Round up verses norfolk pine

davidmoore, Nov 14, 10:01pm
i sprayed the weeds around a young norfolk pine its 2m high and it appears its killing it, the foliage not looking good on the lower limbs,any thoughts it may recover,and is there any thing i can do to help it ,

pestri, Nov 14, 11:34pm
Would not have thought roundup would affect it much unless you were quite careless and drenched the foliage!Ru is a foliage absorbed herbicide,but may also be absorbed if you apply it on a fresh cut tho. Were there any holes or fresh cuts on the trunk low down!

I'd look for something else if you think the above is not the case. Perhaps remove the lower limbs, but if it has been affected by Roundup its possibly too late already.

davidmoore, Nov 15, 12:22am
i would think that a little drift may have contacted a minimal amount of foliage on a couple of the lower limbsam watering it steadlily, the tree is in a very dry enviorment as wellmainly pumice was wondering if the soil type is to dry and the round up is just coincidental !apparently other norfolks have died in the same erea

pestri, Nov 15, 1:21am
Perhaps too much water!Mulch it and give a measured amount 1 or 2x a week!

mrfxit, Nov 15, 2:07am
THIS .>>> "norfolk pine its 2m high"
DilutedRoundup isn't going to bother a tree of that size unless it's already very sick AND you drenched the ground around the base.
>>>>
& THIS .
"very dry enviorment as well mainly pumice", yep dry as a bone & burgerall soil to feed on.

rsr72, Nov 15, 4:29am
Better now than when it gets to 100ft tall.

spiritofgonzo, Nov 15, 4:30am
I personally think it could be the roundup.Conifers in general are incredibly sensitive to herbicide spray (not sure about norfolk island pine though), and if you think there was a bit of spray drift on to the leaves, then that could easily kill one only 2m high.If it is . there's not much you can do, but start shopping for another one.

mrfxit, Nov 15, 5:09am
And yet . roundup has problems killing blackberry/ gorse etc but of course, it can easily kill a 2 meter tree

spiritofgonzo, Nov 15, 6:16am
I'm not sure where you're going with this statement.But yes, it can easily kill a 2m conifer.A specific example is thuja - seen it done from a lazy sprayer spraying weeds around the base with the pressure too high.2 weeks later, dying.2 months later, fallen over in wind .dead.However blackberry and gorse are more resistant to sprays, more resilient, more persistent, not to mention have a leaf shape that makes it harder for the spray to stick to.

mrfxit, Nov 15, 7:47am
""very dry enviorment as well mainly pumice""

spiritofgonzo, Nov 15, 8:17am
!myfixit, I'm a bit confused as to what you're trying to say!But, roundup doesn't kill a tree because it's soaked the ground around it.Roundup it transmitted through the leaves, not the roots.The reason my example killed the tree is because the spray was too pressurised meaning it bounced off the ground causing spray drift and got roundup on the lower leaves.I am not saying this is what killed op's tree . I am saying that it very well could have, especially since they admitted that it probably spray drifted onto the leaves.It also could be dying because it's too dry, or a whole host of other reasons . but generally if something is dying off quickly a few weeks after having spray get onto its leaves, then that's a high possibility of cause.

hanmer, Nov 2, 5:47pm
i hope you are not planting the tree close. your house because you will have a MAJOR problem with the roots.the roots grow thick and are like concrete and will be very hard to dig out yourself.it lifted my fence and starting to lift the shed next door that was on the fenceline.