Dandelions, Clovers, and Stickers…Oh My!

We are quickly approaching the time of year that I love.  Days are getting longer and temperatures are slowly moving up to near perfection. Flowers will be blooming and trees will be pushing new growth.   I can just imagine the smell of the freshly cut grass.   Life is good isn't it!

Dandelion

From my perspective this is also a happy time for many of our favorite weeds.  As soils warm up crabgrass will be popping up in late February.  The winter weeds including dandelion, clover, prickly lettuce, groundsel, henbit, chickweed, sowthistle, cheese weed, filaree, mare’s tail, wild celery, fleabane, Poa annua, and others will enjoy this burst of sunny days as well.  They will start to grow rapidly, flower, and go to seed in order for them to spread into next year.  It’s great for them and for us as a weed control service as well.  Like long hot summers in Fresno, we can pretty much count on weeds year after year.

Weeds are invasive plants that just find opportunities to thrive in lawns and landscapes.  In some cases there are decent pre emergent products to prevent their germination, but others will be missed.  Some weeds like clovers are often an indicator of soils that are low in fertility.  Because they are legumes and can fix their own nitrogen, they are able to have a strong competitive advantage over dormant or neglected lawns.  Have you seen many of the school’s lawns lately?

Selective post emergent broadleaf weed control products can offer effective relief from a majority of the broadleaf weeds.  Greater plant safety is often noted on tall fescue and ryegrass lawns over bermuda lawns that are waking up from dormancy where some caution should be taken.  Weeds themselves should be actively growing and not freshly mowed at the time of application.  Irrigation or rainfall following the application in the first 24 hours may reduce effectiveness as well.  In some cases a second or third application may be needed to achieve complete control.

Not all lawn care products are alike and certainly not all landscaping providers are alike. I know when I am looking for help, I want to talk to live people that know what they are talking about, they’re honest, and they keep their promises and stand behind their work.  Weed Man lawn care is fully licensed and has all technicians nationally recognized as Landscape Industry Certified Technicians by the end of their first year. Results are guaranteed.  Feel free to call us for a free lawn analysis and quote at 559-266-1624 or visit our website at Fresno.WeedManUSA.com.

Crabgrass Management Starts Now

Crabgrass is a pesky annual grassy weed that loves irrigated lawns here in the Central Valley. It gets really large and very apparent in lawns by mid-summer, but by then it is much more difficult to control. Left unchecked, crabgrass can rapidly take over a nice lawn in a matter of a few years.

Here’s the problem.  You will not find an effective product for controlling existing crabgrass or dallisgrass on your store or nursery shelf.  MSMA, found in Weed Hoe and Trimec Plus, is no longer available to homeowners and was the only product that actually worked on the removal of unwanted crabgrass unlike the products offered now.  There are several products now on the market for homeowners for post-control of crabgrass and they all contain quinclorac.  I have not had good success at all in the Central Valley of California getting any significant control using these.  Maybe you will be lucky and make one of them work, but my guess is that they won’t and you will be out both the time and expense you have invested. 

Prevention is the key to crabgrass management especially without a reliable product for managing actively growing crabgrass plants.  Ideally, a pre emergent herbicide should be applied at the proper rate prior to Valentine’s Day.  There are a number of products out there (some better), but unless they are applied before seed germination at the right rate and uniformly the results could be less than desirable. We actually apply two applications to ensure better results.

What is the future for crabgrass control?  There are some products in development and a few that could be useful in certain cases.  There is a product called Tenacity that has some decent early post emergent control of crabgrass, but it is only recommended for cool season turf as Bermuda will turn temporarily white following application.  Other herbicides have also shown some respectable control of 1 to 2 leaf crabgrass (tiny) as well.  A sharp knife works well, too unless you have hundreds or thousands of plants. 

Why risk your lawn to crabgrass invasion when the cheapest and most effective solution is prevention with pre emergent herbicides.  Have your lawn treated either by yourself or a professional today.

New Year’s Resolution – “I Will Treat My Lawn Nicely”

Lawns are often taken for granted or even neglected and certainly don’t make most people’s resolution list.  I think it is time to change that and start by spreading a little wealth and effort in the direction of one’s lawn and landscape.  The lawn, trees, shrubs, and flowers are a vital part of the home and they certainly add to the value of the property.  Industry experts say a nice landscape can add 15% to the value of a home and for most of us with a home, it is the largest asset we have.  The experts did not say how much an unattractive landscape impacts the home’s value, but you can be sure it is not positive.

What can be done to have a better lawn and landscape in 2013? First I would recommend taking inventory on the current condition of the yard.  That would mean checking the sprinkler system, the shading/sunlight and exposure, the soil condition and drainage, etc.  Landscapes change over time.  The wonderful hybrid bermuda lawn you had 10 years ago may now be only a thin, spotty stand now due to heavy shade conditions as a result of your trees growing up.  The great sprinkler coverage you once had may now be compromised due to plants covering heads, dirty nozzles, or reduced water volume or pressure.  Many times it was never that good in the first place.

Assuming that you now have conditions suitable to grow healthy lawns and plants you are ready to attend to their needs.  Like you and I, they need to be fed regularly.  Proper nutrition helps them grow at a healthy rate and compete with pesky weeds, diseases, and insects competing for their space.  Proper mowing heights and regular mowing encourage a dense turf that can better compete with invasive weeds.  Some weeds like crabgrass and spurge can forge their way into most any lawn; good or bad.  Pre emergent products should be applied starting in February in order to keep them out.  Other weeds like invasive bermudagrass and nutsedge need to be dealt with on an individual basis. 

By the way, did you know that homeowners no longer have access to any products that work well for the removal of existing crabgrass or dallisgrass since the removal of MSMA products like Weed Hoe in 2012?  This year, 2013, is the last year that professionals can use MSMA so PREVENTION is the word from now on….period.

You need to decide if your lawn and landscape is important to you.  It cannot take care of itself.   If you want good results without all the hassles then call a professional that knows what they are doing.