potted bay tree poisioned?

Discussion in 'Trees' started by *dim*, Aug 27, 2011.

  1. *dim*

    *dim* Head Gardener

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    went to one of my client's homes yesterday ... I recently planted 4 bay trees in large pots ... 2 are pyrymid shaped and 2 are lollipop shaped

    the lady owner never ever does any gardening, not even watering

    anyway, during the week, she decided to water the baytrees .... there are 2 watering buckets .... one red one for when I use glyphosate on the paving, and a green one for watering the pot plants

    she used the red one, and one of the bay trees looks like it's been poisioned .... all the others look fine and the one that I think was poisioned was the 1st one that she watered

    I have added 3 watering cans of fresh water to try and flush out the glyphosate (the red bucket was empty when she used it, so I am assuming that there was still a tiny bit of glyphosate residue left in the bucket when she watered)

    I am guessing this is the problem, or could it be something else? a week ago it was perfectly healthy ... is there something I can do to save this?

    the last pic shows what the healthy one looks like
     

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  2. alex-adam

    alex-adam Super Gardener

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    Glyphosate is a systemic herbicide absorbed by the leaves of plants and is neutralised on contact with soil. Could your client have possibly watered with something else? perhaps a household chemical or similar by mistake.
     
  3. Spruce

    Spruce Glad to be back .....

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    Hi Dim

    The bay tree in the photo is very close to the barbeque, could it of been that ??? all the heat ??

    Spruce
     
  4. pete

    pete Growing a bit of this and a bit of that....

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    Gonging along the lines of what a-a said I agree, I dont think glyphosate works by watering the roots.

    If only recently planted I'm wondering how large the original pots were, and if maybe the rootball dried right out before any new roots were formed in the new compost.
     
  5. merleworld

    merleworld Total Gardener

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    There appear to be some weeds in the pot - if it was glyphosate would it not have killed those as well? :scratch:
     
  6. Spruce

    Spruce Glad to be back .....

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    Well spoted:dbgrtmb:

    Spruce
     
  7. *dim*

    *dim* Head Gardener

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    thought the same, however from my experience, it takes more than a week for glyphosate to kill weeds? .... I have recently used the glyphosate and a week later the weeds still look lush and green
     
  8. *dim*

    *dim* Head Gardener

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    Hmmmm .... never thought of that .... the BBQ has been there for a while and will ask them if they used the BBQ this week
     
  9. daitheplant

    daitheplant Total Gardener

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    Glyphosate would kill the weeds in the pot first anyway. So it`s not that. The lesson to be learnt here though, is to ALWAYS thoroughly wash out the equipment after use.:dbgrtmb:
     
  10. *dim*

    *dim* Head Gardener

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    thanks .... received a txt from the lady .... they have not fired the BBQ since last summer

    sadly, as I mentioned, there are 2 watering buckets .... the red one is for weedkiller .... she never knew

    I feel so cr*p now ... will replace the bay leaf with a new one and will empty the planting pot, wash it out and add new compost etc all at my own expense
    :(
     
  11. daitheplant

    daitheplant Total Gardener

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    WOW up Dim. You are not at fault for the Bay. The only way you could have killed it is if the " bucket ", why aren`t you using a proper watering can or sprayer, was full of weedkiller. The weeds in the pot would die first. Leave the Bay alone, it may only be the result of drying out.:dbgrtmb:
     
  12. *dim*

    *dim* Head Gardener

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    daitheplant ... not as simple as that .... the lady I work for (3 yrs) has never done any gardening .... this was a garden from scratch, all to my own recomendations

    I never told here there were 2 watering cans .... a red for weedkiller, and a green for water

    she never knew, and was never told .... she decided to water the potplants and chose the red bucket .... perhaps I should have mentioned it , even if she never took an interest to gardening

    lesson learned ... will mark the buckets in future with a marking pen ... will not cost me much to replace, as the pot was the most expensive item ... big pot though ... takes 3 big bags of compost and I will use new
     
  13. daitheplant

    daitheplant Total Gardener

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    Dim, they are already marked, the standard is RED for weedkiller. It is NOT your fault, but get some training for goodness sake.:thumbsup:
     
  14. *dim*

    *dim* Head Gardener

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    thanks .... that's why I post on this forum .... I learn from everyone here
     
  15. daitheplant

    daitheplant Total Gardener

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    May I ask, whereabouts do you live?:dbgrtmb:
     
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