From the LawnPride Blog

We’ll be making our second round of lawn applications over the next couple weeks. This is the first time we’ll apply a herbicide to your lawn. Why now? Well, the window for weed control is when temperatures are between 50 and 80 degrees. If it’s too cold outside, the herbicide won’t be effective. If it’s too hot, it can burn your grass.  Once the ground temperature reaches 50 degrees and above, it’s time to start your spring pre-emergent weed control. The ground temperature will reach 50 degrees after we’ve had about a week of consistent 50-60 degree weather.

If you’re still seeing annual winter weeds, such as springwood and henbit, rest assured, these will soon die off once the temperatures warm up.

Need to fill in some thin spots? April is the time to reseed. This weekend promises the perfect weather and a good time to get that project off the honey-do list. Here are a few tips from our experts before you start:

1. Rake bare areas before seeding to clear the area.
2. Add topsoil or a topsoil/compost mix to top-dress the bare areas for better seed germination.
3. Apply a starter fertilizer at the rate specified on the bag.
4. Apply the seed at the rate specified on the bag, either by hand or a spreader.
5. Gently rake the seed into the soil, so that it is covered by the soil. This improves germination.
6. Apply straw to help hold the moisture in the soil and protect the seeds from direct sunlight and erosion.
7. Keep the grass seed moist until it germinates, which may require daily watering or more often if temps rise (be sure to avoid standing water or excess runoff).
8. Germination time depends on the type of seed you use: Kentucky bluegrass 21 to 28 days; perennial ryegrass 10 to 14 days; and fescue just 7 to 10 days.
9. When the new grass is 4 inches high, you can mow it (set your mower at 3-3.5 inches).
10. Lastly, apply another round of starter fertilizer after the second mowing.

When it comes to their lawns, our customers are primarily concerned with two things, color and weeds. Weeds are obvious. You have them or you don’t. You have a lot or a few. It’s pretty clear. Color is a more difficult discussion, and we’ll save that for a separate post.

First, lets tackle weeds. Strong, thick turf is best defense against any weed. Weeds are most likely to pop up where the turf is thin or short. Therefore, we recommend a long lawn instead of a short lawn; your lawn is healthier at 4” than 2”. So while you might favor the look of a golf course fairway, the short turf does not help the fight weeds. Also, weeds are prone to pop up along freshly edged walks and driveways, so while a neatly edged walkway is attractive, the freshly exposed soil is prime territory for weeds.

But what if you whole lawn is thin? We suggest aeration and seeding – reducing soil compaction and adding new life into your root system. This builds the health of your lawn, and chokes out pesky weeds before they have a chance to grow.

Herbicides are only effective when the temperatures are warmer, say, when daytime temps are between 75° – 85°, so early spring isn’t always the best time to begin fighting weeds. The best time to fight weeds is actually the season before. So if you have weeds now, it’s best to let us treat them all season and into the fall – then your lawn will be better armed to fight them the next season.  So that means that fighting weeds is an on-going proposition. Weeds just don’t stay away, that’s why we include a weed control product with 6 of our 7 applications. (We actually do not apply a herbicide with our first, early spring, application, because it just doesn’t help. Plus, it would hinder any attempt to overseed your lawn.)

The two most common weeds are crabgrass and dandelions. Both are persistent and challenging, but if we continue to treat them, they will go away. And while they are unsightly, it will take a little time for our treatments to work. Even under ideal conditions, herbicides take several days to fully penetrate the root system and begin to kill the weed. And for some lawns it takes a few treatments to kill all the weeds.

In the end, we want your lawn to be the picture of health. If you have weeds now, don’t worry we’ll get them, we just need the weather to cooperate first. In the mean time, if you have any questions, please give us a call.