SummaryBroadcast sprays of several herbicides were applied at different times of the year at several sites in Hawkes Bay, Canterbury and Otago. For good thistle control, date of application was more important than types of herbicide. In Hawkes Bay, applications made in April, May and June tended to be the most effective. Under slightly cooler Canterbury conditions, April, September and October were the best application dates. In the Otago trials, spring emergence of thistle seedlings meant that the most consistent results came from September or October applications. At all sites, applications made in July or August were relatively ineffective, probably because of low winter temperatures and slow thistle growth rates. MCPA (potassium salt) at 1·0 kg ha−1was the standard herbicide used in all experiments. MCPA at 0·5 kg ha−1, MCPB (sodium salt) at 0·5 and 1·0 kg ha−1and 2,4‐D at 0·5 kg ha−1did not kill as many thistles as MCPA at 1·0 kg ha−1. MCPA at 1·5 kg ha−1and MCPB (butyl) ester + clopyralid at 0·5 + 0·015 or 1·0+0·03 kg ha−1gave consistently better control than MCPA at 1·0 kg ha−12,4‐D at 1·0 or 1·5 kg ha−1, MCPB at 1·5 or 2·0 kg ha−1, and MCPA + MCPB at 0·33 + 1·0 or 0·67 + 0·5 kg ha−1gave results very similar to MCPA at 1 kg ha−1. Thistle control varied between sites and years. Some of the variation may have been due to different proportions of first and second year thistles present at spraying, and to variation in genetically determined herbicide susceptibility. Chemical control of thistles was short