Weed killer for around a hedge?

Ebr sniper

Hi all
Looking for some advice about spraying and weeding around a red robin hedge. The hedge was planted this time last year and is thriving with lovely red leaves and growing by the day. I have over 500 of them planted around the house. I have between 3-5 inches of bark chip on them but I’m getting weeds and grass coming heavily through the bark in places. I’m hand weeding at the moment but it’s getting too hard to keep on top of so I’m wondering is their any weed killer I can spray that will be safe for the hedge? Any help would be great
Thanks

monkeynuz

Ebr sniper wrote: »

Hi all
Looking for some advice about spraying and weeding around a red robin hedge. The hedge was planted this time last year and is thriving with lovely red leaves and growing by the day. I have over 500 of them planted around the house. I have between 3-5 inches of bark chip on them but I’m getting weeds and grass coming heavily through the bark in places. I’m hand weeding at the moment but it’s getting too hard to keep on top of so I’m wondering is their any weed killer I can spray that will be safe for the hedge? Any help would be great
Thanks

Roundup pro biactive applied using a sprayer at 15ml per litre of water will do the trick.

As long as the spray doesn’t get on the leaves you will be fine.

Ebr sniper

monkeynuz wrote: »

Roundup pro biactive applied using a sprayer at 15ml per litre of water will do the trick.

As long as the spray doesn’t get on the leaves you will be fine.

So that won’t soak into the bark chip and then down to the red robin roots?

monkeynuz

Ebr sniper wrote: »

So that won’t soak into the bark chip and then down to the red robin roots?

Absolutely not it only works on leaf growth so roots and bark of trees/shrubs are perfectly fine.

Bixy

I would be really cautious spraying the base of an evergreen hedge like Photinia Red Robin. Make sure the day is absolutely calm and think about using a nozzle guard to avoid any drift. The last thing you want is to damage the foliage at the bottom of your hedge!

monkeynuz

Bixy wrote: »

I would be really cautious spraying the base of an evergreen hedge like Photinia Red Robin. Make sure the day is absolutely calm and think about using a nozzle guard to avoid any drift. The last thing you want is to damage the foliage at the bottom of your hedge!

Like I said in my original reply “be careful not to get it on the leaves”

Other than that there is no reason to be “really cautious”

Also roundup is unlikely to damage waxy photonia leaves.

Bixy

monkeynuz wrote: »

Like I said in my original reply “be careful not to get it on the leaves”

Other than that there is no reason to be “really cautious”

Also roundup is unlikely to damage waxy photonia leaves.

Awww! and there I was, thinking that the point of gardening forum was for us to support and exchange ideas and our experience with fellow gardening enthusiasts… My post was adding to, rather than criticising your post Monkeynuz, tho I would respectfully suggest that emerging leaves on photinia are not (yet) waxy, and that in my own garden due to recent warm temperature many of the evergreens are still growing actively with new unfurling leaves, so as I suggest …caution!

macraignil

Had a young hedge of burnet rose and some pot marigold flowers wiped out a couple of years back by the neighboring farmer spraying round-up on their side of the electric fence dividing their field from my back garden. I know he was not trying to spray the plants in my garden but with herbicides the spray can drift a significant distance even if you do try to be careful. The OP mentions their hedge is doing well and my view is that applying any herbicide near the hedge could do more harm than good to the hedge. A little grass growing under the hedge would be much less harmful in my opinion. A herbicide that is selective just to kill grass and not photinia red robin does not exist. Roundup does not just effect leaves but enters through leaves and effects the entire plant. It might not kill the entire hedge but could kill some of the hedge plants and thus damage the overall effect of a healthy looking hedge.


To save on weeding under hedges I use this space in places for dumping grass clippings, thus renewing the mulch.

As the hedge gets bigger it should start to shade off the area near it better and the weeding should become less of a problem.

I'd also when hand weeding make a point to allow ivy, clover and certain wildflowers like primroses and foxgloves to grow near hedges and these help out compete the more problematic weeds.

