Anybody have some tips for ridding stiltgrass? It's the single worst weed I have to fight in my deep woods plots and it generally wins, especially when trying to do sow-n-mow. Nothing seems to outcompete it. Is there a chemical that kills it without killing my clover? I appreciate any help!
Japanese Stiltgrass Control
- Thread starter Ski
- Start date
Glyphosate but that will damage some clover. White clover is especially tough.
Imazapyr is an option. Effect on clover is based on clover species and rate uses. See label.
Clethodim would be option as it is grass selective and shouldn't hurt clover.
Imazapyr is an option. Effect on clover is based on clover species and rate uses. See label.
Clethodim would be option as it is grass selective and shouldn't hurt clover.
Thank you!
MickThompson
Well-Known Member
imazapic or clethodim would be my go to on established clover
Boll Weevil
Well-Known Member
You might also have an underlying soil compaction issue. Stiltgrasses, sedges and the like thrive with wet feet. I've seen them pop up in otherwise great stands of whatever I planted and it ended up being in a low spot…enough to hold a little more water. Rip it to get the water to go down vs sit there and many times it's corrected for good.
Establish your clover with wheat and crowd out the stilt grass. when needed clethodim is your go to for grasses in clover. to add to @Boll Weevil 's post, clover does not like wet feet so yes compaction can be a problem that hurts you in more ways than one
Thank yall so much. I'll get to work!
I think you maybe nailed it. The areas with most stiltgrass is very compacted, lower lying ground. I'll have to bust it up a bit if I can. Thanks again to yall for the help!
Boll Weevil
Well-Known Member
And a tip for future reference with undesirable, invasive, pest species whether plant or animal. As in medicine, treating root causes is often preferable to treating symptoms. In this case sure you can spray and kill that batch but it's coming back. Remediate the underlying conditions making that particular outcome less viable and the results are more lasting and sustainable.
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squackattack
Well-Known Member
Can you explain more on this. I have dealt with invasives and am really intrigued with this. In particular how would you do this with tree-of-heaven?
Boll Weevil
Well-Known Member
I don't know a whole lot about that particular species as there's not many in my area but do know they produce seed early and often. Cut mature trees and paint the stump with herbicide + hack'n squirt or basal spray immature trees. I'd think once you knocked back the seed producers you'd be on the road to eradication.
I had an area where beavers had made a mess and wanted to reclaim it. Got rid of the dams and the water receded. Water receded...got rid of the beavers. Woody dam building material like water willows thrive with wet feet...problem solved. All the stiltgrasses and reedy rushes too. Sometimes you just have to stand back and think on for a bit. The reason stuff grows is because conditions are suitable; manipulate the conditions for whatever the desired outcome is.
I had an area where beavers had made a mess and wanted to reclaim it. Got rid of the dams and the water receded. Water receded...got rid of the beavers. Woody dam building material like water willows thrive with wet feet...problem solved. All the stiltgrasses and reedy rushes too. Sometimes you just have to stand back and think on for a bit. The reason stuff grows is because conditions are suitable; manipulate the conditions for whatever the desired outcome is.
I just ad a day out with my forester so I could tag along & help as he treated my invasive trees. For the tree of heaven we foliar sprayed anything thumb size or smaller, basal sprayed anything thumb to wrist size, and hack-n-squirt anything larger than wrist. It was triclopyr-4 mixed with diesel & dye. His words for cutting them were that if you cut a tree of heaven, 100 of his relatives will show up for the funeral & never leave. He said best way to kill them, especially the ones large enough to seed, was to hack-n-squirt so they die slowly. Apparently cutting them triggers the roots to go overload sending up new stems.
