Having tried them all, my best results have been from the ready to use consumer roundup with least amount of concentrate. We're talking hours after use it smells like pizza and it's all brown. Haven't found any other product to work that well. The instructions will always say you need to thoroughly wet the leaves.= no matter what concentrate. You need to be really careful with going over the amounts set forth in the instructions. Even with regular strength you can do harm to other plants in your garden including large trees and shrubs. I learned this lesson the hard way after hearing for years how it was safe to use. Err think again.

Broken record time: Apply pesticides at the label recommended rate. It is safe to seed into an area treated with glyphosate as soon as it is dry.

A.J.

Thanks Quirky, actually I would not care if absolutely everything died - border plantings all will be replaced in spring anyway. I would just cut them all down now for some more sun for germination but will need the trunks for leverage to remove the roots early next year, when I'll have time to do that, by myself, with a spade and a grub axe, argh.

How do your spray RTU roundup over a few thousand square feet? Seems like an arduous undertaking with the supplied streaming sprayer, but will do that if necessary for a total kill, which is the whole point of course.

Thanks again!
Paul

AJ, I guess you are saying that no matter what the bottle says about percentage of Glyphosate, when diluted according to instructions all of the round up products will be equally potent?

If so that answers my question, thank you. If not, what are you saying? I mean, there so many posts here saying you need the 40% stuff for a really effective kill. Is that just uninformed speculation, or something else?

Thanks,
Paul

when diluted according to instructions all of the round up products will be equally potent?

Pretty much, yes. Kill time may vary a little bit because of the inevitable inability to get a precise mix, but they set the label high enough that you will get a good kill regardless. I used the weaker stuff the first time because it was what I could get. It did a stellar job (the link is to the photos of it).

Be really careful in the drip zone of any tree or shrub you want to keep. I ended up painting those to kill 'em rather than spray the stuff around.

Here is a link that might be useful: Dying Lawn

Paul,

Yes to the former, as Morpheus confirmed. Many of us buy the 41% glyphosate concentrate simply because it is cheaper that way. I use Bonide Kleenup 41%: $11 for 16 oz.

A.J.

It's not cheaper when you have to spray it twice to have the same effect but anyway.........

Pauline the way I apply it over a wide area is I set out some cones to mark grids. The grids are the width of the yard by about 6 feet wide. Then I work my way backwards overlapping the grid boundaries a little just to be thorough. I also choose to do it right after my dogs have had their morning potty break and are back inside the house for the day that way they don't need to go around sniffing in it and eating it. This also happens to be the time of day that is least likely to have rain and wind and most likely to have the conditions the stuff needs to work best.

Thanks guys, and especially you Quirqueline. ;-)

Well I applied the first dose yesterday morning and the crabgrass and other annual grassy weeds are toast already, but the fine fescue is still looking pretty good, especially in the shadier areas. This fescue is my main target.

I guess this is because the annual grassy weeds are growing so fast right now compared to the fescue? Or maybe that the grassy weeds have more surface area so ingested more of the stuff? Most of the fescue was growing well up until the last week or so, and I watered like heck last week to get anything dormant growing again, just watered again today, and am expecting thunderstorms tomorrow.

I will wait the recommended seven days to re-apply, but does this sound normal? I ask because I think I applied slightly less than the recommended rate: I had misread the (intentionally confusing, I'm sure) label and did not realize that until it was too late. Am now armed with more than enough super-concentrated death for round two, and a gallon of the RTU stuff in case I encounter The Black Knight of grassdom...

Thanks as always,
Paul

Give the fescues some time. I noticed a little bit of fade out the first day on my grass, but even on day 3 some few parts were looking pretty good for being fatally poisoned. They caught up.

If it doesn't rain, plan to water it this weekend. Active growth means active translocation of the glyphosate. That means active poisoning and faster death.

If it rains, don't worry about it. That took care of it.

My second dose wasn't the entire lawn, just what I missed the first time and a few Green Knights of my own. Even those that laughed at the first dose died on the second.

Thanks Morph, I mentioned the Black Knight because I actually do have some grassy weed here that is apparently resistant to round-up. I mean, you can soak the sucker and watch it yellow, then watch it green back up, and then soak it again only to watch it yellow and then green back up again. Fortunately I have only noticed this in one particular planting bed (and not in the lawn) and now have wised up and pulled out all of those plants that I could find, but still this is kinda scary, especially since this weed may be in my lawn and I just haven't identified it since I mow regularly. It grows high and straight, with sparse but elegant and long grassy leaves fwiw.

Best,
Paul
"who is wondering what this weed could be"

"who is wondering what this weed could be"

It sounds like nutsedge, which is a living nightmare to get rid of. Fortunately, it's not an unattractive weed and I remove it only to keep it from taking over. There's a great photo on the attached link.

A good lawn can and will outcompete it, so no worries there. Constant cutting to lawn height doesn't do wonders for it, either.

To get rid of it in the garden, get a small glass (or whatever material...I find baby food or small Ball jars work very well) jar, fill it with Roundup at around half strength, and bend the plant and dip it in. Use a small rock or whatnot to hold it in place. You could also drill the cap and feed the plant in through the hole but that's way too much effort for me.

I'd recommend digging the jar into the soil somewhat in the gardens to keep it from spilling over and splashing onto anything you want to keep.

Wait a week or four. :-) Not only will that nutsedge plant die, but any that are attached by rhizome will go as well.

Here is a link that might be useful: Nutsedge