Ebr sniper

macraignil wrote: »

Had a young hedge of burnet rose and some pot marigold flowers wiped out a couple of years back by the neighboring farmer spraying round-up on their side of the electric fence dividing their field from my back garden. I know he was not trying to spray the plants in my garden but with herbicides the spray can drift a significant distance even if you do try to be careful. The OP mentions their hedge is doing well and my view is that applying any herbicide near the hedge could do more harm than good to the hedge. A little grass growing under the hedge would be much less harmful in my opinion. A herbicide that is selective just to kill grass and not photinia red robin does not exist. Roundup does not just effect leaves but enters through leaves and effects the entire plant. It might not kill the entire hedge but could kill some of the hedge plants and thus damage the overall effect of a healthy looking hedge.


To save on weeding under hedges I use this space in places for dumping grass clippings, thus renewing the mulch.

As the hedge gets bigger it should start to shade off the area near it better and the weeding should become less of a problem.

I'd also when hand weeding make a point to allow ivy, clover and certain wildflowers like primroses and foxgloves to grow near hedges and these help out compete the more problematic weeds.

Would ivy not over grow the smaller red robin and choke them as it’s a much quicker growing plant? I have 2 pups and a child so putting the grass cuttings at the bottom of the hedge is not possible for me as when it goes rotten and starts to smell I don’t want the puppies or children messing with it as it goes rotten in smell

macraignil

Ivy would not over grow a healthy growing hedge and is not as fast growing as photinia red robin. I'm not talking about planting full sized ivy plants under the hedge but when I have seen the odd seedling ivy plant when hand weeding I have left it alone and over a few years it can develop to compete with and provide ground cover against more problematic weeds.

The grass clippings under my hedges in places act as small compost heaps and are not particularly smelly. I have a couple of dogs that have not seen any point in digging it up but I can't comment on what your child might do. If something like this does not suit you, feel free to find your own solutions.

GreeBo

macraignil wrote: »

Ivy would not over grow a healthy growing hedge and is not as fast growing as photinia red robin. I'm not talking about planting full sized ivy plants under the hedge but when I have seen the odd seedling ivy plant when hand weeding I have left it alone and over a few years it can develop to compete with and provide ground cover against more problematic weeds.

The grass clippings under my hedges in places act as small compost heaps and are not particularly smelly. I have a couple of dogs that have not seen any point in digging it up but I can't comment on what your child might do. If something like this does not suit you, feel free to find your own solutions.

I wouldnt let Ivy grow anywhere.
It has invaded a leylandii hedge in my parents house and smothered it in lots of places. Its great to stop the top of the hedge growing, but anywhere it pokes out it kills off the leylandii

macraignil

GreeBo wrote: »

I wouldnt let Ivy grow anywhere.
It has invaded a leylandii hedge in my parents house and smothered it in lots of places. Its great to stop the top of the hedge growing, but anywhere it pokes out it kills off the leylandii

Not found it a problem myself but if it has climbed up something you want to keep clear of ivy you could just cut the ivy stems at their base where they meet the ground and the ivy above should die off. Only really seen it growing on things that are slow growing or dead so very surprised to hear it becoming a problem for Leylandii. My parents have ivy and leylandii growing near each other and there has never been any problem with the ivy growing up the hedge.

Lumen

I had loads of ivy in my Lleylandii. I spent a few weeks cutting out the first six feet or so. Quite satisfying, like picking scabs.

...and in the old cherry trees, and the spruce.

standardg60

Imo I wouldn't let ivy grow anywhere either..I've seen it smother and ruin lots of shrubs and trees over the years. There's pics on another thread of what it can do to a cupressus in that case.

It's perfectly ok to carefully spray weedkiller under a hedge, the slightest spray on each weed is enough to kill them off. Once killed it is a good idea to lay a mulch, bark or such, to help prevent weed seeds blowing in and germinating. Do feed the hedge as well though, as composting material uses up nitrogen.

paulbok

standardg60 wrote: »

Imo I wouldn't let ivy grow anywhere either..I've seen it smother and ruin lots of shrubs and trees over the years. There's pics on another thread of what it can do to a cupressus in that case.

It's perfectly ok to carefully spray weedkiller under a hedge, the slightest spray on each weed is enough to kill them off. Once killed it is a good idea to lay a mulch, bark or such, to help prevent weed seeds blowing in and germinating. Do feed the hedge as well though, as composting material uses up nitrogen.

Sorry for taking this on a bit of a tangent, this may be or interest for anyone who regularly needs to apply weed killer neatly to edges of lawns, such as close to the above hedges.
Apart from protecting the hedges, it would leave a neater line/edge than using a sprayer.
A paint roller that can be filled would do the same job too I suppose.