I have been battling Canadian thistle in my front lawn for three seasons. I tried manually removing them first with no luck. It seemed to make the situation worse. I have also tried Roud Up and Killex. This spring I removed what was left of the grass with a verti-cutter, sprayed Round Up and let it rest for two weeks before laying new sod. Much to my dismay the thistles are returning. They are growing up through the new sod and I am spot treating as they spring up. The plants I spray are dying after application however new ones seem to spring up overnight. I am at my wits end. Any suggestions? Please don't tell me I have to excavate!
Lontrel containing Chlopyralid is the only selective product I have found that specifically lists thistle as "controlled". Most of the others will hurt it but not kill it. Lontrel is also very expensive and I'm not sure it is available to other that farm or licensed applicators. You may wish to check out a commercial applicator in your area. I decided not to use it, rather going with longer term suppression by persistent physical removal. The key is never let it seed. Ralph
Thanks for the tip Ralph. I will try to source the product you suggest and continue spot treating for now. If the plants are not allowed to seed this season is it possible to hope they will not be back next year? Regards, plantluver
