It looks like they have many different products. So, which of the various Ornamec products are you thinkinhg about using?

I have only seen 2 variations of ornamec, Ornamec and Ornamec 170 which is premixed with a surfactant. (not 100% sure of it's ingredients, but I had read that it's used as a post emergant weed (or possibly just grass) control, used as an over the top (dont know if that's specific lingo or part of the name of the product). but it's supposed to be safe to spray amongst over 500 different plants, flowers etc.

Ornamec is a product made by PBI/Gordon

this is what their website says about Ornamec
Provides outstanding post-emergence control of unwanted grasses in groundcovers, shrubs and trees. And the majority of the nearly 500 species and varieties of plants on the label may be treated with Ornamec applied "over-the-top". Some species or varieties of ornamentals require that Ornamec be applied as a directed spray in order to minimize phytotoxicity.

Ornamec takes out unwanted bermudagrass without injury to desirable tall fescue and zoysia turf.

Where can Ornamec be used? Examples include: Evergreen and wildflower beds to remove unsightly grass. Groundcovers  to maintain immaculate appearance. Nurseries  to remove grass in the field-grown woody ornamentals.

There are over 30 grass species listed on the label. YouÂll find many common types of unwanted annual grasses: crabgrass, barnyardgrass, goosegrass, foxtails, sandbur, panicums. Also, few herbicides are as effective as Ornamec against hard-to-control perennial grasses. Quackgrass, bermudagrass and torpedograss are examples. Another is Johnsongrass which is controlled in both rhizome and seedling stages.

Broadleaf weeds, sedges, rushes, lilies, and other non-grass weeds will not be controlled.

Apply as a postemergent in and around ornamentals to control annual grasses  crabgrass, barnyardgrass, goosegrass, foxtails, sandbur, and panicums.
Also controls perennial grasses such as quackgrass, bermudagrass, torpedograss and Johnsongrass.
For "over-the-top" applications on most ornamentals  shrubs, groundcovers, trees, flowers, and wildflowers listed on the label.
May be used on and around newly-emerging ornamentals, as well as transplants.
The active ingredient of Ornamec® is translocated to the growing points and destroys the shoots, roots, rhizomes, and stolons of the listed grasses.
Fast acting: treated grass ceases growth usually within 48 hours. Death occurs within one to three weeks, depending on grass weed species and environmental conditions.
Rain-fast one hour after application.
Labeled for the removal of bermudagrass from zoysia and tall fescue turf.

This is what the Ornamec 170 page says:

Ornamec 170 Grass Herbicide is a fluazifop-P-butyl formulation designed especially for the maintenance of landscape beds. Of more than 500 species and varieties of shrubs, wildflowers, trees, flowers and groundcovers listed on the label, over 400 may be treated with Ornamec 170 applied as "over-the-top" applications without risk of plant injury. Over 200 additional species are listed in three groups according to the risk of the plant injury, with directed application recommended.

Ornamec 170 emphasizes user convenience by pre-blending the surfactant. The 32 fluid ounce size is just right for mixing in most back-pack sprayers, covering up to 5,000 square feet of ornamental beds, tree wells, fencelines, or other areas where control of unwanted grasses is desired.

Ornamec 170 works best if applied when grasses are young and actively growing. Grass growth stops within 48 hours and death occurs within 1 to 3 weeks.

Ornamec 170 may be used in and around newly-emerging ornamentals and transplants, as well as in established plantings. Broadleaf weeds and sedges are unaffected.

Tremendous labor-saver  eliminates hand-weeding as well as the more tedious application, care and plant injury risks involved when using non-selective herbicides.
Requires no additional surfactant.
Selectively controls emerged annual grasses  panicums, goosegrass, crabgrass, foxtails and sandbur.
Also controls stubborn perennial species like Bermudagrass, quackgrass, torpedograss and Johnsongrass (both seedling and rhizome types).
Rain-fast one hour after application.
Treated grass ceases growth usually within 48 hours and dies within one to three weeks.

Bumping this old posting, wondering if anyone has ever used this product. I happened upon a partial bottle of it at a going out of business sale of a local nursery. I got it and figured I'd try it, but now the label on the small bottle has worn off..UGH, I am not sure if it has the surfacant in it or not. What is a type of surfacant that can be used? If I went looking for this item would it be easy to find? I have no idea what it is. I think the type I got was the regular ornamec and not the 170.

any ideas?

