Driveway stains from Trees - BAZ?
 

I have 12 Calophyllum Brasilense (Santa Maria) trees along a side of my driveway. Affectionately called locally as Ball trees.

They produce a lot of fruit and flowers which create stains on my poured concrete driveway.

Is there a method, chemical, etc to get rid of the stains? Trying to stay away from muriatic acid.

They are beautiful and getting quite large already (over 30' tall). The yearly "crop" is enough to fill 3 trash carts full. (yes its a PITA)

THANKS!

Does pressure washing clean the stains?

If you clean the stains, can you then use a sealer on the driveway to try to help reduce the stainability of the driveway?

Steve, pressure washing takes away say 80% but the rest stays.

I have thought of going all out on an aggressive cleaning and then sealing it. Lots of sq feet.

What about a bleach and dawn dish detergent mixture sprayed over the area with a foam cannon? Let sit a while and then rinse with pressure washer.

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I will try that also. I just tried 30 minute cleaner and it made a minor improvement. It is hot outside so it evaporates quickly. I will do it at dusk so it soaks overnight.

Thanks!

You're welcome. I hope it works well. The combination is good for removing mildew stains, so I figured it is probably worth a shot.

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Seems likely to work to me since the stains are probably mostly surface stains due to organic matter (bleach usually works on organic stuff). If it was something like rust, I don't think the bleach would work.

Try meat tenderizer or papaya juice. Stain is probably protein

Sorry I have no experience with this tree and the staining issue. Some of the answers here sound like they're worth trying.

Good luck and please keep us posted, Viking!

Thanks to all!

Baz it is one of the trees approved by my city here in So FL. Beautiful and full looking tree but damn, PITA when it starts dropping stuff.

No idea what tree that is or what the stain looks like but I used to use pool shock to remove the stains from oak acorns on my driveways. Wet the surface, scatter the pool shock powder, scrub with a push broom to distribute it evenly. Let it dwell, then rinse it off.

It's a nasty chemical, either sodium hypochlorite or calcium hypochlorite. Don't breath the fumes, don't get it onto anything (grass, flowers, etc.) that you don't want to kill.

Bleach is basically the same thing. The dollar stores sell it pretty cheap.

There is a product called Florel that prevents fruit set.
May not be feasible due to the size/quantity or type of tree.
Worth a look thoughd
We use it on Olives here in the Nursery, works well.

@javadog - 30 minute cleaner is hypochlorite. Perhaps not as concentrated. I might try it but I cant affect my plants.

@quicksix never heard of florel but I look into it. Thanks!