What will kill reeds

Can you recommend something to use on the roots to kill the plant? Thanks so much! This looks like giant reed grass Arundo donax. Cut the planting down to the ground. It is late in the season, so it may or may not resprout. If it does, spray the new growth with glyphosate Killzall, Roundup mixed at the strongest label rate when it is 8 to 12 inches tall. It will die back if it does not resprout, it will next spring and you should do this then.

Glyphosate is a systemic herbicide that is absorbed by the leaves and is moved down to the roots internally. So, it kills above and below ground parts. While some subspecies of the plant may actually be native to our continent, it is non-native varieties that run rampant across North American wetlands today, presenting a formidable threat to biodiversity, crowding out other plants that wildlife depend upon for food and shelter. Phragmites are also allelopathic, he says, meaning that they secrete a compound which interferes with the growth of many other plants.

Phragmites are also the bane of many a waterfront homeowner whose views are blocked by fast spreading, tough-to-eradicate reed communities growing between 12 and 15 feet high.

Plant biologists believe that non-native phragmites have gotten out of control in the U. Yet another option is to graze it out. Whatever method you choose, hunker down for the long haul and keep up the good fight. You are doing the right thing.

Send questions to: earthtalk emagazine. Subscribe : www. I understand they are a non-native plant that, if left unchecked, will overrun the whole ecosystem. How does one remedy this situation in an eco-friendly way? Fast-growing, fast-spreading phragmites Phragmites australis , which most of us know as common reeds, can present a major problem in freshwater and tidal wetland habitats.

This is especially so in eastern U. While some sub-species of the plant may actually be native to our continent, it is non-native varieties that run rampant across North American wetlands today, presenting a formidable threat to biodiversity, crowding out other plants that wildlife depend upon for food and shelter. Phragmites are also allelopathic, he says, meaning that they secrete a compound which interferes with the growth of many other plants. Phragmites are also the bane of many a waterfront homeowner whose views are blocked by fast spreading, tough-to-eradicate reed communities growing between 12 and 15 feet high.

Plant biologists believe that non-native phragmites have gotten out of control in the U. Yet another option is to graze it out.