Sunrise Landscape Designs

   Do you like weeding the garden?   After a good rain, and the soil is loosened up, I sometimes enjoy pulling weeds.  It can be a relaxing chore if you see easy progress.  Lately though it has been quite dry and the weeds frequently break off when pulled on.  That leaves behind a root system that will grow an even healthier weed!  

I know the trend is to go green but there are times when I find it more practical to use a few chemicals.  Which one do you use?  Here is a good rule of thumb.  If you are spraying grassy-type weeds, a product containing glyphosate, like Round Up, will work great.  If the weed is broadleaf, and that includes most every other weed you will find, a Brush Killer product should do the trick. 

There are always exceptions and weeds that are very difficult to kill.  Ortho makes a Poison Ivy killer that works quite well.  If you have tough weeds to kill, a second or third application a few days apart helps a lot.

    Keeping weeds out of your lawn keeps them out of your garden.  A lawn full of dandelions will spread into your garden very easily.

It is amazing how the weeds can keep growing with the ground being so hot and dry. If you try to pull them they will just break off at the ground leaving the roots behind to grow an even stronger weed! With a break in the weather, now is the time to attack those weeds. Weed killer (herbicide) will work best when the temperature is between 60-80 degrees. If it’s too cold or too hot, the herbicide will not be as effective. Also, hold off on watering the weedy areas for a day or two for the chemical to have time to work.

I will put weeds into 2 categories: grassy type and broad leaf weeds. Grassy type weeds are any weed that resembles a blade of grass. The broadleaf weeds are all the rest; like dandelions, clover, chickweed, etc. To kill the grassy weeds, Round-up works the best. For broadleaf weeds, I like to use Weed B Gone by Ortho. If you have both types of weeds, it is easiest to put both products in a concentrated form into a sprayer and mix with water. This way you are attacking all types of weeds at the same time. Be careful to not let the spray drift onto plants you want to keep.

It’s time to think seriously about garden chores. I’m going to give you a list and you can prioritize which ones apply to you.

Pulling weeds can be great therapy! A lot of aggression can be released on those weeds. New landscapes can have frequent weed problems. The reason is when the soil gets worked up and turned over, the seeds that could have been lying there dormant for 100 years get exposed to the sun, wake up and begin to grow. (If they don’t see the sun they don’t grow.) The first year is the hardest but keep pulling and be sure to get the roots out too!

The next step is to go to Meijers or Home Depot and buy some PREEN. It is a pre-emergent herbicide that prevents any seeds from germinating. You buy it in a container about the size of 2 gallons of milk. Sprinkle it on the bark beds and water it in. The heavier it is applied the better it works. Preen will not kill existing weeds only weed seeds that are blown in. PREEN needs to be reapplied every 2-3 months. We also carry a product called Snapshot that works just like Preen but last 6-8 months. Contact me if you are interested in this product.

A big thing to remember is when you mow the lawn be sure the clippings don’t blow into the plant beds. Grass goes to seed frequently along with the dandelions or whatever is out there and we don’t want that in the beds. Drifting, wispy, white dandelion seeds can cause back aches trying to pull them out.

Most gardeners can appreciate the beauty of a massive bed of Ground Cover such as Ivy or Myrtle. However, a bed of Ivy with a healthy dose of weeds mixed in can be very unsightly. Kill those weeds with the Killer Glove! First, put a rubber glove on your hand, then put a cotton glove on over top. Now pour concentrated Round-Up into a disposable bowl. Dip your gloved fingers into the Round-Up, then touch the weeds with the herbicide coated glove. Be careful not to let the Round-Up drip onto wanted plants. Within 7 days, your weeds should be yellow and dead.