Weeds
The control of weeds in the home lawn remains one of the biggest priorities in any lawn care program. There once was a time where it was easy to control these problems by blanket treatments of herbicides but a major part of an organic approach is to apply control products sparingly and only when necessary. There are products designed as much lower risk that organic lawn care professionals can employ for the control of weeds but the best defense remains a thick healthy turf growing from a soil that is alive with microbial activity.
However, if you are going to use control products to kill weeds we strongly recommend using Fiesta Weed Control and Spray and Play Liquid Corn Gluten.
Weeds in Turf grass
Turf grass weeds can be grouped into one of three life cycles: annual, biennial, or perennial.
Annuals are plants that complete their life cycle in one growing season. Seeds of summer annuals germinate in spring, produce vegetative growth in spring and summer, then produce seed and die in the fall. Examples of summer annual weeds are crabgrass and spotted spurge.
Perennial weeds live for three or more years although leaves and aboveground stems often die back at the end of the growing season. Perennials produce new vegetative growth from growing points at or below the soil surface. Perennials also produce new plants from seed. An example of a common turf perennial weed is a dandelion.
Winter annual seeds germinate in fall, grow during fall, winter and early spring then produce seed and die in late spring. An example of a common winter annual is chickweed.
Biennials require two growing seasons to complete their life cycles. They usually produce vegetative growth the first year then flower and set seed during the second year.
To identify weeds you must first distinguish between broadleaf weeds and grassy weeds. Broadleaf weeds usually have wider leaf blades than grassy weeds. Each leaf typically has a main vein that divides the leaf in half with a network of smaller veins (originating from the main vein) forming a netlike pattern. Broadleaf weeds have distinct leaf shapes and surface characteristics that can be used in identification. Broadleaf weeds often bear colorful flowers of different sizes and shapes. At certain times of the year flowers can be very useful identification aids.
Grassy weeds have long, narrow leaves with veins running parallel to each other. Grasses do not have showy or colorful flowers and leaf shapes are similar among species. The ability to identify grasses depends on recognizing growth habits, certain vegetative features and seed heads.
Common Grassy Weeds
Crabgrass
Two species of crabgrass, hairy and smooth, are commonly found in our area. Smooth crabgrass predominates in turf grass stands. Both species are summer annuals and have wide (1/4- to 1/2-inch), sparsely hairy, pale-green leaves that taper to a sharp point. Leaves of hairy crabgrass are hairier than smooth crabgrass. Seed heads are divided spikes that project like fingers from the stem, producing thousands of seeds in late summer. Seeds germinate in spring when soil temperatures reach 55˚ to 58˚ F for several consecutive days. Crabgrass plants die after the first frost in early Fall.
I’ve often said that on the day I pass away, it will be about two years earlier than it should have been had I not been a lawn guy and I blame this squarely on crabgrass. Crabgrass is going to cause you stress. Be prepared now, as you embark on your lawn care career to have to deal with crabgrass on a very adversarial basis. Crabgrass is the enemy of everything lawn care and it remains one of the most difficult to control issues that we contend with every single year. Crabgrass is such an issue that every single lawn care program provided by every single lawn care company or do it yourselfer dedicates an entire treatment to the prevention of crabgrass and guess what? It is a total inexact science. Pre-emergent crabgrass control is the first step in dealing with eliminating crabgrass and it must be applied in a timely manner. A common phrase heard about crabgrass pre-emergent is that it must be applied on the day the forsythia blooms and this is somewhat true. Crabgrass will germinate based on soil temperatures and this is about the same time the forsythia begins to bloom.
Your responsibility as a lawn specialist concerning your customers and crabgrass is two fold: The first is to keep your customers lawns free from crabgrass infestations. Make sure that the consistent application of liquid corn gluten a priority. Secondly it is an absolute necessity that you communicate effectively with your customers about crabgrass. Help them to understand how they can help prevent and control it by mowing and watering effectively.
Bent Grass
Bent grasses are desirable turf grass species when used on golf course fairways and putting greens. However bent grass is a common perennial grass weed in many home lawns. Like other grassy weeds bent grass creeps over desirable turf and forms large light-green patches that usually turn brown in summer.
A lot of times customers can’t for the life of them understand why there is a giant light green patch of strange grass growing in the middle of their lawn. It looks completely out of place and turns brown when it is mowed. All they know is that they want you to not only explain where it came from but also to make it go away. The problem here is that neither one of those issues has an easy answer or solution. The question of where did it come from is very difficult to answer. Bent grass spreads very quickly and a customer may not notice it until it is a giant patch in the middle of the lawn. It comes from a seed head of the grass variety somehow landing in the soil and germinating. This could have come from a misplaced seed in a grass mix that was used or even from a bird dropping. Most of the time the answer is simply, “I don’t know” and that is not an acceptable response if you are the customer. Almost as unacceptable as the answer to “how do I get rid of it?” The only way to get rid of a patch of bent grass is to dig it out or spray it with a non-selective organic herbicide that is vinegar based. The key to communicating this effectively to your customer is confidence and knowledge. As long as you know what you are talking about the customer will respect you and your answers and solutions. This is not an issue that is terribly common but will no doubt come up occasionally in your route.
Orchard Grass
Orchard Grass is a bunch-type perennial grass weed that forms light green clumps in lawns. Leaves have folded blades and are wide (1/4 to 1/2 inch), light green and pointed at the tip. The sheaths of orchard Grass are strongly compressed and flattened.
If you are dealing with a lawn that has enough orchard grass in it to be identified usually you need to recommend to the customer that aerating and over seeding is a requirement in the Fall. The best method to make orchard grass go away is to crowd it out. Every once in a while you will see it popping up in a thick stand of turf grass and looking suspiciously like crab grass but it isn’t that common.
Yellow Nutsedge
Yellow nutsedge is not a true grass but a member of the sedge family. Plants in this family are characterized by erect, triangular stems and a preference for moist or wet areas. Leaves and stems are yellow-green and shiny. Although leaves and aboveground stems die in winter, new
growth occurs in spring and summer from vigorous, scaly rhizomes and nutlets that grow underground. Brown seed heads may be present on plants that are not mowed.
What a pain in the neck nutsedge is. It seems like nutsedge infestations have gained momentum in years past and is truly an invasive weed. The biggest problem with nutsedge is that it just looks so completely out of place. You will have customers with picture perfect lawns that are completely weed and crabgrass free and the color is simply gorgeous. All it takes is for one small patch of nutsedge to appear and the lawn looks awful. Often times it takes several treatments of an herbicide to make this obtrusive weed go away and it always seems to come back just as strong the next year.
It is your responsibility to acknowledge this problem immediately when you see it in your customer’s lawns. Do not just ignore it in hopes that they plan to do the same because they won’t ignore it. Knock on the door when you are finished treating the lawn and ask if they have a minute to discuss the issue. Currently there is no selective, organically accepted herbicide that will control nutsedge. You just may find yourself on your hands and knees pulling it out.
Common Broadleaf Weeds
Perennials
Broadleaf Plantain
Leaves are large, rounded, have wavy edges and are from three to six inches in length. The entire rosette lies flat on the ground and has a tendency to suffocate desirable grasses. Seeds are compressed along more than half the length of five to ten inch stalks.
Plantain is one of those weeds that are common in lawns that need a lot of help. You will find it in highly compacted soil and soil that is acidic or has a low pH. In most cases plantain is pretty easy to control and you should have it out of your customers lawns altogether after several visits.
Buckhorn Plantain
Buckhorn plantain is a perennial that closely resembles broadleaved plantain. Its tall stocks terminate in a cluster of tightly compressed seeds. