Protecting Pollinators and Groundcovers Continued

On March 20, I posted pictures of a field with lots of purple deadnettle following applications with suppressive rates of either Roundup, Stinger or Goal. The purpose was to stop the deadnettle from blooming so bees wouldn't be attracted to it, but still maintain a healthy living groundcover. At that time -- only 5 days after application -- only the Goal had had much effect. Today it's been 19 days since the applications made on March 15 and things have changed quite a bit.

The Stinger still isn't working at all. The following photo shows the purple deadnettle still growing well.

The Stinger didn't affect the purple deadnettle which is still blooming.

The Goal has worked too well. There are several areas where the ground has been bared. The clover has been hurt pretty bad in some spots, though I suspect it will regrow. Chickweed is filling in some spots.

White clover hit by suppressive rate of Goal.

The suppressive rate of Goal seemed to have worked a bit too well.

The Roundup now looks the best. The purple deadnettle has been stunted and yellowed, and the flowers have been stopped. 

Close-up of purple deadnettle stunted with a suppressive rate of Roundup with no flowers.

If you need a quick knockdown of weeds, Goal will do the job. But if you have more time, Roundup appears to be the better choice at least in this instance.