(StatePoint) If you’re a homeowner who takes pride in your lawn, you know how big a headache weeds are.
To help you achieve the yard of your dreams, Exmark has partnered with Jason Creel, the owner of Alabama Lawn Pros, on a new video offering tips and insights into tackling weeds.
“I don’t endorse a simple spray-and-pray strategy. Identifying weeds and understanding their life cycle is essential to using the right product at the right time and in the right amount,” says Creel.
As broken down in the video, here are the major categories of weeds to be aware of:
Grassy weeds, like crab grass and goose grass may look like regular turf grass, but they’re not nearly as uniform.
Broadleaf weeds, like dandelion and clover, stand out with their wide leaves, bright flowers and seed heads.
Sedges, like nutsedge, looks like grass, but instead have a solid, triangular stem without nodes.
Weeds can also be categorized by their life cycles:
Some weeds, like spurge, are annual weeds. They sprout, grow and die in one season. Then there are perennial weeds, like oxalis, also known as yellow wood sorrel, or nutsedge, and they come back year after year from that same root clump. It’s also important to know if you’re dealing with warm or cool season weeds. Warm season weeds germinate in the spring and die out in the fall and cool season weeds are typically going to germinate in the fall, mature the following spring and die out as the weather gets hot in the summer.
“These varying life cycles is why weed control is a year-round battle. But thankfully, it’s not as difficult as it might sound,” says Creel.
For most lawns, a preemergent herbicide application in the spring and then again in the fall is the first line of defense, however, the timing shifts every year, so for best results, watch the weather, not the calendar. If your weeds have already sprouted, that’s where your post-emergent herbicides are going to come in. Whenever spraying any kind of herbicide, wear personal protective equipment and follow the label.
According to Creel, it’s often a good idea to use pre- and post-emergent herbicides together, or to use a combination product to control different types of weeds. In every case, you’ll want to rotate products to prevent resistance and ensure future success.
Of course, overall turf health should also be prioritized. Lawns cut weekly tend to have fewer weeds than lawns cut every other week, and if you let your lawn grow too tall and cut off too much to save time, you risk weakening your yard. The rule of thumb is not to mow off more than one third of the blade. Remember, healthy yards fight off weeds more effectively, so keeping blades sharp and changing up mowing patterns regularly are essential.
For more insights, watch “Types of Weeds and What to Do About Them,” a new episode of “Done-In-A-Weekend Projects,” an original series from lawn care equipment manufacturer, Exmark. To watch the video, visit Exmark’s Backyard Life, a unique multimedia destination focused on helping homeowners improve their outdoor living spaces. There you can also download additional tips and view other Exmark Original Series videos.
“Even with a good plan, weeds are very persistent. Spot-treat them as they appear, and keep your soil healthy, because strong, thick turf is the best natural defense against weeds,” says Creel.
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