It sounds like you all have it figured out and all the advice is excellent as far as I can tell. I just couldn't help but agree that it absolutely looks like clopyralid or amiopyralid damage. I had a bad bout with it 3-4 years ago when all my homemade potting soil got contaminated by well composted alpaca manure. It took over a month to figure it out and I lost a bundle of valuable crops in the process. Clopyralid based herbicides have been banned in Oregon except for use on golf courses but then Dow chemical just comes out with Milestone which is amiopyralid instead. It's the same exact problem just with another chemical. To the OP, i'm afraid there really isn't anything you can do for the plants. If the cause is the manure, at least you're not contaminated forever. In the soil the chemicals do break down in a few months. But if left above ground the herbicide can last for years and damage sensitive plants (mostly tomato, potato, legumes) at tiny amounts (parts per million). Oh, I looked into a soil test for herbicide and it was extremely expensive. It's not an average soil test. Seeding some beans or peas is an excellent idea to determine if there's residue. -Mark This post was edited by madroneb on Tue, Jun 25, 13 at 23:20

Let me provide some additional comments. I put Sedghammer on it last night to see what happens. I will take photos of the stuff this weekend.

*L* Sharon, if you can FIND the lawn amongst the dandelions, volunteer seedlings (I have a lot of fruit trees) and general chaos....you're a better man than I! ;0) You know, I have a neighbor across the street (we both have huge corner lots), and he mows the lawn every Saturday, 10 a.m., Moving from NW to SE in perfect rows. It looks like a carpet, not a lawn. I don't have anything agains lawns in general (unless you waste a lot of water on them), but really...we're firmly into the land of OCD, I think. Cheryl, I don't mind the plant (yet), but how the heck did it GET there? I don't think they're wild here in central Alberta (zone 3a), but maybe a passing bird makes a liar out of me? Hmmmm.... Still a pretty giant puff, though. And still marvellously whole through the use of that common bio-hazard, won't-move-in-a-wind-tunnel chemical: hairspray.

Hi, I live in Southern California, and have planted a row of about 30 ficus nitida plants (15 gallon) earlier in the summer. They grow like weeds out here, and were doing great for a while. Just recently, I noticed that about 6 of them, roughly grouped together, developed very dark brown leaves and dropped them, all within a few days. Notice I didn't say they turned yellow, dried out, and dropped them. They turned dark brown (while still maintaining the feel/wetness of a normal leaf) and then dropped off, very quickly. A couple of the trees are totally bald now. It's a mystery to me. Some specifics, and variables: 1. It was VERY hot at that time, for the week, over 100 degrees every day...which is unseasonable, and strange weather for us. But again not every tree effected, so not sure if there is a link. 2. I water on a timer for 7 minutes, 3 times a week. 3. I had fertilized all of the trees about 5 weeks earlier, with lawn fertilizer (high nitrogen). No trees saw any adverse effects in the following days/weeks. If anyone has any follow-up questions or answers, please let me know! Best, Tony George