was over two inches thick) and applied a liberal amount of Roundup solution on them with a paintbrush. I also cut and scarified some of the larger stems and applied the solution there with the paintbrush as well. I sprinkled the excess on the leaves when I was done, and also pulled a decent amount of the plant off of the wall and removed it.

I'm not leaving until Saturday, so hopefully I'll be able to see onset of this monster's downfall. I'll keep you guys updated!

Olafhenny
09-19-2013, 10:37 PM
I, for one, am looking forward to the updates. It'll be interesting.

ez
09-20-2013, 05:51 PM
UPDATE: I got the okay to remove it, and I used the paintbrush method. I used about 3/4 cup of 1 part 18% glyphosate Roundup and 1 part water on the entire plant. I cut back the three main stems that I found (the largest one was over two inches thick) and applied a liberal amount of Roundup solution on them with a paintbrush. I also cut and scarified some of the larger stems and applied the solution there with the paintbrush as well. I sprinkled the excess on the leaves when I was done, and also pulled a decent amount of the plant off of the wall and removed it.

I'm not leaving until Saturday, so hopefully I'll be able to see onset of this monster's downfall. I'll keep you guys updated!


The way you applied herbicide to the plant may not work the key is to apply the glyphosate to the phloem, cambium and xylem (http://www.appleman.ca/korchard/grfting3.htm) not the leaves. location, strength and the amount of herbicide you apply is critical.

Application of the herbicide is generally done around the base of the plant where the product can be dispersed throughout the tree's vascular transport system. This can be achieved by ‘frill cut’ or ‘hack-and-squirt’ (http://www.forestryimages.org/browse/detail.cfm?imgnum=1459898) the cut is made in the shape of a trough, just deep enough to expose the xylem, cut all the way around using downward strokes to flare out the bark. You can also perform a glyphosate injection by drilling small holes close together at a 45° angle (downward facing) and filling them with undiluted herbicide.

Just like any other product the way it used can affect performance. Since you already applied herbicide and the fact that some plants are more sensitive to glyphosate then others, you have a reasonable chance of success. If you need to reapply I would use the herbicide at full strength (18%). It can take 10 days or so before the plant starts to die. :cool:

sunfish
09-20-2013, 05:57 PM
I know an easier way

caliboy1994
09-22-2013, 01:42 AM
Thanks, ez. I already left up for college, so I'll let my dad know about this. As of now, there hasn't been much activity. Parts of the plant are dying, and the rest of it seems to be beginning to dry up. I cut the foliage off from all of the main stems, so the foliage should not last very long. It's more the roots I'm worried about.

G.W.
09-22-2013, 01:26 PM
You can also perform a glyphosate injection by drilling small holes close together at a 45° angle (downward facing) and filling them with undiluted herbicide.



This has worked well in cases where covering the foliage was a joke.
How do I spray a 60 ft tree ?

Ok so I could make that happen but controlling drift is another story.

Nice links.

Kat2
09-23-2013, 10:49 PM
I know an easier waySame here. Declare it a treasured and rare plant. Guaranteed it will croak. (I was very successful propagating figs by practicing fignorance and considering them weeds.)

Kat2
09-23-2013, 11:07 PM
Thanks, ez. I already left up for college, so I'll let my dad know about this. As of now, there hasn't been much activity. Parts of the plant are dying, and the rest of it seems to be beginning to dry up. I cut the foliage off from all of the main stems, so the foliage should not last very long. It's more the roots I'm worried about.Weed B Gone works much faster but it still takes time; clients never understood why we sprayed thistle and didn't come back to clean up for 2 weeks. (Don't get me started on killing ivy which I suspect is much like your creeper.) Good luck!