Expert: Richard Clark - 8/3/2009

Question
Hi. I am desperate. About 8-10 months ago we sprayed Ortho ground clear to control weeds. It says will control and stop growth for one year. Now, we have to plant some trees and shrubs due to HOA. The problem is, we dont want the new stuff to be killed off. Any suggestions would be really, really appreciated.

Answer
John
There are two things you may try. One is to get some charcoal and break it into small pieces, cover the ground where you want the plants to grow, then water that place to flush the chemicales on down into the ground. Remove the charcoal that is left. The charcoal will nutrualize the ground, add fertilizer and watch the plants grow. The second choice you have is to dig out the ground at least one foot out and deeper than the roots will be and replace with clean dirt. Nice thing about the spray, you are almost at the end of its life time. If you had rain this will also help to wash the chemicals away.
Hope this helps,
Richard