So I was mindlessly spraying weeds in the backyard and accidentally sprayed the base of this tree (as the weeds are kind of close to the base). I didn’t spray much just like a light misting over the area since I used the comfort wand it came with. Once I realized what I had done, I immediately got the hose and sprayed down the base of the trunk and the area around the tree. I’ve hosed the area down twice now but anything else I could do to make sure I didn’t just kill this tree…it’s maybe about 3 years old.
by CThompson820
3 Comments
It’s likely fine, and you did the write thing by immediately diluting it, with water. Dilution, is the solution. All that’s left is to wait and see, but a small squirt of a ground sterilizer isn’t going to kill this tree… something else still may, but not this.
I would just run the water over there for a day. like just flush the soil as best as possible. The Ortho ground clear has a chemical that can, and will take down trees if not used correctly.
It’ll be fine if you are following the label. The concentrations they recommend for weedy grass type plants is typically well below what would really start damaging trees. And most herbicides are best absorbed through the foliage or open cuts anyways (like the face of a stump), not so much the bark. The roots may take some up but by watering heavily you have already diluted it and probably washed the worst of it away.
All you can really do either way now, is wait and see what happens. But I think it will be fine. You may see some minor yellowing or stunting of growth but I would be very surprised if it was any worse than that.