Weed control? I'm being overrun with clover

Share your success stories about defoliation, bare rooting and anything else relating to maintaining healthy bonsai.
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sheepdawg
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Weed control? I'm being overrun with clover

Post by sheepdawg »

Hey all, basically fighting a loosing battle against common container weeds. Never had such a big issue with them before :lost:

Any tips?

Is there a slow release granular weed preventing product?

Thanks
shibui
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Re: Weed control? I'm being overrun with clover

Post by shibui »

First you need to know your weed.
Clover sometimes grows in pots but I think it is far more likely that you have oxalis which does look a bit similar.
Very difficult to get rod of as all root pieces can grow and most species also have small bulbs which also grow. It is also somewhat resistant to herbicides.
I use glyphosate (roundup) to treat oxalis and many other weeds. Keep a mix of 50:50 water: roundup and a brush handy. Whenever you see some leaves come up just wipe the mix onto the leaves. Glyphosate has never harmed any bonsai here when used this way but be careful not to get any on the leaves of the plants you want to keep.
You may be able to get rid of weeds by pulling them out or smothering them but you need to be persistent to get rid of them those ways and most people are not more persistent than the weeds so weeds win.
Aerogard or other personal insect repellents also kill weeds. Just spray onto any leaves you want to kill. Weeds die in just a few hours and it does not seem to hurt the other plants in the pot.

Whatever method you use you will have to be persistent. Your pots now have seeds in them which will continue to germinate a few at a time for 3-6 years. Whenever you let one flower there will be more seeds for another few years.
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Paul W
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Re: Weed control? I'm being overrun with clover

Post by Paul W »

Yep I use Aeroguard or in fact it does not seem to matter on the brand,I am using the Aldi cheapo stuff now,even use in on my orchid pots works a treat,they reckon roundup is giving us all cancer, like every other chemical :lost:
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stillc
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Re: Weed control? I'm being overrun with clover

Post by stillc »

When I had similar issues herbicides really helped me. I used Espoma, which was fine for me, but if you're not crazy about organic stuff, you could find any cheaper stuff.
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