
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SUNDAY, March 8, 1992                   TAG: 9203090241
SECTION: HOMES                    PAGE: E-1   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: John Arbogast
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

HOW TO KILL UNWANTED SAPLINGS

Q: I am cleaning out an old vineyard that has been unattended for about 10 years. The vines are overgrown or rotted and no good. There are so many saplings and small trees of all kinds to be cut, including walnut, cherry, mulberry, maple and oak, ranging from 1 to 5 inches in diameter. I cut some last spring, and now they are all sprouts and have grown back. How can I kill them? Will Roundup kill those shoots? Should the growing tree be sprayed before it is cut? The weeds are milkweed, honeysuckle, poke berry, blackberry, and raspberry. What do you suggest to control them? H.B.E., Staunton

A: There are two safe approaches with chemicals so they won't sprout back. You can use the non-selective herbicide Roundup that you mentioned to spray on the foliage and green shoots in mid to late summer. At that time, the chemical glyphosate, which is the active ingredient in Roundup, will be adsorbed by mature green parts and will be moved slowly within each plant to reach the plant's roots and kill them.

Roundup is very effective against many unwanted plants because of the way that it works, but the chemical needs abundant foliage to adsorb the product, which means that you should not cut them again this spring if you decide to use this method. Also, the plants that have been sprayed should not be cut until after 14 days (10 days if a second application is made) to give time for the chemical to reach the plant's roots by way of the stems and trunk.

This product is slow but good. Roundup is said to be safe for the environment because the product breaks down quickly and is chemically inactive in the soil.

The other approach, which would be the one to use if you need to get the work done as soon as possible, would be to cut all shoots and sprouts this spring and immediately apply the product sold as Brush-B-Gon straight from the bottle to each stump, not to the surrounding soil. Follow label directions for stump application. Other herbicides labeled for stump application that do not poison the soil and appear safe for the purpose you have may be available.

This type of product has been approved to kill the roots of unwanted plants so they won't sprout back after the chemical is soaked up by the freshly cut stump. This, too, can be a relatively safe method, because the chemical is applied only to each cut surface rather than to the whole area.

Either method can be used on those non-tree weeds you mentioned, although Roundup may be the easier choice. Of course, all the dead plants will have to be removed anyway, and then regular maintenance of the area will be necessary so that these unwanted plants don't start again later from seeds that may blow in or be dropped by birds.

John Arbogast is the agriculture extension agent for Roanoke

by CNB