Neutralizing Sodium

[Ryan Freidline]

I was on the phone with a good friend yesterday who is helping me through a crisis regarding a former tech who burned up some English Boxwoods at our largest account last fall. He is the head greens keeper at a golf course and I asked his advice on the situation. We got a soil sample, and sure enough the shrubs are "stressed' due to high sodium content in the soil which raises the Ph
He wants to treat with lime, lotsa lime, water it down and repeat in a couple of months.
If that's the case, then what's stoppin us from using lime on future jobsites, at the downspouts? The only catch I think is that the lime works slower than the Sodium.
Can we get a chemist and a botanist together on this??

[plainpainter]

As I understood, 'salts' aren't raising the ph - they're clogging up a plants ability to suck in water - I don't there is any way you can neutralize salts.

[PressurePros]

Dan is right. Salts have to be rinsed while they are soluble. (ie when they are first formed)

I had this problem with my property which is near the ocean. We eventually got rid of the grass altogether but I know the landscape guy buses gypsum in the flower beds. Its supposed to work better than limestone.

[Apple Roof Cleaning Tampa]

I asked this question about Chlorine Killing Plants long ago in 1999. The only practical way to neutralize salt is lots of water.
Unless we can figure out a way to erect a desalination plant at every downspout.

[cmturner]

Search on here for a post that Scott made a while back for Gypsum, we just found it here locally last week but from reading on the bag it should do the trick. Its used alot up north to fix the plants and grass from all of the salt used to melt the snow and ice.

[Apple Roof Cleaning Tampa]

This may be more of a consideration for you guys up North ? Here in Tampa Florida we have sandy soil the salt can be rinsed out of with enough water.