Hello, I was just wondering if there was something I
could use to SPOT-KILL dandelions and NOT my hosta.
Thanks in advance for your replys. Allen
Dandelions
Moderators: ViolaAnn, redcrx, Chris_W
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allhuskrred
- Posts: 134
- Joined: Dec 01, 2001 8:00 pm
- Location: lincoln. nebraska
Use the "finger of death" - or some variation.
If you really can't dig it out without too much damage to the hosta - and I find if I am patient I can usually work a dandelion tool around the root and do minimal damage to the hosta...
you can use roundup. I use a pretty strong solution and one of two techinques. Either I use a small sponge paintbrush, carefully squeezing out the brush in the container so it won't drip, then just wiping it on a dandelion leaf or two...
or the "finger of death" - which is kind of a reverse of God the Father on the Sistene Chapel. You put on a good rubber glove, then put a cotton glove over it. You dunk your finger in a strong Roundup solution, then wipe your finger carefully along the dandelion leaf.
Instead of giving life to Adam, you are administering a lethal dose of chemical to the nasty little weed.
By the way, the death isn't instantaneous, and I've seen that along the way, the chemical sometimes seems to force the plant into abnormal rapid growth - which means the flower bud can form and bloom and go to seed very rapidly. Since letting that blossom set seed kind of defeats the problem, I have found that the ideal is to return a day after using the chemical and pick off any flower heads.
Pia - don't tell me, I know there have been concerns about Roundup being a potential hazard to the water table... but in this country the official position of both the company and the regulators is that, when used according to the label, the chemicals become inert upon contact with the soil, so the product that is absorbed into the plant goes down through its vascular system and kills it to the roots, and then breaks down when it contacts the soil... and any runoff into the soil is slight and is also neutralized.
In any case, I'm not spraying Roundup on acres of land or trying to defoliate a foreign country... I just don't believe my light use of the product for spot treatment of persistent weeds does any environmental damage. We've used it extensively in both home and commercial farming for years in this area with no detectable traces in ground water - and this is Minnesota, the "Land of 10,000 Lakes." Our state enviromental agency is noted for lots of water testing and being very careful about potential problems. They are still saying they are fine with Roundup if used according to the label.
If you really can't dig it out without too much damage to the hosta - and I find if I am patient I can usually work a dandelion tool around the root and do minimal damage to the hosta...
you can use roundup. I use a pretty strong solution and one of two techinques. Either I use a small sponge paintbrush, carefully squeezing out the brush in the container so it won't drip, then just wiping it on a dandelion leaf or two...
or the "finger of death" - which is kind of a reverse of God the Father on the Sistene Chapel. You put on a good rubber glove, then put a cotton glove over it. You dunk your finger in a strong Roundup solution, then wipe your finger carefully along the dandelion leaf.
Instead of giving life to Adam, you are administering a lethal dose of chemical to the nasty little weed.
By the way, the death isn't instantaneous, and I've seen that along the way, the chemical sometimes seems to force the plant into abnormal rapid growth - which means the flower bud can form and bloom and go to seed very rapidly. Since letting that blossom set seed kind of defeats the problem, I have found that the ideal is to return a day after using the chemical and pick off any flower heads.
Pia - don't tell me, I know there have been concerns about Roundup being a potential hazard to the water table... but in this country the official position of both the company and the regulators is that, when used according to the label, the chemicals become inert upon contact with the soil, so the product that is absorbed into the plant goes down through its vascular system and kills it to the roots, and then breaks down when it contacts the soil... and any runoff into the soil is slight and is also neutralized.
In any case, I'm not spraying Roundup on acres of land or trying to defoliate a foreign country... I just don't believe my light use of the product for spot treatment of persistent weeds does any environmental damage. We've used it extensively in both home and commercial farming for years in this area with no detectable traces in ground water - and this is Minnesota, the "Land of 10,000 Lakes." Our state enviromental agency is noted for lots of water testing and being very careful about potential problems. They are still saying they are fine with Roundup if used according to the label.
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chelielynn
- Posts: 98
- Joined: Jul 14, 2006 10:59 pm
- Contact:
Dig the dandilion up, rinse off the roots, wrap them in a wet paper towl, send them to me to plant. They will get black mold and die before my birds get much to eat. (we have no dandilions in tampa! none!
Spider's Hosta List There are photos there too 
"I gotta have more cowbell!" SNL
"If your gecko is broken you have a reptile dysfunction."
"If you don't talk to your cat about catnip...who will?"
"I gotta have more cowbell!" SNL
"If your gecko is broken you have a reptile dysfunction."
"If you don't talk to your cat about catnip...who will?"
And the Gulf war was for the poor people - not for the oil at all And DDT was safe to use...
Tell them to look for it
By the way I use a tiny brush on a few leafs if i have a dandelion in the middle of a hosta or a marple in a bush rose
Bad girl I know, but it's emergency..aren't it
Against stupidity the gods themselves struggle in vain.
E-mail for pics hostapics@gmail.com
E-mail for pics hostapics@gmail.com
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kHT
- Posts: 10379
- Joined: Oct 31, 2001 8:00 pm
- USDA Zone: 7-8 Z-nial
- Location: PNW, some where over the rainbow?
I totally agree with jgh, round up is the best for those yellow flowers and grasses. I don't pull weeds but round them up. Another is weed be gone but it doesn't work on grasses, which is why we use that in the lawn. If used correctly it doesn't harm the environment.
karma 'Happy Toes' (kHT)
The Goddess is Alive and Magic is Afoot!!!!
I'm just a simple housewife.
The Goddess is Alive and Magic is Afoot!!!!
I'm just a simple housewife.
It was my intention so glad it hurt your behind 
pia
pia
Against stupidity the gods themselves struggle in vain.
E-mail for pics hostapics@gmail.com
E-mail for pics hostapics@gmail.com