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palmcityfl

Sanseveria turned invasive-how to get rid of them

palmcityfl
10 years ago

Sanseveria was widely planted near the coast in Martin County (Stuart) and has spread to open fields and is considered invasive. Sanseverias are a succulent from Africa, a/k/a mothers-in-law tongue. My property near the St Lucie River is covered with sanseveria under live oaks and sabal palmettos. I've dug them up and cut them to pieces, but runners underground continue to spread them to new open areas. Pulling them up leaves the runners underground. Will concentrated Round Up kill the plant and the runners? I bought Round Up Plus but haven't applied it yet.

Comments (6)

  • wisconsitom
    10 years ago

    Glyphosate, the active ingredient in Roundup herbicide, is generally able to kill any green and growing vegetation upon which it is applied. While I've never used it or its many, many generic equivalents to kill this plant, I can think of no reason why it should not work.

    As with any pesticide, it is essential to read and follow directions.

    +oM

    ps......though not a FL resident, I have to be honest-I kind of get a kick out of seeing Sanseveria naturalized down there. Is it really causing problems, or do you just not like to see it? I'm in the native landscaping business, but I long ago determined that every exotic naturalized species is not a problem, though some sure are!

  • fawnridge (Ricky)
    10 years ago

    Yes, you can control it with RoundUp, but it's going to take years to kill it all. Apply it only to mature leaves. It works best on hot, sunny days with no rain the day before or after application.

  • shuffles_gw
    10 years ago

    That one is easy to control. Just never get an arrowhead vine infestation. Anything less than 35% Roundup won't touch it. I have been battling this one for years. It would help if the neighbors were more co-operative.

  • wisconsitom
    10 years ago

    Unclear why such a wide window of dry weather would be needed? Glyphosate products have been rainfast in under one hour-or really, as soon as they've dried on the foliage-for years and years now. Is snake plant an exception for some reason?

    Also curious about the heavy concentration noted above: Is that too an exception for this plant? Normally, a 35% or higher concentration would only be needed for cut/treat applications in killing woody species. Just wondering.........makes no difference to me what you do or don't do, but that does sound like a waste of chemical to me.

    +oM

  • fawnridge (Ricky)
    10 years ago

    Unclear why such a wide window of dry weather would be needed? Glyphosate products have been rainfast in under one hour-or really, as soon as they've dried on the foliage-for years and years now. Is snake plant an exception for some reason?

    For maximum intake by the plant. Yes, it's usually rainfast in two hours, but remember, this product must be absorbed through the leaves. The less water a plant gets, the more it will suck in through the leaves upon application.

  • wisconsitom
    10 years ago

    I've sprayed glyphosate (Roundup and its many generic equivalents) by the thousands of gallons at this point. In that entire time, I've seen it not work exactly once, when a heavy downpour came up immediately after application. Don't make a bigger deal out of that than reality indicates. Rainfast for this style of herbicide occurs when the material is no longer wet on the target foliage.......period. Older, earlier versions,and I'm talking perhaps 1980s and earlier, there was a need for a larger window. That changed quite a while back though. I don't care at all about being "right" in an online dispute. But in this case, I am! ;^)

    +oM