Digging up this old thread as still struggling with Flaggers here.
What is the best spray nowadays for them - it is still D50 or MCPA or will the likes of the newer sprays like Forefront T kill them ?
Has anyone on here managed to successfully kill them and they haven't come back ?
Thanks.
I don't know what a flagger is…….
This is them the feckers
Would they be considered dangerous? I have a few of them myself, never really spread from the one are though
Flag Iris. A sure sign of wet ground. They're recognised as an important part of our native biodiversity and great for pollenators.
Don't think their dangerous but a pain in the h#*e as definitely spreading in my field and yes it would be a wet enough field.
Has anyone successfully got rid of them with a spray as too many of them to dig out ?
https://teagasc.ie/environment/biodiversity--countryside/growing-wild/yellow-flag-iris-php/#:~:text=Look%20out%20for%20yellow%20flag,three%20narrow%20smaller%20upward%2Dpointing%20petals.
It is one of the positive flowers in ACRES, increasing scores and payments.
True but certain rushes and rag worts are positive flowers aswell!
Lick them with glyphosate and a organosilicone penetrant
Their different names;
Always wondered where the name 'Feileastram' came from.
Irish Wildflowers - Yellow Flag Iris, Iris pseudacorus, Feileastram
You need to change the soil conditions that they grow in.
Drainage, lime, P & K. Spraying is only a very short term solution.
Correct on this.
We had them in a field by a river my father bought in the 90's.
They were 5 ft high.
We cut them, rolled the regrowth then sprayed as they have a waxy type skin on them.
Pulled a few drains out to the river, tight grazing & topping the following year with 18:6:12 not spared.
Turned into a good silage fields 2 years after that
Just thinking would Round-Up in a weedlicker be a good option for these 'Flaggers' ?
Has anyone tried it and had success ?
You'd need this with it
Hello Sami23… i feel your pain. I have a 5AC field full of them. There are a lot of theories on how to kill them, but they are very very tough. One man tole me all i have to do is spray with D50 & a sticker… he said it worked great to erradicate his. When i tried this, they did wilt away after a couple of weeks but were back the following year just as bad. Licking with roundup just stunts them but does not kill them. These creatures are like the teminator. Refuse to die. Just look at their roots? Its like a carrot. Have you tried anything yet? Surly in 2026 there must be some way of handling these feckers?
I tried D50 on them a few years ago and even rolled them prior to spraying. Most of them died away but came back again the following year.
I sprayed them last Friday with MCPA as was spraying a few bad patches in the field for thistles so said would try them to see if its any good for them. Used Presto in the mix also.
I've heard other saying to keep topping them to weaken them but I've that field in ACRES so can't top till July 1st unfortunately.
Yes it would be interesting to top them very regular for a year and starve them of nutrients. (I understand you cannot do this) Ive also heard that MCPA works well on them… so id be very interested to hear how you get on after that spray you did last Friday
I'll report back on how it worked but I didn't roll them this time as just didn't have time unfortunately.
I was thinking yesterday about buying a 'weed licker' if I knew it would kill them for sure with round up.
Did you add any sticking agent to the MCPA? Even washing up liquid is used just to hold it on to penetrate
I was spraying briars last month with Grazon90 in a knapsack… i had a little left over and tried it on a bunch of Flaggers
They have since withered away.. will keep an eye on them to see if they return! Looking forward to hearing how you get on with the MCPA
Yes I used Presto as sticking agent
Did you have any success after spraying the flaggers with MCPA?
Well it definitely rattled them but not sure yet if it will actually kill them.
They don't look very healthy or as green as they usually are so we'll see in another few weeks.
I'll take a picture amd post it when I'm in the field again.
Good to hear they are looking poorly… but they normally bounce back the following year. Yes please do post a picture and lets see if they die off for you. Even a 50% reduction would be fantastic
This is what they are like now. There is worse spots than this in the field and will take more photos when I get a chance.
