Weedkiller- buttercups- please help

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magichorse

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Hi,

Last week my Dad sprayed half our field with Grazon weedkiller (horse is in the other half at the moment). The nettles and docks are curling up nicely, but I am concerned about the buttercups. Some of them have started to wilt, but the field was sprayed 9 days ago and they don't look like curling up and dying completely. My question is, if the buttercups are still present but wilted/ showing signd of dying, is my horse more likely to eat them? And if he does will they be harmful? He doesn't touch them when they are alive.

Any thoughts/ advice very welcome. Thank you1
 
Yep, your ph levels are a bit out of kilter.
Buttercups like acidic soil, so you need to spread lime. You can find companies that will test the soil and lay the correct amount for you.
 
Yes I'm trying the liming route - done three weeks ago and no rain to wash it in. I've used Grazon also and have found the buttercups often appear to be dying but seem to just hang on and then start to grow again. I'd be interested to know if yours actually die or if anyone can recommend anything else that works.
As far as the horses eating wilted buttercups I don't think they would willingly and if you are lucky enough to actually kill the buttercups, as far as I know they do not remain dangerous in the way ragwort does.
 
horserugsnot4u said:
Yes I'm trying the liming route - done three weeks ago and no rain to wash it in. I've used Grazon also and have found the buttercups often appear to be dying but seem to just hang on and then start to grow again. I'd be interested to know if yours actually die or if anyone can recommend anything else that works.
As far as the horses eating wilted buttercups I don't think they would willingly and if you are lucky enough to actually kill the buttercups, as far as I know they do not remain dangerous in the way ragwort does.
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Thats interesting- I'd be interested to see how it goes for you too. Maybe Grazon isn't great for buttercups- it seems to have worked well on the nettles etc. I'm reassured to hear that you don't think theres too much of a problem with the wilted buttercups- thank you for your reply!
 
I sprayed a field with headland polo for ragwort which was alsinfested with buttercups and some nettles and docks. Nettles dead within 24 hours and docks and buttercups within a week. They were so dead so fast they actually completely disappeared within a few weeks!! The ragwort eventually gave up aswell thankfully!!
 
cm2581 said:
I sprayed a field with headland polo for ragwort which was alsinfested with buttercups and some nettles and docks. Nettles dead within 24 hours and docks and buttercups within a week. They were so dead so fast they actually completely disappeared within a few weeks!! The ragwort eventually gave up aswell thankfully!!
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Sounds like better stuff than the Grazon! Did you have any problems with horses eating the wilted/ dead buttercups?
 
Not all weedkillers will kill all weeds. Quite often what happens is that the spray will act in a topical fashion - ie kill the foliage/leaves, but is not systemic, so won't kill the plant.
Mirkan 52 & Depitox do buttercups, but can only be used once in any growing season. We did ours Autumn & Spring & that zapped them quite well. Buttercups flourish in acidic soils, so lime will bring the PH levels up. Calcified seaweed will also raise the PH levels by at least a point, whilst acting as a slow release fertilizer too.
Very interested to read about about Headland Polo. Haven't used that one, but will be looking in to it for next year. Just done docks & nettles with Pastor which is very good for those weeds as well as thistles.
 
Ah- right. I think I'll have to look into using something else as no more signs of them giving up today. Thank you for your reply :)
 
cm2581 said:
I sprayed a field with headland polo for ragwort which was alsinfested with buttercups and some nettles and docks. Nettles dead within 24 hours and docks and buttercups within a week. They were so dead so fast they actually completely disappeared within a few weeks!! The ragwort eventually gave up aswell thankfully!!
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Another vote for Headland Polo being better than Grazon ( and cheaper ;) ) we leave them off for a fortnight and ideally after rain.
 
I had the same problem with Grazon 90, it killed the nettles, docks and thistles very quickly. It slowed the buttercup growth down, made them look 'ill' and curly to look at but didn't kill them.
I left the horses off for 2-3 weeks, but I went over the paddock with my ride on mower and removed the majority of the buttercups. Paddock looks fine now. Will lime this autumn and see if it makes a difference next year.
 
