I’m in central Texas. Sod went in when I purchased the home last July/August. About 1/3 of the sod died bc it was so hot when it was laid and I wasn’t prepared with proper irrigation. But most of it took pretty well and filled in. The parts that lived started doing much better than most of my neighbors, some of them are apparently deadbeats as you can see in the edge of one the pictures lol.
I applied fall fertilizer with a pre-emergent, I think it had post emergent too….Now I’m having a lot of weeds, mostly nutsedge and these braodleaf weeds I don’t know the name of. My question is which spring weed and feed do you recommend? Should I use a weed/feed combo? Or do them separately. The broadleaf weeds are actually pretty easy to remove by hand, but the nutsedge is everywhere in my backyard and a total pain in the ass the pull them by hand.
Thanks
by TX_MonopolyMan
6 Comments
The common lawn pre-emergents (prodiamine, pendimethalin, and dithiopyr) work to help reduce the germination of certain seeds… Mostly grasses and only a handful of broadleaf weeds. The labels will list which weeds are targeted. To prevent more broadleaf weeds, a specialty broadleaf pre emergent like isoboxen is required.
Pre-emergents work by preventing the germination of seeds of the target species. So in order to be effective, a pre emergent needs to be applied BEFORE those seeds germinate. For winter annual weeds (annual weeds that are present in the fall, winter, and spring, like poa annua), a pre emergent needs to be applied in the fall before soil temps fall below 70F. In order to prevent summer annual weeds (like crabgrass), a pre emergent needs to be applied in the spring before soil temps reach 55F. (In very southern areas, timing can be more closely tied with periods of higher moisture AND climbing soil temps. Consult your state extension service for more specific guidance)
Pre emergents will not kill existing weeds. Pre-emergents alone will rarely control a weed problem. Pre-emergents are tools to **reduce** the need for post-emergents. They rarely eliminate the need for post emergents.
The labels of pre emergents have many important instructions and use restrictions. ALWAYS READ THE ENTIRE LABEL. For example, you are limited to 2 applications of each active ingredient per year.
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Pulling nutsedge doesn’t make it spread any more than it was already going to. Pulling nutsedge can be an effective method of control in some situations.
When nutsedge has been growing for awhile, it will produce tubers (“nutlets”). The longer it grows, the more tubers it produces. Each tuber will eventually become a new nutsedge plant. Pulling nutsedge DOES trigger those additional tubers to sprout… But they already existed and would’ve eventually sprouted anyways.
When tubers grow into new plants, they must spend the stored carbohydrates within them in order to grow. They don’t begin to replenish that energy until the new plant has grown its 4th leaf. So, as long as you pull nutsedge before it grows its 4th leaf, it will consume more energy than it stores. When the tuber runs out of stored carbohydrates, it dies.
Tl;dr: pulling nutsedge can be effective as long you follow up and continue to pull it before it grows it’s 4th leaf. Sulfonylurea herbicides like halosulfuron (sedgehammer) and sulfentrazone are indeed more effective than pulling… But in some situations (near sensitive plants, including immature grass), pulling may actually be the best choice.
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urea and certainty
Ive had great success with spectracide 470+ (walmart gtown it was cheapest), image (nutsedge version from lowes leander), and some lesco granular preemergent (forgot where it was a couple years ago). I also have my fiskars 4 prong (gotta be the 4 prong from amazon) puller for yanking the carcasses during my boredom breaks.
You should also slightly overspray and granule that area of your lazy ass neighbors yard. Cuz yeah, im judging em
The best defense against weeds is a thick lawn
Lesco pre emergent