Act Now to Prevent Summer Weeds

Weed prevention is an important step in helping your lawn and garden be more drought resistant. Weeds compete with desirable plants for water and nutrients. This problem worsens in periods of drought when these resources are limited. Now is the time to act to apply pre-emergent products in order to prevent summer weeds before they become an issue.

Pre-emergents must be applied before summer weeds begin to grow, so application timing is critical. Look for 1″ soil temperatures to average 55^oF, or look for the purple flowers of the Eastern Redbud tree to tell you when to apply weed control pre-emergent. Once the redbud trees begin to bloom, it’s best to apply a pre-emergent within the next two weeks.

Crabgrass, grassy sandbur, goosegrass, and spurge are all weeds we commonly see in lawns & flowerbeds, all of which can be controlled this month with a pre-emergent product. While there are many pre-emergent products available, two products are available for summer-long weed prevention:

o  Dimension (active ingredient = dithiopyr)

o  Barricade (active ingredient = prodiamine)

Other products available will typically need repeat applications throughout the summer, so be sure to read and follow the label instructions. Most products are not safe to use when planting seeds. If you plan to plant seeds in your lawn or garden this spring or summer, most pre-emergent products will kill desirable seeds as well as weed seeds and should not be used in these areas. Always read and follow the label instructions before applying any of these products.