Poor tree

[Josh86]

Walking along some rr tracks and I spot this little fella. It undoubtedly got hit with some weed killer. Worth a shot at collecting?

 

[AlainK]

Yes, but when?...

 

[Josh86]

I'm guessing now is not a good time so was planning early spring. What would be a good soil mix for this. I'm more of a deciduous guy lol but dont want to see it sprayed to death

 

[Leo in N E Illinois]

No,
depending on the herbicide, it can take years for the plant to grow out of the damage, if it survives. Roundup, glyphosate-based herbicide, the one used around homes is mainly a burn down agent, and plants can recover quickly. Railroads would likely use ''heavy artillery'' and that would be not only a burn down agent but something else that would disrupt metabolism. possibly even a soil sterilant. If the tree survives it can have distorted growth for 2 or more years before it returns to normal growth.

You did not show a picture of a fantastic trunk, if there is nothing to recommend this tree over healthy nursery material, skip it.

 

[Josh86]

I shall get a few pics tomorrow. It is quite thick in there

 

[Josh86]

Upon cleaning out a ton of dead stuff there is a whorl of branches and some inverse taper its really hard to get decent pics

 

[queenofsheba52]

I think Leo has the right idea about the RR herbicide, but....

If that tree calls to your heart, then pursue collecting it. Just know that it might not survive.

 

[Anthony]

Weed killer - hands touching ???????????
Be careful please.
If you love it, then carefully remove and tend to it.
Good Day
Anthony

 

[Lazylightningny]

Maybe prune off the dead stuff and see what it looks like in the spring.

 

[Josh86]

It has buds swelling now so I will see what it looks like in a few weeks. I do hate that one spot of inverse taper tho

 

[Paul2229]

There are no dead weeds around it so I dont think it has been poisoned, those weeds would be yellow in a couple days if they were using round-up.

 

[Josh86]

There's a bunch of dead stuff all along the tracks I am just going to leave it I found something better

 

[Leo in N E Illinois]

That spruce looks interesting enough I would be tempted to collect it. I'd wait until spring, but that is up to you. Autumn is not the worst time to collect. Might not be as guaranteed as spring.