Re: CULT: Herbicidal Drift

In a message dated 98-06-04 11:08:11 EDT, you write:

<< I have a very pressing problem. Seems my neighbors have poisoned their
entire
 yard with some herbicide and now the irises on that side of the house are
 dying (or just very stressed, can't decide which). I am afraid of losing any
 of those plants because a couple of them are rare in commerce. What do I do
to
 save the plants from dying? >>

Sterling, if it is possible to determine which herbicide it was I would call
the manufacturer and ask if it is possible to neutralize the effect in any
degree.  If you can't figure out what it is I would call the county extension
agent and ask what probable range of chemicals you are dealing with and what
if anything you can do. Make as detailed an examination as possible of the
effects on the vegetation since some things work on a limited range of plants
and that may tell the agent something.  Should it turn out to be Round-up, as
it often is, here is the customer information site for Ortho.
http://www.ortho.com/.

What I personally would do in lieu of any other information is lift one
rhizome of each variety, cut off all foliage, soak it in several waters for
two or three hours, and leave it to dry for a couple of weeks before
replanting. I don't know if any of this will really save it,  but at least you
will feel you have done something. If you don't think you will want to seek
damages, cut off all foliage that was affected. If you think you might sue,
photograph the mess before you do anything to it, photograph it as the effect
progresses, and photograph their yard, too. 

My guess is some of them will make it if they were not drenched in the stuff.
We hear of  people spraying all sorts of ghastly things directly on them and
they manage to come back. 

So very, very, very  sorry you have this nightmare in your garden, Sterling. 

Anner Whitehead,Richmond,Va
Henry Hall   Henryanner@aol.com
Other Mailing lists | Author Index | Date Index | Subject Index | Thread Index