Muriatic acid wash and palms

[Allen]

We are thinking about getting out pool deck redone with a concrete overlay and part of the process is to wash with muriatic acid after they grind the concrete.  I have many palms and tropical plants close to the concrete.  Will this kill or damage my plants?

 

[LivistonaFan]

 @richnorm asked a very similar question but never received an answer to this. Maybe his project is already finished and he can chime in and tell us if concrete chemicals are detrimental to the health of plants.

[Chester B]

I have experience with muriatic but not with it and plants.  Muriatic is a dilute form of HCl or Hydrochloric acid, which is really nasty stuff.  I'm willing to bet it will fry any living tissue it comes in contact with like those elephant ears.  If you get it on you it will burn pretty bad.  I would also be concerned about it getting to the roots of your palms, but I suspect it would get eaten up by your mulch before it got far.  I would have plywood sheets in the area that you are spraying.  As well heavily wash down with water immediately to dilute it further.

Any sort of misting or spraying will most likely damage all plant matter.  I have to think the company should have a plan to minimize damage, yours can't be the first pool with plants nearby.

Keep a supply of baking soda or garden lime nearby in case you need to quickly neutralize muriatic acid. While sprinkling these substances full-strength will work, the best plan is to mix ½ cup of baking soda and a quart of water in a sealed spray bottle and keep it nearby.

Edited March 11, 2021 by Chester B

[Johnny Palmseed]

LOL I was just about to reply and @Chester B beat me to it. What he said is exactly what I was going to say. Protect the plants as best as you can, note your concern in advance to the company, and water well afterwards. Also, make sure to talk to the crew doing the actual work. The estimators are usually aware of the situation and will tell you that they will be careful, but they are almost never there when the job is performed. 

[sonoranfans]

put lime down all around the edges of the concrete, it should be ok.  You just want to prevent soil pH shock.  pulverized dolomitic lime and spread liberally within 2-3' of the concrete.  then when they are done with the acid wash, rinse down all plants and soil right after thoroughly.

[richnorm]

  On 3/11/2021 at 4:19 PM, LivistonaFan said:

 @richnorm asked a very similar question but never received an answer to this. Maybe his project is already finished and he can chime in and tell us if concrete chemicals are detrimental to the health of plants.

Expand  

In the end I skipped the acid wash as it was just too much of a risk for my peace of mind though if just enough acid is used it get neutalised by the lime.   The drive looks fine anyway and saved me a few hundred $'s!  Maybe you could put up some temporary lime around the edges?  My wife ran up some skinny sandbags which I used as a barrier to the wash off.

[Keys6505]

Your landscaping looks great.  Is that Colocasia Fallax?  How fast does that spread for you?  I have a medium sized bed where I'd like to use that as a ground cover but they're hard to come by and the only plants I can find online aren't cheap enough to justify buying multiples.  

[Allen]

  On 3/12/2021 at 2:16 PM, Keys6505 said:

Your landscaping looks great.  Is that Colocasia Fallax?  How fast does that spread for you?  I have a medium sized bed where I'd like to use that as a ground cover but they're hard to come by and the only plants I can find online aren't cheap enough to justify buying multiples.  

Expand  

Yes they spread pretty fast.  Prefer part shade here. Brian's botanicals has them.  If your ever in the area you can come by and have some but I don't want to start shipping stuff.  They die fast it seems if not wet in dirt.

Edited March 12, 2021 by Allen