It probably blew or splashed onto the foliage of your perennials. What was the chemical? If the root run of the perennials existed under the grass, that would also kill them. In general, the more established the yard, the less "weed killer" can be used without harming other things.

Our yard is very established....many years of work. The chemical is Spectracide crab grass killer. It didn't affect everything in the area, but some of the surrounding plant leaves - while others were unaffected. And, some new babies coming up seem to be affected. Do you think it's ok to to plant in the same soil? FYI - not the grassy area.

Thanks!

Lawn weed killers generally target broadleaved weeds and certain weed grasses. They can't tell the difference between what is considered a 'weed' and what you consider a valuable plant :-) Overspray or drift from these sprayed products can affect anything it touches. It also needs to come into direct contact with any leaves or foliage to be effective in its job and has virtually NO residual effect on the soil. In fact, they will breakdown rapidly once in contact with the soil, soil moisture and soil life.

So no worries about the roots and no worries about the soil being "poisoned" :-) I'd give it about a week to 10 days and you should be good to go.

"5. Herbicides that are carried by water into the
soil profile may be taken up by roots of
nearby sensitive trees or shrubs. If, for
instance, a “weed and feed” product is
applied too frequently, or in too high a
concentration to a lawn where trees or shrubs
are present, those plants may be damaged or
killed"

http://www.unce.unr.edu/publications/files/ho/2002/sp0208.pdf

kimmq is kimmsr

Thanks everyone for the input. For now, I just cut back all the very damaged plants and I'm moving plants from the other side of the yard to fill in the now vacant spots (so sad!). Maybe the the roots on some plants are still okay and some will come back next year...is this possible?

Thanks, Kimmq for the article....so informative!

Thank you for the clarification! In this case I think it must have been breezy on the day he sprayed because he only sprayed the grass.

Spray turbulence spreads a spray application beyond the target, too.