Not all Roundup is created equal. Beware Roundup 365 and read the small print!

I recently looked at this London planetree which was perfectly healthy a year ago.

The tree looks as if it was treated with a heavy dose of tree growth regulator. I was initially perplexed. It turns out a nearby walkway was treated with a product called Roundup 365. The active ingredient in basic Roundup is glyphosate. Glyphosate becomes inert upon contact with soil particles.

Roundup 365 contains glyphosate but it also contains other chemicals which kill through the soil.

The label says, in small print, do not use over the root zone of desireabletrees and shrubs. Those of us with pesticide licenses know that the label is the law. This note is on the label. However, burying this important fact in the fine print then selling the product to the public which is not as well trained in reading the label is causing problems. This is not the first case of Roundup 365 poisoning I have come across. Even though the treated walkway was 15 or 20 feet away from the tree trunk it was well within the root zone of the tree. The prognosis is poor.

I think plain Roundup is a good product but it is unfortunate that the makers of Roundup have decided to cause confusion by producing very different products with a very similar name.