Spraying buttercups

[rebmw]

Can anyone please help settle the argument I'm having with my husband!

Every spring he gets obsessed with trying to get rid of the buttercups in our fields. Unfortunately we've had to rely on contractors to come and spray our fields and by the time they arrive the buttercups are already in flower and so it doesn't make a huge difference.
This year he has bought a quad bike sprayer kit but it arrived just as he was going away with work for a week and by the time he got back, yes you guessed it the buttercups were flowering.
As our paddocks turn yellower, he keeps wanting to spray but I don't think there's much point. I'm not convinced just spraying for the hellof it is a good idea as I don't want chemicals being used unless it's going to be effective.

Our field which is meant to be growing hay is severely lacking in grass due to the lack of rain so OH is eyeing that one up too. Is there any point topping the buttercups in my hay field and hoping that perhaps the grass will start growing at some point or should we just ignore the sea of yellow and wait till next spring?

Any advice gratefully received!

 

[Spyda]

I am no expert in land management but for what it's worth I'd suggest grinning and bearing it for this year. Once the buttercups are cut and wilted they aren't a risk to horses so they wont affect hay making if you leave them in your pasture. I know buttercups prefer acidic soil and so laying lime at the right time of year greatly impacts their fucundity and gives your grass a chance to take dominance. I'd look into the right time of year to lay lime in preparation for next year's attack. There are weedkillers that are affective on buttercups but your horses would have to be removed from the treated pasture for a week or so and I don't know if that's a viable option for you? Personally, if my horses weren't experiencing adverse reaction to the buttercups this year, I'd leave off the chemical treatment. I'd possible top the buttercups if they're really bugging your OH but they'll die back soon enough and if you plan ahead you can kick the suckers in the guts for next year. Good luck.

 

[JillA]

I am curious about the advice to spray before they flower - most flower very early before the leaves are growing actively enough to absorb the chemicals. I was wandering round with a knapsack sprayer recently and there are plenty with good leaves and no flowers, but there are several types of buttercup so I imagine some grow leaves well before they flower. I'm no expert, just my observations based on several years of spraying - and I have managed to get rid of a lot by spraying any time as long as the plants are actively growing.
They do have underground rhizomes though so easily re emerge, is this where that belief has come from I wonder.
You could of course top them and spray a few weeks later when they have regrown if you are worried - have a walk around and look for leaf growth?

 

[jrp204]

Before you spend more money on spray get the pH tested, buttercups are often a sign that it is low. If that is the case you could spread lime or sand to bring the PH up then posssibly overseed or reseed.

 

[Sparemare]

Watching this with interest

 

[JillA]

Before you spend more money on spray get the pH tested, buttercups are often a sign that it is low. If that is the case you could spread lime or sand to bring the PH up then posssibly overseed or reseed.

Mine has been tested (borderline) and limed a couple of times in the past 12 years or so - made no difference. Once the rhizomes or root systems are there they are survivors.

 

[lamlyn2012]

Weeds do need to be actively growing for spraying to have an effect. If they are in flower they are no longer growing so you will not get a good result.
You could top, wait for regrowth and then spray when there is sufficient leaf to take up the product.
A new product out is Envy. We used it this year after liming there is now very little sign of any buttercup growth.
It is worth doing a soil analysis and consider liming if you have acidic soil, buttercups like acid soil and liming will help grass grow but discourage buttercups.

 

[JillA]

What's the active ingredient in Envy, and is it restricted?

 

[lamlyn2012]

Hi Jill.
It's fluroxypyr and florasulam.
Got it from Wynnstay and wasn't asked to produce a certificate. It really had done a good job for us.

 

[JillA]

Hi Jill.
It's fluroxypyr and florasulam.
Got it from Wynnstay and wasn't asked to produce a certificate. It really had done a good job for us.

Thanks for that, I'll bear it in mind

 

[Fragglerock]

There is usually another growth in Autumn but I don't thinks it's as effective to spray them then as in Spring. My neighbour did one of her fields about a month ago and the difference between them is incredible.

 

[Patchworkpony]

I have had exactly the same problem so have now done something really radicle - I've killed off half of the paddock completely with the very strong commercial Roundup (had a contractor with a spray licence to do it) and buttercups are now dying. So thankfully is all the rich clover and ryegrass. When it is completely dead I shall mow as close to ground as possible, lime, lightly harrow and then top sow with low growing fescue mix. No way will I plough and disturb the ground and the grass seed merchant advised to put my sheep in the area to tread the seed in. This is the way they did it years ago apparently and if the grass isn't very good or thick for a couple of years this will totally suit the minis I plan to put out there. Next year I shall do the same with the other half. The joy of low growing coarse grass is that it is much more suitable for natives and it doesn't respond to nitrogen in the way that the sheep and cattle fattening grasses do. So much land in the Southwest was originally laid down for livestock farming and when you buy it you have inherited decades of fertilizer in the soil which just goes on feeding the grass for the next ten years.

