Eradicating Invasive Plants

I appreciate the comments about the perils of planting Pandora's Box Bamboo.

One of the plants is going into a stand of Reed Canarygrass, itself an invasive plant.

Discussion on eradicating invasive plants

Many plants have a period of time when they are vulnerable to control methods. For instance, Poison Ivy is most vulnerable to mowing and chemical control when it is flowering.

The reason, as best as I can discern, is because individual Poison Ivy plants store up carbohydrates through late summer and fall. Poison Ivy is one of the late-to-leaf-out pests so it is unphased by common control efforts* before June 1 (in Eaton County). Poison Ivy has Jack-in-the-Box growth rates using those stored carbohydrates once it does leaf out. As the first big flush of growth starts to peter out, it flowers.

So if you cut the plant near the ground you starve the roots. The battery is nearly drained. Regrowth will be feeble and more easily beaten back.

The timing is similar for chemical control methods that are applied to leaves. Auxin mimic chemicals (like triclopyr or dicamba) work best when that first flush is extending at its maximum rate (usually after a good rain) and there are lots of full-sized leaves to target with the spray. Glyphosate is best applied to the Poison Ivy canopy in the same time period up until the blossoms drop off. Both types of chemicals will kill Poison Ivy after those periods, but the "kill" will not be as thorough. 

*For Poison Ivy that is climbing trees or walls, the preferred method is to cut the trunk in two places and to pry off the 'stick' between the two cuts. Six inches is plenty of distance. And then to paint the lower, exposed "wood" of the Poison Ivy plant's trunk with undiluted glyphosate or triclopyr concentrate. An alternative is to use a paint brush or trim paint roller to apply the ester formulation of triclopyr concentrate diluted 1:3 with kerosene or diesel fuel directly to the trunk. 18" of trunk is often suggested. For trunks climbing up walls, where you cannot paint the entire circumference then paint 36" of 180 degrees of circumference.

Timing for cut-trunk and trunk painting should be after the leaves fall off.

Bamboo

 

This guy talks about how to smack bamboo. Let it invest the energy into stem growth but as soon as it starts to unfurl leaves...whack it hard!