Herbicide for Lilly of the Valley

[Chester11]

Maybe try an iron-chelate based weed killer? If you use it over the whole lawn, it helps to make the grass healthier and deeper green while nuking many weeds. I use it with 100% success on dandelions, but have no clue how Lily of the Valley reacts. Only issue is that if you use it in select spots, it leaves dark patches of grass.

I do a little bit of lawn restoration for work, and in many cases, when there is a bad weed/plant growing in the lawn, many home owners try to use band-aid fixes, wasting their time. Sometimes it's best to either rip everything out, or cover the lawn for a couple months during the middle of summer with black plastic after watering the soil super heavily. There isn't much of anything, even the seeds, that can live through that or go without sprouting and dying. Then pull the plastic off and do a deep de-thatching, then reseed. Sometimes you can get black plastic used from construction companies or private home owners who are looking to get rid of old stuff. If it blocks light and holds heat, it will nuke your lawn clean.

Thanks. Does something like that exist? I did throw some relatively high iron fertilizer this year. I'm pleased with how most of the lawn looks.

 

[doitmyself]

How thick are the Lilly of the Valley and is there decent grass coverage where they are growing? If they are not too thick, you might try applying glyphosate to individual plants with a wick applicator. Read the label - usually glyphosate is mixed at 33% concentration for wick applicators because you are only getting partial coverage on the leaves. I have done this wearing rubber gloves and using a foam paint brush (no experience with Lily of the Valley).

This is a commercial hand held wick applicator. There are many designs: https://www.amleo.com/sideswipe-her...MI-6eRwsqt8AIVp25vBB3E1ggQEAQYAyABEgL_hPD_BwE

Lily of the Valley is difficult to control because it has rhizome type roots. Some of them can survive initial translocated herbicide application and regrow, requiring you to follow up with multiple applications over the season.

And as stated above, concentrate (41%) glyphosate is glyphosate like aspirin is aspirin. Brand name doesn't matter. Some formulations have surfactants included. It works well with water pH of 6 to 8, but is better as a slightly acid mixture. Very hard water might hinder it's performance a bit. Sometimes people add ammonium sulfate fertilizer as an adjuvant.

 

[Chester11]

How thick are the Lilly of the Valley and is there decent grass coverage where they are growing? If they are not too thick, you might try applying glyphosate to individual plants with a wick applicator. Read the label - usually glyphosate is mixed at 33% concentration for wick applicators because you are only getting partial coverage on the leaves. I have done this wearing rubber gloves and using a foam paint brush (no experience with Lily of the Valley).

This is a commercial hand held wick applicator. There are many designs: https://www.amleo.com/sideswipe-her...MI-6eRwsqt8AIVp25vBB3E1ggQEAQYAyABEgL_hPD_BwE

Lily of the Valley is difficult to control because it has rhizome type roots. Some of them can survive initial translocated herbicide application and regrow, requiring you to follow up with multiple applications over the season.

And as stated above, concentrate (41%) glyphosate is glyphosate like aspirin is aspirin. Brand name doesn't matter. Some formulations have surfactants included. It works well with water pH of 6 to 8, but is better as a slightly acid mixture. Very hard water might hinder it's performance a bit. Sometimes people add ammonium sulfate fertilizer as an adjuvant.

Thanks. I have a couple larger areas (under trees), and grassy areas in between where it is spreading.

The larger areas are pretty easy to spray. I might try to apply a couple areas in grass with a foam brush.

 

[Donald]

How thick are the Lilly of the Valley and is there decent grass coverage where they are growing? If they are not too thick, you might try applying glyphosate to individual plants with a wick applicator. Read the label - usually glyphosate is mixed at 33% concentration for wick applicators because you are only getting partial coverage on the leaves. I have done this wearing rubber gloves and using a foam paint brush (no experience with Lily of the Valley).

This is a commercial hand held wick applicator. There are many designs: https://www.amleo.com/sideswipe-her...MI-6eRwsqt8AIVp25vBB3E1ggQEAQYAyABEgL_hPD_BwE

Lily of the Valley is difficult to control because it has rhizome type roots. Some of them can survive initial translocated herbicide application and regrow, requiring you to follow up with multiple applications over the season.

And as stated above, concentrate (41%) glyphosate is glyphosate like aspirin is aspirin. Brand name doesn't matter. Some formulations have surfactants included. It works well with water pH of 6 to 8, but is better as a slightly acid mixture. Very hard water might hinder it's performance a bit. Sometimes people add ammonium sulfate fertilizer as an adjuvant.

I have some wild pachysandra that has rhizome type roots. I am planning on pulling up some of the roots, cutting them so there is a break in the roots and putting both ends in a jar of glyphosate and let it trans-locate. This is an experiment. Who knows how it will work out.

 

[97prizm]

Strong concentration of vinegar in a spray bottle, if it's too overgrown maybe borax, or muriatic acid.