Treat your lawn against winter weeds, invasive grasses
The next couple of weeks are the prime season to apply pre-emergent weed control for winter weeds and grasses in your lawn.
Do not apply herbicide weed killer if you plan to sow grass seed this fall for either a new lawn or to overseed your lawn with fescue, rye or bluegrass. The pre-emergent will limit the germination of these desired grasses as well as the winter grasses you want to eliminate.
You can apply the pre-emergent herbicides alone or with a fertilizer as in a weed-and-feed product when you do your last lawn feeding of this growing season.
For best results in Oklahoma, apply herbicide that contains Dimension (dithiopyr), Barricade (prodiamine), Surflan (oryzalin) or pendmethalin. These products are marketed under many different commercial names but perform best in our region.
For years, Team, Balan and Treflan were major products used in our state, but as manufacturing has disappeared, it is now time to switch to one of the above newer products. They control more weeds and provide a longer period of protection against weed seed germination — up to eight to 12 weeks of protection after you apply them.
They can be applied as a liquid you spray on like a commercial applicator, or as a granular product you spread over the lawn.
Most homeowners apply the granular. It is best if you broadcast or spread at half rate going north/south in one direction and apply the other half going east/west in the opposite direction.
Granular products, whether applied alone or with a fertilizer, need to be watered in after application to become effective. A rain or watering equivalent to 1/2 inch to 1 inch of rain is needed to deliver or soak these products into the weed seed “germination” zone at the soil surface and just below the surface.
Timing is critical as these pre-emergents kill the weed seeds as they start to germinate. They do not kill weeds or plants already germinated and they do not work after they have diluted and lost their effectiveness eight to 12 weeks after application depending on rainfall and other factors beyond our control.
Fall is a great time to plant containergrown trees and shrubs so that they can get rooted in before winter and get a jump on growth next spring compared to new spring plantings.
While it is still early to plant tulips, daffodils, crocus, hyacinth and other spring flower bulbs, this is a good time to shop and select the biggest and best bulbs as they go on the shelf at your local garden centers and nurseries.
This is a great time to plant new container gardens or add some fresh plants to tired container gardens as we prepare for autumn on our porches and patios or entertaining friends and family.
Late September through October is the optimum time to overseed our Bermudagrass or other warm-season lawns with tall fescue or rye seed to have a green winter lawn.
Most of that seed comes from Oregon, which has experienced exceptionally hot temperatures and extreme drought that has resulted in many crop failures. As a result, fescue and rye seed will be in short supply and much more expensive this fall if you can find it.
If you want to seed a new shady area with cool-season grasses as a more permanent lawn, or to overseed a sunny lawn for green winter color, you may want to grab the seed when you see it even though you should wait to plant at the end of September or in October.
Most seed this year will be blends instead of a single named variety, which will expand your chances at success and deal with the extremely short crop in most varieties.
As our days get shorter and our nights start to get cooler, please spend time in your yard to enjoy the beauty and wonder of your gardens.