MO,,,,, Need thistle control around seedling pines.

[biglakeba$$]

Hey MObuck,,,,

I think we had a discussion months ago about this on here.... I think.

I have the good old thistles invading where I have my 1 to 3 year old pine seedlings.

What can I use for a generic brand spray that wont kill/harm the trees?
My forester said to use Transline, but it is SPENDY....

I found Clopyralid 3 online, but after calling today to a place that sells that, they said it can be harsh on pine seedlings.

Any suggestions that might be a bit more affordable than Transline?

 

[Riggsgwp->]

I sprayed clopyralid 3 over my trees and there was no damage to them. I have pines, spruce, and many others from 1 to 3 yrs.

 

[MoLandOwner]

Transline, Clopyralid, (Stinger) work very well on Thistles. None are cheap! But weeds suck, so what is $140 for a 1/2 gal of weed killer?

I do not believe Stinger is labeled for pine seedlings. But since I sell very little Stinger I would have to double check that. More guys on here smarter than me may know. As Riggs has done, it may not mean you can't spray them. But expect some damage under certain conditions. Good Luck!

 

[Ben.MN/WI]

If you have deer browsing issues on your pines, thistles might be a natural way to discourage the deer from using that area which might help out your trees.

A guy spraying my fields in WI wasn't paying attention a few years ago and made a pass through my two year old pines and killed several hundred. I don't know what he used (likely round-up, but not sure), but it was very effective on both white and red pines. I don't think the thistles will impede the growth of the pines in the long run, so I'd either just brush hog between the tree rows or consider the thistles deer repellants and leave them. I've had different types of spray from my farmer tenant as well as neighbors kill off some trees, so I tend try to keep chemicals away from my pine trees if I can. The wrong spray can kill your pines, but thistles likely won't. Good luck and let us know how it goes-

 

[biglakeba$$]

zero deer browsing issues.

The thistles are growing in the rows amongst the trees. The furrow is a breeding ground for the thistles.

There is no possiblity of leaving the thistles. My Dad is the east Ottertail county thistle manager(or whatever he is called).... he goes around and gives notices to people that have thistle issues...... So any thistle on the farm is cryptonite to him....

I emailed Riggs today about the Clopyralid 3. He had great luck with it and little to no tree issues. I ordered a jug 10 minutes ago.

 

[wiscwhip]

If you could only get your deer to browse it as hard as they browse most conifers you wouldn't have to worry about it.;)