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Help! I accidentally poisoned my hydrangeas!

12 years ago

Oh boy, what an idiot I am!

I was spraying Scott's turf builder with weed control on my grass and some got on my small hydrangeas and my calla lilies. I didn't eve worry about it, I just though surely a product like this won't be harmful to ornamental flowers. I know, I know, STUPID!

So I'm sure you know what happened. My hydrangeas and callas are all starting to wilt. They are still green, though, so I am hoping they can be saved. I washed the leaves the best I could, but I don't know how to best counter this poison.

What should I do? Water like crazy? Leave them alone? Spray something else on them? Or are they just goners no matter what I do?

Please help. Thanks in advance!!!!

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Comments (4)

buyorsell888
12 years ago
I can't figure out from their website what weed killer is in it. IF it is 2-4D which is commonly used in "weed and feed" products it will kill any broadleaf plant. It is systemic, gets into the plants system, washing won't help unless done immediately.

It may be too late for these plants.

2-4D also can vaporize and drift harming plants quite a way from the lawn. Especially tomatoes which are highly susceptible to it.
Cyndrix
Original Author
12 years ago
According to a listing I found, the ingredients are:

ScottÃ¯Â¿Â½s Turf Builder Plus 2 Weed Control contains ammoniacal nitrogen (9.0%), urea nitrogen (10.4%), water- soluble nitrogen (7.8%), water insoluble nitrogen (.8%), phosphate (3.0%), soluble potash (3.0%), and sulfur (derived from methyleneurea, ammonium phosphate, ammonium sulfate, and potassium sulfate- 11.0%) in its list of active ingredients.

I'm not sure what 2-4D is.

Can anything be done about the chemicals listed above? I feel like such a fool and want to try to save these plants.
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morz8 - Washington Coast
12 years ago
According to this UCDavis news letter (why is the Scott's website so consumer unfriendly)...

herbicide is 2, 4-D and mecoprop. Sorry, but extensive, immediate rinsing is all you could have done to try to prevent damage from overspray. Now it's wait and see is there is anything left to recover.

Here is a link that might be useful: Scotts Turf Bulder Plus
gardengal48 (PNW Z8/9)
12 years ago
Cyndrix, the ingredients you listed are only the fertilizer/nutrient portion of the Scott's product - the 'feed' part of a weed 'n feed. They are harmless to the hydrangea. The issue is the weed killer/herbicide component, which has the ability to kill any non-grass like plant.

As mor has indicated, rinsing the plant and flushing the soil immediately surrounding it is all you can do other than wait. Sometimes larger woody plants will survive the herbicide as it takes much more product to level them than it does for smaller weeds but you can expect damaged foliage and stunted growth.

If it is any consolation, been there, done that! In my early gardening days (pre, pre-horticultural degree!!) I also used a hose attached weed and feed product without considering drift or spray and in fact deliberately sprayed a paver walkway interplanted with creeping thyme as it was so weedy - the stuff would kill all those weeds, right?? Sure it did.....and all the thyme as well!! A non-selective broadleafed weed killer cannot tell the difference between a weed and a desirable plant.....it's all the same to them.

Just another reason why I so dislike these types of products.

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