Paulina from St. Petersburg, Fl writes
I also live near the ocean so am a little weary to use this. Would glyphosate like Rodeo be a better option possibly? I believe I could only use it for stump treatment. Lastly, how long after treatment of the tree and/or stump (I have thicker and thinner trees) could I plant vegetables in the area- I want to cut these invasives down and put raised garden beds down in that area. Thank you!
Control of Brazilian Pepper Tree can be tricky, and which herbicide is best will depend on the time of year and method that you are using. Something like Rodeo Herbicide (glyphosate) will likely only work on seedlings, and may take several weeks to kill the young plants. Crossbow Specialty Herbicide can be used for basal bark treatments in general, however the product label does not specifically list Brazilian pepper tree as a plant that it controls. This article from your Florida State Extension offers the most detailed recommendations for treating this invasive plant. They recommend using Triclopyr Ester for basal bark treatments, which we carry in Hi-Yield Turflon Ester Ultra or Garlon 4 Herbicide. Usually direct stump treatments offer the fastest control, however this is best done when the trees are not fruiting since seeds may be scattered and start new plants. Triclopyr should not be applied directly to water or in ways where the product would drift into bodies of water. Since these are post-emergent herbicides only, you could generally safely plant vegetables if you were only treating stumps or doing direct tree treatment two weeks after use. Most folks, however, will want to wait until the target plants have died and been removed.
Answer last updated on: 03/08/2016
