PLEASE HELP Accidental Weed & Feed question

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Jb73bamboo
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PLEASE HELP Accidental Weed & Feed question

Post by Jb73bamboo »

Brand new to the site.
Need some REALLY FAST ADVICE. I accidentally spread Sunniland Bahia Weed & Feed granular fertilizer yesterday evening along my brand new clumping bamboo plants that I planted 1 week ago. The 50 plants are approximately 6ft tall.
It appears that the active weed killer in the Sunniland brand weed & feed is TREMIC. A quick web search of tremic doesn't appear that it has negative effects on grasses but I'm no chemist and not sure about bamboo grasses.
Any advice? The granular fertilizer hasn't been watered in yet. If it will affect the new bamboo, what emergency actions should I take to prevent or reduce effects? Should I use leaf blower around plants to blow away granules, or vacuum the area around each plant? I have no idea....I cant afford to loose these plants :oops:
Thank you in advance for any info.
Chris S
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Re: PLEASE HELP Accidental Weed & Feed question

Post by Chris S »

Whatever you do don't use a blower on these granules - you might blow them onto other plants or up onto the bamboo leaves, where they would do more harm than on the ground, but more importantly you really don't want to breathe any dust in, despite Monsanto etc telling you they are safe.

Does anyone know whether the active ingredients of selective weedkillers (2,4-D, mecoprop and dicamba in this case) harm bamboos or not? Those who really want to hurt bamboo would use something like glyphosate instead. This might turn into a useful, if expensive, experiment.
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Tarzanus
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Re: PLEASE HELP Accidental Weed & Feed question

Post by Tarzanus »

As far as I know, it's not so toxic to grasses, but it effectively kills broad-leaved plants. It works by triggering super boosted rapid growth. When the plant soon runs out of nutrients and can't supply enough water to the unnaturally rapid growing tissue, it weakens and dies. How exactly it would affect bamboo? I have no idea. Considering that bamboo has an effective storage system in both culm and rhizome system and dense root mass which can quickly and effectively transport water and nutrients from one part of the grove to another, my wild guess is it shouldn't harm it much.
dependable
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Re: PLEASE HELP Accidental Weed & Feed question

Post by dependable »

If still dry now, guess I might try vacuuming some of the stuff nearest the roots, assuming you have a big shop vac that could handle it.

Perhaps a thick top dressing with compost or the like would help slow absorption into ground and allow the chemical to break down. Trimec is targeted at broadleaf plants, so it may be OK, but I'd add the compost anyway, it can do no harm and will be beneficial in the long run.
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