my neighbor used copper sulphate to kill tree roots. He admitted that he used "a shitload". His mature river birch and mature dogwood have since died. My Norway maple had to have a major branch removed and this year, a good many other smaller branches look to be in trouble as well as one entire side of my red maple. Can anything be done to save both his and my trees and stop any more trees from being affected?
copper sulfate
- Thread starter recluse
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likely impractical and could cause more harm is dig trench full length of home boundary cut any roots install a barrier seal your soil sides profile & any surface run off wash off from his,,, & start planting new trees for the predictable loss
ropensaddle
Feel Lucky
I would quiz him on shitload , fine neighbor you got there. I hope his homeowners is current sounds like you need a CA or BCMA to access damages! If he is a buddy and your not wanting him in trouble I would ask him to pay the cost of his transgression. If he is not a friendly then I might seek professional advice bcma and attorney. I hate to think of suing anyone so i would likely document it well, then give him a chance to make it right.
Jason Douglas
ArboristSite Guru
Lime may reduce the availability of copper.
Thanks folks. My neighbor really is a great guy. We all make mistakes and he was a bit desperate to get his sewer line running. We are both pretty upset that the trees are dying as this was not his intent. Now, not knowing how much copper sulfate is present in the soil, does it make sense to plant any more trees in this general area until it all leaches out? I will try the suggestion of the lime as well. I assume one would have to know the type soil, rainfall, slope of the land etc. to know how far it will creep and how long it will stay in the soil. Both my neighbor and I were converting lawns back to woodland with an eye to providing for wildlife. I am downslope from him with a many more trees at risk
BlackCoffin
ArboristSite Operative
After applying ferrous sulfate to my yard I apply lime to bring the ph balance of the soil back. Ferrous/copper will "sour" up the ground so put a healthy dose of lime down to "sweeten" it back up. Our farm calculates one ton of lime per acre to give you an idea of how much to apply. Also it will take quite a bit of time for that lime to penetrate down to the roots on those trees. Good luck!