I was looking for ages for the perfect weed killer, that would successfully kill ragwort (loads of it!) buttercups and docks, and that was economical. I read a lot of good things about Headland Polo and considering it comes in 10 litres containers and its only something like 125ml to 1l dilution I think it's cheap! Can't wait to get out and use it.
 
bryngelenponies said:
I was looking for ages for the perfect weed killer, that would successfully kill ragwort (loads of it!) buttercups and docks, and that was economical. I read a lot of good things about Headland Polo and considering it comes in 10 litres containers and its only something like 125ml to 1l dilution I think it's cheap! Can't wait to get out and use it.
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I would be interested to know how you get on. I am thinking of ordering Headland Polo or Depitox. Not sure which one to go for yet :confused:
Grazon 90 is great for docks, thistles and nettles but works out very expensive for the small variety of weeds it actually kills.
 
Echo the posts about the connection between buttercups and lime :)

I dont poison my nettles, i strim them at the base, leave them dry out and the ponies eat them :)
 
I'm sorry but the lime thing is a bit of a urban myth that proliferates from equestrian forums!

Buttercups can do very well on high pH soils, in fact we have a nice infestation on our lime cotswold brash

Why? Horses open up the grass sward and allow the buttercups to outcompete it. This does not happen with sheep or cows.

How to prevent - well if a high pH soil, don't graze horses and job done. Not very practical though!

Chemical wise- Headland polo should do buttercups in one application whereas other require multiple doses.
 
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We used Relay-P this year - docks dead by the end of the day - but the buttercups are hanging on in there but some are lookingbrown round the edges.

We don't spray the nettles - I scythe them and lay them to wilt - then the horses eat them - they're very good forrage.
 
sunshine19 said:
I would be interested to know how you get on. I am thinking of ordering Headland Polo or Depitox. Not sure which one to go for yet :confused:
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I was going to buy Depitox but then read that in order to reliably kill ragwort it had to be used in conjunction with another herbicide- the cost of the two together along with the fact that I couldn't be bothered to use 2 things when one could do the job- led to me tobuy Headland Polo. I'll let you know how I get on- just waiting for a bit of rain to hit the ground first so I can begin using it!
 
I've bought Headland Polo for our fields too and I'm waiting to use it. I'd agree with the myth about lack of lime for buttercups as our fields were tested last year and the PH was ok. The only field that was acidic (needs lime) was the winter grazing field and that didn't have anywhere near the same amount of buttercups. An elderly farmer has told me that it's more the damp conditions that help the buttercups to flourish?. I actually wonder if it's more to do with our strip grazing methods and eating the grass down to nothing which allows the competing weeds to gain headway. I'm not sure how you get around that other than to top the grass and allow free grazing - I'll be experimenting this year. Either way, all my fields were an embarrassment last year - bright yellow - looked like I had a crop of oil seed rape from a distance. I'm on a mission for nice clean, green paddocks this spring! :)
 
Another vote for Headland Polo, completely obliterated the docks, nettles and buttercups in our fields within a few days, much cheaper and comes in a more convenient size too! It also takes care of ragwort and thistles.

*Edited to say*
I used the top end suggestion of chemical to water just to be sure, as the stuff I used last year (can't remember the name!) hardly touched the weeds.

Rate: 2.5-3.5 lt/ha - Area Covered: 8-10 acres/pack
Suggested knapsack rate: 125ml -175ml Polo in 10lt water covers 500m2
 
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coco331 said:
Rate: 2.5-3.5 lt/ha - Area Covered: 8-10 acres/pack
Suggested knapsack rate: 125ml -175ml Polo in 10lt water covers 500m2
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I'll be using Headland Polo shortly- as soon as the rain and the wind stop! So I'm glad that it's been good. Just to confirm that you used 175ml of herbicide in 10lt of water? For some reason I thought it was 125-175ml per 1lt? Thanks!
 
Definitely says 125ml -175ml Polo in 10lt water - I think you would scorch the grass if it was any stronger.
Not too sure about brambles, they aren't mentioned in the list of weeds it controls/kills but they are suceptible to herbecides so possibly? worth a try, even if it only checks them then you can hack them off at the base and dig up the roots!
 
I need something to kill brambles. I had the hedges cut right back this time & have successfully killed most weeds but the brambles are winning the battle. Anyone know of something that works? Am going to try Headland Polo in my pony paddock which has a great crop of buttercups!
 
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