Is treated lumber harmful to plants for planter boxes?

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mcdebruce Menomonie, WI Feb 10, 2009

I am building planter boxes to go along my front walkway and I want to use treated lumber. I wanted to know if the treated lumber is harmful to the plants and if I should use a different material? So many that I have seen are made out of cedar, but the cost is greater and I thought treated would be cheaper and hold up really well. What advice can you give me?

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rhodiegirl Deering, NH(Zone 5a) Feb 10, 2009

It shouldn't be. How are you meaning by treated lumber? It is water proof?

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nrve08 Scio, OR Feb 10, 2009

You might find the article at the link below very helpful,

http://www.taunton.com/finegardening/design/articles/pressure-treated-wood-in-beds.aspx

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WeeNel Ayrshire Scotland, United Kingdom Feb 10, 2009

You would need to ask what the timber has been treated with, some treatments are safe for plants / shrubs etc, but others are very toxic and will kill / burn the plants, the harmful treatments can leach into the soil via rain or watering and harms the roots too, but treatments on wood for outdoor timbers have came a long way in the last few years and it is always best to check first, lets face it, timber is not getting ant cheaper and plants / shrubs are also expensive if you need lots of them, so play safe. Your ceder will last many, many years where cheaper timber looks good for maybe 2 years then needs re -treated, but cost does play a part in choice, so take your time. good luck. WeeNel.

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ecrane3 Dublin, CA(Zone 9a) Feb 11, 2009

It's probably not going to be particularly harmful to the plants, but if you're growing veggies or fruits then I'd think twice about it since the chemicals can leach into the soil. Even though they don't use the really toxic arsenic compounds in treated lumber anymore, the stuff they use now still isn't something I'd want to eat. But if you're growing things just for ornamental purposes then it should be fine, people build raised beds out of treated lumber all the time.

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