I noticed a few days ago that I have young willow trees coming up. The seed probably blew in from my neighbor's pond a couple of hundred yards away. I DO NOT want willow around my pond. I have begun pulling but don't know if they will get ahead of me. Any chemical suggestions to kill these water sucking pests?

Bill

Bill,

Well, Kelly Duffie is really the resident aquatic chemical guy. I suspect he would tell you to use a glyphosate compound (similar to Roundup)labled for use around aquatic systems.

Bill, I have been fighting them for years. I used REMEDY for awhile but found that it is too much trouble and cost. I don't want to carry the herbicide everytime I go to the pond. It costs $100 per gallon and once mixed, starts to lose its toxicity. I just keep pulling them up. I have noticed that their root system always angles down to the water. One pond professional told me that a big scenic willow is like having a 2 inch pump running full time. I let them get going on a back pond. They were beautiful. Then the drought hit and I lost 12 to 14 year old catfish. I have noticed while driving around back roads that most dry ponds have infestations of willows, cottonwoods or salt cedars around the banks. Hey, has it rained in North Zulch yet?

Dave, I've been pulling them so far, just hope I can keep up with them. Haven't seen anything from Kelly in a couple of weeks, sure he is busy right now.

We had rain a few days right before the 4th totalled about 2" over several days and the first of last week we had about 2 1/2" in two days with 2" of it in 5 hours one morning. Did the pond alot of good. Should be ok thru the rest of summer now.

Bill

Bill - Fishman was on target; one of the aquatic glyphosate formulations (ie. Rodeo, Aquamaster, AquaPro, AquaNeat, etc. etc.) will do the trick with a mid to late summer treatment. 2,4-D also works well on willows with early & mid-season treatments, but requires a license in TX and has greater risks of damage to non-targeted trees and adjacent crops - if any.
Also, a new aquatic label is expected in the near future (@2nd qtr, 2003?) for an awesome compound to control willows, cattails, certain lily spp, hyacinth and several other plants that may present a problem in aquatic sites. No product names mentioned yet - to protect the rambunctious from themself. Will post more details when full registration is granted by EPA.

I plant Weeping Willows around my pond but I kill the wild type bush tree type. I have found that the cheap (Amine 4-2-4-D) which is approved for aquatic weeds and only sells for $ 13 a gal and makes about 100 gals for my needs, is an instant killer of willows. When they come up I spray them and they are dead. Even big ones.

John

I realize this thread is now 11+ years old but was curious if any of you have used SHORE-KLEAR to control willow growth? I bought REMEDY as Dave mentioned above but after reading the pre cautions I decided against it and returned it (still 89$ a gallon @ TRS) found the SHORE-KLEAR that is intented for aquatic use.
Thanks
Rocky

I was wondering the same thing Rocky. I was recently at the TSC store and was going to pick up a container, but then it said somewhere on it that it shouldn't contact the surface water???? Yet it's for aquatic use?

Only thing I see on the label is it will not treat non emerging plants below the water surface. Also states if your pond or lake is potable (drinking) then the intake should be closed for a period of 48 hours after treatment.

2tt

..Bump.....

Guess know one else has willow issues? Looks like I will be the GP.
I'll report back in a few weeks on how well the product works or dont work.

I just mowed around the pond (it's dropped 12" since the Seminar even with the well going into the pond) and noticed a LOT of willows. I'll be hitting them too, before they get too well established.

Jury is still out but I have observed yellowing at the 7 day mark we will see.

You'll go broke buying chemicals. Cut them off. If they come up again, cut them off again. I have had good luck with just a Stihl, a bushhog, and, um, uh, no rain.

I hear you that's my normal method problem is my entire pond bottom is now growing willows we are dried up. Be hard to mow when them when it fills back up.

Cut 'em off, paint cut stump with Tordon RTU and you won't ever have to cut them again. $20 of Tordon RTU will go a long ways, and I suspect it's cheaper than buying gas for the saw if you have to continually keep cutting them.

This photo depicts a dried-up private lake bed south of Houston which was becoming overrun with willow saplings. We used imazapyr @ 2 qts/acre ("broadcasted" with a Radiarc off of the back of a truck) to take them out. Worked like a charm - with only one treatment.


Missed a strip.....


Sedges controlled too...


Yes, it was very dry!!!

Thanks^^^^^ that is exactly what I'm dealing with small sablings.

Sorry Esshup but to darn many to use your method lol

I actually did not treat the sablings yet because I made the mistake of mowing them prior to buying the chemical. It states on the product not to treat after you have done that cause you will be waisting your time. The willows I have treated a little larger appear to be dying now day 10.

If it continues not to rain I plan to dig the area of the sablings out deeper to help prevent this in the future.

The product worked for me all are dead or dying that I treated. I used a hand pump sprayer with a ratio of 3 ounces per gallon and 1 once of dawn liquid soap.

Thanks for the update....

Stupid newbie question of the day (perhaps 2013)...

Why is willow so bad? I have some boggy area that is about 50m slightly uphill of my lake, and I was thinking of planting a willow tree...

Would appreciate if anyone could go into detail why this is a good / bad idea?

Many thanks

Regular willows spread like weeds in the Midwestern USA. If you would like a willow, you might consider corkscrew willow or weeping willow. Just don't plant them near drain lines or on the dam.

I agree on the spreading like a weed part. My pond dropped 28" since high water mark in July, and I'm seeing 100's of willows in the pond now. Time to break out the chemicals! There's a few cattails showing up too, so I can get 'em both in one shot.

Thanks for your feedback. Sorry, I should have been more explicit; we were actually going to plant a weeping willow tree in that boggy patch area...I'm assuming / hoping that there are no issues with weeping willow trees?

Many thanks

As long as it's not on the dam. The other thing about willows is that some folks don't want it sucking up the water from the pond, especially if water is scarce.

Weeping willow trees are a great way to dry up a wet spot. If you have drainage tiles nearby, the roots will find them and clog them.