Pre-Emergent Application: Better prevent,  than full of weeds

When to Apply Pre-Emergent Herbicides?

The most adequate timings of applying Pre-emergent herbicides are early spring and fall. They can be applied right through the year, and will still prevent new weeds that sprout. Both spring and fall applications target different weed species, thus it is very important to determine the type of weed you are targeting to prevent. See below for help recognizing your target weeds.

To prevent summer annual weeds, spring pre-emergent herbicides are applied. These types of herbicides are both broadleaf and grassy types. If you want to yield the best results, apply herbicides when the soil temperature is around 55 degrees or above for at least 36 to 72 hours. Though, the most ideal time is before seed germination. In the USA, such kind of soil temperature often comes in the month of March and April. The below-mentioned map will give you a clear picture of the good to apply herbicide for best results.

Fall Pre-emergent Application

Fall pre-emergent herbicides help in preventing winter annual weeds. Just like summer herbicide application, in fall application also timings play a huge role in preventing weed from your lawn. An effective time to apply fall pre-emergent herbicides is late summer to early fall based on your geographical location. 

When soil temperature begins to dip down to 70 degrees then fall weed start germinating. The ideal time to apply is during the daytime highs drop to the mid-70s for about 3 to 5 successive days. As an application of pre-emergent will not last through the following summer, it is advisable to make a pre-emergent application in late spring or early summer. The above-mentioned map will give you a clear picture of the good to apply herbicide in spring for best results.  

How to Choose the Best Herbicide for your Lawn?

There are myriad of factors to consider while selecting an effective herbicide to prevent your lawn to grow unwanted weed. Some of these are discussed below:

Whether it is a Selective or Non-Selective Product?

From selective herbicide, we mean herbicide which is prepared to kill a particular type of weed only. It doesn’t harm surrounded plants or at the minimum doesn’t harm them so much that they can’t get out of the damage done by it.

On the other hand, non-selective products damage everything which is coming in their way including your grass.

Which Weeds will Pre-Emergent Herbicide Kills?

Not all herbicides kill every type of weed. As mentioned above only a selective product can target a selective type of weed, For instance, to kill or prevent crabgrass, Scotts Halts Crabgrass & Grassy Weed Preventer.

Herbicides that include simazne, isoxaben, and oxyfluorfen, kill a few broadleaf weeds however, it is futile against others and invasive grasses. 

But herbicides like napropamide, dichlobeni, and dinitorline kill invasive grasses and a few broadleaf weeds.

Some other popular pre-emergent chemicals comprise of:

Dithiopyr – It has a very rare quality that enables it to work as both pre and post-emergent. It is effective on nearly 45 grassy and broadleaf weeds and lasts about 4 months after application.
 

Oryzalin – It is used in Surflan and many other herbicide brands to kill broadleaf weed and spurge. In turfgrass, it is used as pre-emergent weed control on the established, warm-season such as buffalograss, St. Augustine, and Bermudagrass.

Prodiamine – It is the active ingredient available in barricade pre-emergence herbicide, which holds the capacity to deal with nearly 30 different grassy and broadleaf weeds, including bluegrass and crabgrass. 

Note: Procurement of chemical based-herbicides can be hazardous to health if not managed adequately. These are sold to landscaping professionals only because it requires a license for application.

Can Pre-emergent Herbicides Damage your Lawn?

As it is already stated at the beginning of the article, application timing is everything. Herbicide if not used at right time it may damage your lawn by burning grass and surrounding plants. Some herbicides containing Dicamba can destroy St. Augustine and Carpetgrass if applied at an un-suited time. 

 If you would like to know more about how Green Garden Landscaping work and how it can be the best choice for your lawn, then please feel free to call us today.

What is the Difference between Granular and Liquid Pre-Emergent?

The two main ways to apply herbicides are granular and liquid pre-emergent. For granular it is essential to water the chemical into the ground because the vigorous ingredients need to penetrate the soil. Only water can activate the herbicide trapped by the granule. 

This implication applies to liquid pre-emergent also because plants and grass may fence in the active ingredients from reaching the soil during the first application. 

What are the Benefits of Pre-emergent Herbicide?

• The weed is eradicated permanently, because the seed is allowed to germinate, and the young tender sprout is killed. A pre-emergent is activated in the top layer of the soil where the weed seeds sprout and become destructive in the growth of a plant. It also breaks the cycle of frequent regrowth of new weed. 
• Easier weed management of any remaining weeds which may not be caught in the treatment. Without pre-emergent it is difficult to reduce the infestation, moreover, it always seems to be a losing battle trying to kill weed before it reproduces. 
• Use Now, Use Less Later!  It is a win-win situation for you. The good thing about using pre-emergent is each successive season the need to spray is lessened and perhaps gone for good.

Green Garden Landscape Lawn Care Service

At Green Garden Landscape, we follow the customer-centric approach; your garden means more to us than just green. Our professional would be happy to make your garden weed-free forever. Give us a call for in-depth details about the pre-emergent service and avail best prices.