Even though I only have a few trees large enough to seed, we spent an entire day spraying all the smaller stuff. He instructed me to go back in 2-3wks to see what is dead and to treat anything new or still living. He said between May & September is when I should be doing it and I should check in on it every few weeks and treat anything alive. In two or three years if we can cruise the property and not find any then and only then would it be appropriate to begin plans for a timber harvest. I've got a very old closed canopy forest so not a lot grows in the understory, but tree of heaven is spread around enough that if I were to harvest timber right now I'd have a nightmare with what grows back. The closed canopy is what has been keeping them suppressed so they haven't become a problem. With a timber harvest that canopy would no longer provide that protection. So we're getting it under control beforehand.
Not surprising the areas with most aggressive growth was around my food plots. Just those small openings in the woods cracked the door open just enough for those suckers to get a foothold. I had no idea. They weren't even on my radar until a state forester pointed them out to me and recommended a consulting forester who could address the issue. I dodged a bullet. Unfortunately not everyone does. Lots of places get cut and the landowners find out only years afterward that they have an invasive problem. By then it's a mess.
BSK
Well-Known Member
I'm glad I don't have a Tree of Heaven problem. About the only thing we have a problem with in regeneration areas is Poplar. Cut an Oak forest and you get a Poplar forest in return.
Boll Weevil
Well-Known Member
Thanks for sharing this Ski.
I'm taking the time to spray native undesirables (as opposed to invasives) as my pine thinning operation moves along. Holly, sweetgum, sumac, maple, cedar, and the occasional myrtle. The plan is to run a fire thru it next year once some of the slash/fuel load decomposes a bit. Assuming all those skeletons get torched, hoping I won't have to deal with them again. I bet there's 4-5" of pinestraw in there now...maybe more. A burn will finally create the habitat I've been managing toward for years.
I'm taking the time to spray native undesirables (as opposed to invasives) as my pine thinning operation moves along. Holly, sweetgum, sumac, maple, cedar, and the occasional myrtle. The plan is to run a fire thru it next year once some of the slash/fuel load decomposes a bit. Assuming all those skeletons get torched, hoping I won't have to deal with them again. I bet there's 4-5" of pinestraw in there now...maybe more. A burn will finally create the habitat I've been managing toward for years.
Eh, I'm pretty partial to poplar. I suppose it's because I use it a lot. I've got a sawmill and whenever I'm framing, siding, lathing, etc. a building on the farm or fixing something, my go to is poplar. I cut a poplar tree or two and saw it up into what I need. It cuts like butter, takes a nail, and dries stable enough that I can build with it green and not worry about twisting & warping later on. It also lasts a long time if kept off the dirt. There's a reason the pioneers used it so much for cabins.
BSK
Well-Known Member
All true. But I don't have my own mill! I've got more mature Poplar than I know what to do with. And its value comes and goes for commercial sale.
Back when my parents were building the home I grew up in in KY, they bought old homes and barns and we stripped them of their wood to use in our house. We got some beautiful doors, trim, and flooring. Our dining room was 100+ year-old Poplar tongue-and-groove flooring.
That sounds like a great plan! I've never dealt much with a pine stand. All of mine is oak & hickory dominant and huge. My consulting forester and state forester are working together on a legacy package because part of the acreage is virgin. It's a federal program that if pans out will essentially pay me the value of the timber and land to not cut the forest or develop the land, but I'll still retain full ownership. I'm not up to speed on all the details yet, no decision made. That's what the foresters are figuring out. But it may potentially be an option. If I do it then it'll possibly put a halt on deer habitat work.
That would be amazing!
BSK
Well-Known Member
All of the exposed beams in the house were from a pre-Civil War double-pen with a dog-trot log barn we bought and disassembled. Most of those huge logs were Poplar.
Boll Weevil
Well-Known Member
I'm enrolled in a contract that incentivizes timber, water, and soil management. As well got my tree farm certification from the ATFS in 2016. It was a no-brainer for me because it was a bunch of activities I planned on doing anyway.
Sounds like very different from what you're considering though as it might mean leaving the forest as-is vs promoting more diverse wildlife habitat.
Sounds like very different from what you're considering though as it might mean leaving the forest as-is vs promoting more diverse wildlife habitat.
