Calling all Thistle warriors...

[Tap]

I've ranted about Canada Thistle for years on the defunct forum.
I'm still battling this crap and I'm wondering if anyone knows of a new approach, herbicide, or technique to beating this stuff.
I started this year's battle in early spring when the weed was emerging and small. I repeatedly spot-sprayed the stuff with a variety of glyphosate mixtures. I mixed it strong. I mixed it with AMS. I mixed it with extra surfactant. I sprayed the hell out of it. It would top-kill fine but the stuff always comes back.

In the past I've hand-pulled it for hours at a time. I got tons of needles in my fingers from doing hand pulling. I've weed wacked it to the ground but the roots survive and it comes back.
I planted switchgrass to choke it out and when I did a maintenance mowing of the switch this spring for the first time, the thistle growth exploded and I was back to spot spraying. Nothing seems to work for me.

I realize that there are always new herbicides coming on the market. Does anyone know of something that really works on Canada Thistle? I know Milestone is said to work pretty well but the soil residual eliminates a lot of other stuff that can be planted.

Please don't tell me to just keep it mowed. I did that for years...doesn't work on my thistle, maybe works for yours, but not for mine.

Do I need to change the time period that I spray it?
I know that for a good kill on milkweed and japanese knotweed, they say to spray at the end of the growing season so the plant sends more chemical to the roots.
Is it possible that thistle needs the same approach? Maybe early season spraying is the wrong time??

This weed is driving me nuts:(:mad:

 

[j-bird]

I use a product called crossbow/crossroad on it. It's a brush killer and tends to have the spine you need to kill a tough plant like canada thistle.....it also kills all the other broadleaf plants as well, but sometimes you just kill'm all and let god sort 'em out! I tend to have decent luck with it. Canada thistle can have an extnsive root system so it can be naturally difficult to eradicate as it is and keeping it from going to seed is another key as well. I tend to spray it spring, summer and fall - anytime I find it in enough size to get my attention.

 

[JoshAnderson]

i always use curtail... then mix it with some liquid nitrogen

 

[MoBuckChaser]

Use 7-8 oz of Milestone herbicide per acre, in the spring when plants are actively growing. It is about 90% effective, and is the best option for being safe around wildlife and livestock.

 

[MoBuckChaser]

i always use curtail... then mix it with some liquid nitrogen

Curtail is a mix of clopyralid + MCPA, works great! Not as safe as milestone but does an excellent job. Good call!

 

[Tap]

I use a product called crossbow/crossroad on it. It's a brush killer and tends to have the spine you need to kill a tough plant like canada thistle.....it also kills all the other broadleaf plants as well, but sometimes you just kill'm all and let god sort 'em out! I tend to have decent luck with it. Canada thistle can have an extnsive root system so it can be naturally difficult to eradicate as it is and keeping it from going to seed is another key as well. I tend to spray it spring, summer and fall - anytime I find it in enough size to get my attention.

I do my best to keep it from going to seed. And sometimes I wonder if the roots are basically 1 common root that suckers to grow what we see above ground.

Does Crossbow effect the ability for follow up plantings like clover? Can't grow clover after Milestone for many months.

Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk

 

[j-bird]

I would suggest you read the label, but I don't think there is a residual issue with it. It will kill any existing clover I know that. I used it to kill the dutch clover & dandelions in my yard once....the wife flipped out, "What happened to our yard?" I told her, "I killed all the weeds....that's all the actual grass we had!"

I am not sure if thistle actually suckers or not, but I do know it can spread by the roots spreading to produce additional plants. Those roots can be pretty dang extensive as well. That is why they tend to grow in clumps/patches. I doubt I will ever get rid of it entirely but I do try to keep it in check.

MY invasive hit list:
Canada Thistle
Johnson Grass
Stilt Grass
Jap Bush Honeysuckle
Multi-floral Rose

I could make a career out of fighting all that stuff on my place.

 

[John-W-WI]

I do my best to keep it from going to seed. And sometimes I wonder if the roots are basically 1 common root that suckers to grow what we see above ground.

Does Crossbow effect the ability for follow up plantings like clover? Can't grow clover after Milestone for many months.

Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk

This shows exactly what you are talking about (found on the web):



Reminds me of a sumac I pulled up with the skidsteer once. I grabbed one tree and got a 30' string of trees! (it was along a fence line). They were all connected to each other.