Surfactants are essentially soaps. They break down the surface tension of the water droplets, letting them spread out on the leaves instead of beading up and running off. This allows for better coverage on the weeds and more pesticide uptake for a better kill.

You can use a few drops of dish soap (or laundry detergent if you want to avoid any foaming) to get the same effect. Many garden centers will also have surfactants in their pesticide selections. Use Maybe a half teaspoon in 3 gal. of water. Too much will cut through the waxy coating on the leaves and your good plants will suffer leaf damage/burn. If concerned about the concentration, do a dry run and mix some water and the soap at the rate you expect to use, then spray a few out of the way plants and wait a couple days to see if there is any damage. If not, then you should be able to use it with the chemical without a problem.

I have used Ornamec with promising results. It's designed to kill bermuda without harming other plants and works well in beds and ornamental plantings that don't contain a desirable grass. In fescue lawns, you must use a lower concentration so that you merely stress the fescue without killing it too. When I used it last year, it killed about 70% of the bermuda, and then I had to wait for the right growing window to reapply. I'm hopeful that applying this spring and again in the fall that it'll finally be gone. If it works I'll shout it from the rooftops!!!

If your bermuda infestation is less than half the lawn, then this could be much better than Rounding up the whole patch and starting over.

I am also going to finally try it for the first time. I am not going to use it on my lawn area, just in flower beds and planting areas where it has crept in. ( I hope this is going to work well enough).

I want to use Ornamec in a flower bed in my community's HOA property but a resident whose well is near there objects. Anyone know if well water contamination would be a danger with this stuff? Thanks!

Need help, please: Ornamec - Vs - Ortho Grass-B-Gone: I realize that they are both Fluazifop-p-butyl compounds, I have been using Grass-B-Gon for many years in my dichondra lawn/groundcover to eradicate clover/oxalis with good results. But, this gets expensive and I'm looking for something more economical. I have to assume that I can accomplish the same thing with Ornamec to kill the oxalis in my dichondra. My question is, has anyone had any experience using Ornamec in dichondra? I hate to throw money down a hole. Thank you.

Hi,

I need to eradicate non-native, invasive annual grasses (barnyard grass & crabgrass, in particular). The grasses are among a plot of wildflowers and native perennial grasses -- these are much shorter than the already well-grown annual grasses I wish to get rid of. Unfortunately, the area is too large for hand-weeding.

My options:

*As carefully as practical, brush/mat Roundup (glyco-phospate) onto the upper portion of all the annual grasses and broad-leaf weeds I can, without going too low to the ground, which is where the native stuff I seeded in the spring is growing.

*Use a product such as Envoy or Agrisel's Grass Out Max which contains Clethodim. This will kill all the grasses I don't want, and a bit of the native grasses I wanted (which I can replace in the fall). This would mean that I still have to hand-weed the broad-leaf weeds, which are way easier to remove in most cases than the grasses.

I will be spraying plants that are near enough to perennial edibles (strawberries, etc.) and where I have garden pond that I intend to stock amphibians into, in the future. I don't need to eat any of the edibles this year; I can hold off until next year, if that's a concern to consider.

I'd rather go with the Round-up (glyco-phosphate) strategy if this is much more environmentally safe. As far as I know, Round-up will cease to be toxic to the environment in a relatively short time following application. It seems to me that frogs will not be damaged by it, being introduced one year following application. As for Envoy or Grass Out Max which contain Celthodim, this could be a problem -- could it be?

I'd rather do more work than cause lasting ecological damage to my yard; it's a native plant/wildlife reconstruction feature -- 1/4 acre.

Thanks,

Steve

Both are, from what I read, about the same. If you can believe the manufacturers, and given the record of many of these manufacturers they do not have very good veracity, both are rather innocuous. However, there is evidence from the EPA that the glyphosate products are more persistent in the environment then the makers tell us and where glyphosate products are used genetic modification of lower life forms has been observed, ie. 3 and 5 legged frogs and toads.
Is it really necessary to spray poisons on annual "weedy" grasses or are there other, less harmful methods to control them?

Both are, from what I read, about the same. If you can believe the manufacturers, and given the record of many of these manufacturers they do not have very good veracity, both are rather innocuous. However, there is evidence from the EPA that the glyphosate products are more persistent in the environment then the makers tell us and where glyphosate products are used genetic modification of lower life forms has been observed, ie. 3 and 5 legged frogs and toads.
Is it really necessary to spray poisons on annual "weedy" grasses or are there other, less harmful methods to control them?