Lawn care that could kill your trees

Eric Frei · 2nd April 2009, 03:19 PM

Source: Lawn care that could kill your trees - 3/30/09 - Houston News - abc13.com

I lifted the video and put it on Youtube, worth watching.

YouTube - lawn care can kill tree

Quote:

The quest for green grass leads alot of people to buy fertilizers and weed control products. But before you go shopping, an important word of warning about what can happen to your trees.

The warning is even written on the bag of weed and feed products, but some people do not read the labels and what those homeowners do not know can kill their trees.

"If you use it consistently enough, in two to three years, you can for all intents and purposes kill a tree because you are burning its roots," said The Gardenline's Randy Lemmon.

Randy Lemmon knows all about the impact of products that feed the lawn and kill the weeds. As the host of the GardenLine radio show, Lemmon says this time of year some callers are asking what's wrong with their trees.

Even the makers of weed control and lawn feeding products know the chemicals can be harmful for trees. The directions on the bag make it clear, "do not apply on or under the branch spread (rootzone) of trees, shrubs, bedding plants, flowers or garden plants."

Lemmon says the reason trees can be hurt is the active ingredient Atrazine.

"While it works at killing weeds, it is what you don't know and don't see that it is damaging, the root systems of trees, the root systems of shrubs nearby," Lemmon warned.

Louis Flory has run a tree service for 30 years. He says every few weeks a homeowner calls with a sick tree.

"I probably see it about once a month during the hotter temperatures," Flory said. "The infant roots pick up the microscopic feeder roots pick up the pre-emergent and it burns the feeder roots and throws the tree into distress."

Flory says homeowners can use the product for years without a problem and then see trees nearly die in a matter of days.

We contacted Scotts, the maker of one of the most popular weed and feed products. The experts there stress homeowners should read the instructions before using the product and add if you use it correctly, weed and feed will give you the results you are looking for. They do not recommend using weed and feed under your trees or shrubs.

What should you do if you have been using these products and are worried about your trees?
- First, stop using the products if the directions say don't put it near trees or shrubs
- Next, water thoroughly
- After the temperature is back above 75 degrees, water three times a week to dilute the chemicals
- And you may want to speak with a certified arborist too

In Australia some natives can also be sensative to elements such as P (phosphorous). Many lawn fertilizers also have large amounts of N (nitrogen), whilst that can be a greening fertilizer it can cause rapid growth in trees at the expense of strength and defense.

philinsydney · 2nd April 2009, 08:39 PM

People are so obsessed with lawns they don't realise trees are a lot nicer.

pcarborist · 3rd April 2009, 11:23 AM

Beside Atrazine, the "weed' in "weed and feed" may contain 2,4-D, Dicamba and Mecoprop (MCPP). Dicamba is especially harmful to dicotyledons like trees because of its persistent nature.

treefeller · 5th April 2009, 07:13 AM

Very intresting. Cheers

2nd April 2009, 08:39 PM	#2
philinsydney Semi-mature vigorous tree Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Sydney Posts: 110	Re: Lawn care that could kill your trees People are so obsessed with lawns they don't realise trees are a lot nicer.

3rd April 2009, 11:23 AM	#3
pcarborist Semi-mature vigorous tree Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: PC Posts: 177	Re: Lawn care that could kill your trees Beside Atrazine, the "weed' in "weed and feed" may contain 2,4-D, Dicamba and Mecoprop (MCPP). Dicamba is especially harmful to dicotyledons like trees because of its persistent nature. __________________ parkcityarborist

5th April 2009, 07:13 AM	#4
treefeller Semi-mature vigorous tree Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: aaa Posts: 224	Re: Lawn care that could kill your trees Very intresting. Cheers

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