-John

 

[MoBuckChaser]

Switch to dry ams and liberty herbicide if roundup isnt doing the trick and you don't want residual product in the ground.

 

[Tap]

This shows exactly what you are talking about (found on the web):

View attachment 10784

Reminds me of a sumac I pulled up with the skidsteer once. I grabbed one tree and got a 30' string of trees! (it was along a fence line). They were all connected to each other.

-John

That crap is probably good for the soil health. The roots provide lots of OM, break hardpan, and scavenge deep nutrients...But I still hate the stuff and I'll stick with radish for soil health.

 

[Tap]

Switch to dry ams and liberty herbicide if roundup isnt doing the trick and you don't want residual product in the ground.

Thanks. I will look into that. I've heard of Liberty but never researched or used it.
So why dry (same as granular??) AMS? What does that do that the liquid AMS doesn't do? I used to have granular AMS, but I switched to liquid because it was easier for me to get.
Does anyone know if Rural King carries dry AMS?

 

[MoBuckChaser]

Dry AMS has the recommended amount of nitrogen needed to make the glufosinate work properly. Liquid AMS does not.

 

[Tap]

Dry AMS has the recommended amount of nitrogen needed to make the glufosinate work properly. Liquid AMS does not.

Can't I just add a higher amount of liquid AMS to my mix?
And thanks guys, I really appreciate all the help.
I'm at the point where I feel like just planting everything in switchgrass and screw the food plots, but I really don't want to go that route...YET!

 

[Tap]

I would suggest you read the label, but I don't think there is a residual issue with it. It will kill any existing clover I know that. I used it to kill the dutch clover & dandelions in my yard once....the wife flipped out, "What happened to our yard?" I told her, "I killed all the weeds....that's all the actual grass we had!"

I am not sure if thistle actually suckers or not, but I do know it can spread by the roots spreading to produce additional plants. Those roots can be pretty dang extensive as well. That is why they tend to grow in clumps/patches. I doubt I will ever get rid of it entirely but I do try to keep it in check.

MY invasive hit list:
Canada Thistle
Johnson Grass
Stilt Grass
Jap Bush Honeysuckle
Multi-floral Rose

I could make a career out of fighting all that stuff on my place.

I wish that my list of invasives was as small as yours. I really don't have much, if any johnson grass, but the stilt grass, thistle, honeysuckle, privet, bittersweet, mile-a-minute, and grapevines are getting the best of me. My property is a mess. Still have a lot of deer, though.

 

[MoBuckChaser]

Sorry, but there are only a few Items that can be planted legally right after spraying Liberty herbicide. Clover ain't one of them. See attached!

 

[Bluecollaroutdoors]

I had a big patch of it where they let the yard get out of control on a house 2 months ago. I hit it with a heave batch of roundup and that really set it back but it took 10 days.
I hit it again with 2-4d and some more roundup and not one green sprout has came back since.

This was basically in a flower bed/wood chips surrounded the septic tanks. We just wanted it all dead and will figure out what to do with it next year. Thistles were 4 feet high.

 

[Jayber]

I use a mix of Gly + 24D and pretty much burns anything. Had horsetail that Gly alone would not touch. Put on the mix and smoked it.

 

[Tap]

I use a mix of Gly + 24D and pretty much burns anything. Had horsetail that Gly alone would not touch. Put on the mix and smoked it.

What was the mix ratio? Do you have the ratio for spot spraying and for "per acre"? Most of the time I'll be mixing for a 4 gallon backpack sprayer and spot spray. I may also need to nuke an entire plot if spot spraying doesn't control it but I'd rather not destroy a 2 year-old clover plot if I can just spot spray.

I can't remember ever spraying 2,4D...I know it smokes clover but is there soil residue that prevents how long before I can replant clover?

 

[LEWI B]

2,4D has no residual by it's self.
trimec style products have dycamba (sp) and it has residual.
4 to6 oz per gallon with heavy surfactant for spot spraying when rosette is
6 to 10 inch and before seed stalk shoots up for best results. If stalk is up I lay over and crimp with my boot and spray to wet all foliage.
Don't recall ever having to respray for inadequate kill.
hope this helps.

 

[Buckly]

I have done a burn down with Roundup and 2-4D before and planted clover 2 -3 weeks after that and didn't see any effects. You are better off spot spraying thistle though. When they talk about weed resistance to Roundup it is related to the normal rate. Put enough Gly on anything and it will kill it.