How healthy is your lawn? Is it green, lush and weed-free? Is it everything you want it to be? We hope so, but if not, maybe a little extra knowledge can help. We’ve surveyed many of our customers to find out which myths are most common and problematic. In an effort to alleviate some of these misunderstandings, we offer these 10 myths and what to do about them.
Myth #10: I have had crabgrass in my lawn since March!
- Orchard grass is a perennial weed that grows year-round.
Crabgrass is a nasty weed, and can really make a lawn unattractive. Something that most people don’t know about crabgrass is that it is a summer annual weed, meaning that the plant itself only lasts for the season, and each year a new generation grows. So, crabgrass doesn’t show up in your lawn until June at the earliest. In March, what you’re probably seeing is orchard grass, which is very similar to crabgrass in appearance, but it is a perennial weed, meaning the plant lives for multiple years.
Solution: Unfortunately, since orchard grass is perennial, there is not a selective herbicide that will not kill your perennial lawn as well. The only option left is to spray a non-selective herbicide such as Roundup and replant the affected area.
To help prevent crabgrass from infiltrating your lawn during the summer, an application or two of pre-emergence herbicide in the spring will go a long way. For any crabgrass that does emerge in your lawn, there are good post-emergence herbicides to help you kill it. Doing so before it goes to seed will also help prevent another generation from infiltrating your lawn in following years.
Myth #9: If snow is on my lawn, an application is ineffective.
You may think that melting snow washes away an application, therefore making it ineffective. Actually, the melted water carries the nutrients to the soil. Here the roots can absorb them and get a great head start for the year. We apply two types of herbicide, one is systemic, which is also absorbed by the root system, the other is contact herbicide, which is absorbed through the leaf. With the extremely cool, moist temperatures, the stomata in the leaves of the broad-leaf weeds are wide open, and thus, can absorb a lot of herbicide as the snow melts.
Solution: Don’t let a snow storm get in the way of a greener lawn by the end of March and get an advantage over your weeds.
That’s it for this week, we’ll post the next two next week!
Tell us what you think, what other information would be helpful to you in your lawn care endeavors?
Related posts:
- The Top Ten Myths of Lawn Care and What YOU Can Do About It: Part 3
- If you dont kill crabgrass now, youll regret it later
- The Top 10 Myths of Lawn Care and What YOU Can Do It: Part 2
Tags: crabgrass, Herbicides, Lawn Care, Lawn Grass, Melting Snow, Orchard Grass, Perennial Weed, Pre Emergence, Roots, Roundup, Selective Herbicide, Soil, Weed Plant
Great article, I look forward to the rest of the myths as they come out. It’s no wonder I can’t seem to get rid of my crabgrass when I really have orchard grass that doesn’t have an herbicide. I guess I’ll have to go with the roundup