Green Shoots operated a booth at the Wild Things 2023 conference in the Chicago area on February 25, 2023. Over 2,000 people attended the conference. There were 125 sessions. It was an excellent conference.

I also presented. The title of my talk was Kill Tough Weeds; Not Prized Plants! The talk had four key elements: first, how to target just the weed; second, how to keep the herbicide on the weed, third, how to enhance uptake by the weed; and, fourth, how to enhance translocation of the herbicide to the proper sink. The presentation weaves in lots of new research. For example, humidity is increasingly seen as necessary for good uptake of herbicide by weed foliage. Using foam herbicide can increase moisture on the leaf surface and thereby increase humidity because foam can take more than twice as long to dry as a spray.

Many of our customers have crews who use our Small Foam Herbicide Dispenser. This includes volunteers at nature centers, invasive plant removal teams, landscapers, and gardeners.

We just ordered a large quantity of components for the Small Dispenser and can pass on those savings to you.

Contact me at john@greenshootsonline.com if you would like to order!

Here’s a new review of the literature on using tarps or coverings to block sunlight and control invasive knotweeds (Reynoutria spp.or Fallopia spp.). Dusz et al 2021 (link to abstract and access to free article).

The authors state: “based on the bibliography and survey work, we propose practical recommendations including covering the entire stand, extending the tarping up to 2.5 m beyond its edges for a period of at least six years, and ensuring regular monitoring. Even though tarping does not seem to be a one-size-fits-all solution to eradicate knotweed, it could still be a useful control method once knotweed has become a critical management issue.”

Instead of burning your woody invasive brush, turn it into stakes using this new tool. Use the stakes for field research, gardening, landscaping, etc.

I sharpen the stakes out in the field. The nice thing about this – you don’t need a vice to hold the stem. Just sharpen the stem while it’s still in the ground. Cut the weed-tree to the proper height, and then use the stake pointer to sharpen the top.

You will get a nicely sharpened stake like the one below. It’s just like a big pencil sharpener!

You can either leave the bark on the stakes:

Or you can remove the bark. (Presumably, the stake will last longer if the bark is removed.)

Check this product out at our web store.

Check out our latest guidance on controlling Canada thistle: How to Control Canada Thistle: Seasonal Guide (2021) This document contains our most up-to-date advice on how to control this nasty weed. This is a PDF that can easily be viewed on your smartphone.

This is a prairie restoration that we started a while back. The first thing we did a few years ago was girdle the big pine trees. You can see some of the remaining snags in the photos below. This opened up the canopy but also spurred the growth of lots of small woody species that we had to deal with.

With any of the brush that was over 2 inches OD, we did cut stump treatments in late winter. The small pine trees, of course, we just cut down and did not stump treat. The stump treatments were low enough to the ground so we could come through with a brush mower about a month-and-a-half later without hitting the big cut stumps.

Using the walk-behind brush mower was slick. It chopped most of the brush into small pieces, so we didn’t have to haul it to burn piles. It also shatters the stumps (much like a forestry mower). This will reduce the vigor of the cut brush.

We will have lots of re-sprouts from the brush that we did not treat. We plan to mow again later this spring after the cool season plants (mostly non-native) have started growing vigorously but before the warm season plants (mostly native) are very high. This second cutting will also cut the woody species that have re-sprouted. Then, in the mid-summer and fall we will treat the perennial weeds and the woody plants. Since this area has a native seed bank, we’ll see next year how much of the area we will have to seed.

Controlling a large stand of invasive knotweed can be a daunting task.  We just finished this document: Green Shoots Guidance on Controlling a Large Stand of Knotweed. This

document complements our video: Knotweed Control: 3 Simple Steps for the Non-Professional which is intended for those controlling a small knotweed colony.

In our new piece, we synthesize much of the latest research on and our experience with controlling knotweed.  The approach solves several problems confronted in controlling a large infestation: First, how to do you ensure coverage of the entire stand when applying herbicide?  Second, how do you accomplish the first objective without introducing excessive amounts of herbicide into the environment?  Third, how do deal with the few surviving knotweed crowns that are often difficult to kill.

In short, the approach is to make a broadcast application of herbicide to the knotweed colony in the first year.  This is done in such a way as to maximize herbicide effectiveness and minimize harm to neighboring desirable species. Thereafter, we use a targeted approach that combines: spot treatments with herbicides; mechanical control – cutting or digging to remove the surviving knotweed plants; and the introduction of competition from native plants.

The three most common species of invasive knotweed in North America are: Japanese knotweed (Fallopia japonica or Polygonum cuspidatum); Sakhalin knotweed (Fallopia sachalinensis); Bohemian knotweed (Fallopia×bohemica).

I attended a wonderful conference in Coeur d’ Alene, Idaho, put on by Steve Manning and his group at Invasive Plant Control from December 10-12, 2019.  One theme: rodent eradication!  Dickie Hall, Habitat Restoration Project Director, talked about the complete eradication of rats on the Island of South Georgia.  The island is a treeless tundra not far from Antarctica.  This is a huge win for many bird species that nest on South Georgia (and two species endemic to the island).  The South Georgia Heritage Trust sponsored the restoration.   Dickie also gave a talk on the planned eradication of mice on Gough Island.  The mice eat Albatross chicks and other birds and have devastated avian populations.  I won’t even link to the videos on YouTube which you can easily find if you are so inclined.

Dan Tompkins gave another great talk on making New Zealand predator free by 2050.  This is a massive undertaking to eliminate alien predators (rats, opossums, and stoats) that kill all sorts of native wildlife including the kiwi.

In our work focused on terrestrial invasive plants (not growing on isolated islands) total eradication is nearly impossible.  Nonetheless, these talks were inspiring.  And, anyone who has been on a restored native prairie knows the beautiful sights, sounds, and smells of being in a native landscape.  Perfection is not required!

My talk focused on precision herbicide applications using our Precision Electronic Dispenser.  The key thing to remember about the Green Shoots® products is that they all reduce off-target harm from herbicides.  Traditional high-pressure spray from backpacks inevitably causes off-target harm.  Native plants are highly valuable, especially mature native perennials that may have been alive for as long as 30-40 years.  You should do everything you can to preserve the health of those native plants when you are spot spraying nearby them!