 

[JillA]

I have a rechargable strimmer and am thinking of strimming off the flowers in a half acre paddock. Horse in there gets sensitive to UV when he is among buttercups

 

[Wheels]

I sprayed one of my paddocks on Tuesday evening, the docks withered within hours but it didn't seem to bother the buttercups at first but this morning they are definitely on the turn and looking very sorry for themselves lol.

I got a weedkiller that said to spray in spring and early summer so not sure if this one application will fully get rid of them but will apply again in 5 weeks as per the instructions if necessary

 

[Sparemare]

Which weed killer did you use please Wheels? I'd like to experiment with a patch this weekend.

 

[ElleSkywalker]

I've just topped 2 acres of buttercups, with a lawn mower. No point me spraying mine as next door don't do theirs but am hoping as some rain is due it will give the grass a chance to over take them.

I'll let you know if it works

 

[Wheels]

Which weed killer did you use please Wheels? I'd like to experiment with a patch this weekend.

I'll get the name of it for you when I'm next at the yard

 

[Sparemare]

Much appreciated thank you

 

[w1bbler]

I have had exactly the same problem so have now done something really radicle - I've killed off half of the paddock completely with the very strong commercial Roundup (had a contractor with a spray licence to do it) and buttercups are now dying. So thankfully is all the rich clover and ryegrass. When it is completely dead I shall mow as close to ground as possible, lime, lightly harrow and then top sow with low growing fescue mix. No way will I plough and disturb the ground and the grass seed merchant advised to put my sheep in the area to tread the seed in. This is the way they did it years ago apparently and if the grass isn't very good or thick for a couple of years this will totally suit the minis I plan to put out there. Next year I shall do the same with the other half. The joy of low growing coarse grass is that it is much more suitable for natives and it doesn't respond to nitrogen in the way that the sheep and cattle fattening grasses do. So much land in the Southwest was originally laid down for livestock farming and when you buy it you have inherited decades of fertilizer in the soil which just goes on feeding the grass for the next ten years.

I know this is an old post, how well does this work, sounds perfect for my set up?

 

[JillA]

That's a bit drastic!! You will lose the use of it for grazing for 18 months as new growth takes that long to establish good roots, before that grazing will pull them out roots and all. Plus buttercups have underground rhizomes so will regrow unless you plough and reseed, and even then they can come back.

I have had good results spraying with a selective herbicide containing mecaprop and dicambar, used to be RelayP but I have bought it under the name Pastoral, has to be somone one licensed these days but it gets rid of buttercups and clover really well (ditto any ragwort). Exclude grazing animals for just two weeks, unless there is dead ragwort which needs to rot away or be collected first. You need to spray for buttercups every three years because of the regrowth from those rhizomes.

 

[Trouper]

Annihilating the top growth will only give the underground rhyzomes a check. For a paddock which is more buttercup than grass it might be worth using a selective agricultural spray initially but the long-term (and easier) solution is to change the ph of the soil by liming - as has already been said.

 

[JillA]

Annihilating the top growth will only give the underground rhyzomes a check. For a paddock which is more buttercup than grass it might be worth using a selective agricultural spray initially but the long-term (and easier) solution is to change the ph of the soil by liming - as has already been said.

Doesn't work - I tried it. Twice.

 

[Lois Lame]

I doubt that liming will help. I grew up in an area where the pH was about 7, and my mother had a patch of buttercups that lived happily. They love moisture.

But they must be able to tolerate dryness too because I wouldn't have described any part of our garden as moist. We lived in a low rainfall area.

 

[chattygoneon3]

This spring I had my fields limed and fertilised. A few weeks later sprayed with Envy. They now have no buttercups and loads of grass. Best they have ever looked.
Also buttercups were in flower at this time.

 

[JillA]

This spring I had my fields limed and fertilised. A few weeks later sprayed with Envy. They now have no buttercups and loads of grass. Best they have ever looked.
Also buttercups were in flower at this time.

What are the active ingredients in Envy?
As regards the lime, I suspect it enables the grass to grow more strongly and outcompete the buttercups. Plus discouraging new colonisation of the land by them, existing ones don't seem to be affected by the Ph. Also the land I sprayed off about 5 years ago has no buttercups now - but it is grazed by sheep and cattle so they might be the answer. And apparently sheep LOVE ragwort rosettes before they get to the tall growth so that land is looking very clean whereas I have pulled over a dozen from the rest of the land, new for this year.

 

[Goldenstar]

You need to spray when they are in the green phase and will absorb most weed killer it’s too late when you se the flowers , I don’t use chemical .
I control my topping I had a serious buttercup problem here .
Liming will help but weather when weather conditions are right buttercups have a field day .
Topping is best done as they flower all their energy has gone into getting up and flowering .
I have not and don’t want to kill mine off completely I just want them not to take over which they where in places .
Buttercups like overgrazing and damaged sward protect and care for grass so the grass can compete with them . Grass likes topping buttercups hate topping .
Coincidentally I was not in to half ten last night topping I have one more paddock to do today it’s that time of year .

 

[chattygoneon3]

Optimum control of buttercups is before flowering. However uniquely, Envy can be used after flowering as well, giving a good level of control



Contains
100 g/L fluroxypyr, 2.5 g/L florasulam

This is taken from Envy application and guidance notes.

Hope this helps.