Roseclear systemic weedkiller?

Schoolteacher

I thought Systemic weedkiller meant you poured the liquid onto the soil and the tree/plant would "drink/absorb" it through its' system (hence the word systemic) but when I was in home base last week looking for this systemic liquid, I came across systemic sprays ? How can a spray be systemic? And where can I get the liquid you pour onto soil? Thanx for reading this..

Sonnenblumen

I understand Systemic Sprayers as applicators for systemic weedkillers, eg Roundup, which kills above and below ground level ie foliage and root.

ttm

Interesting terminological question.

Roundup is a Systemic weed killer in that it is absorbed by the plants foliage and transferred to an other area of the plant where it actually does the damage, I seem to remember it stops the plant making any food it so it uses up all its reserves then dies. Terminologically the chemical has a systemic action

http://encarta.msn.com/dictionary_1861717832/systemic.html gives us: botany affecting whole plant: describes an herbicide or other chemical that works by spreading through all the tissues of a plant instead of just staying on the surface

But I guess what we might be looking for here is a RESIDUAL herbicide, which is as you say poured on the soil and stays there waiting for probing roots and germinating seeds to absorb it. But just to confuse things it can be said that residual herbicides have a systemic action as the roots absorb the chemical and it is subsequently translocated around the plant i.e. a systemic action. So residual weed killers may have a systemic action but wouldn't be classed as Systemics in weed killer sales jargon.

From a weed killer sales point of view you probably have......
Systemic herbicides
Residual herbicides
Contact herbicides
Selective herbicides

+ mixes of all of the above formulated for specific purposes.

The Contact herbicides (eg Paraquat) just kill off the foliage they come in contact with and selective herbicides would normally be the sort of thing you put on the lawn to kill off daisy’s without affecting the grass.

All jargon really, just decide what you need to do and read the label to see if it does what you want.

Irish Gardener

Roseclear systemic weedkiller?

Systemic, translocated, residual or contact, no matter.
Roseclear is not a weedkiller.
It is a systemic insecticide/fungicide.
It wouldn't be much good for your roses if it was a weedkiller.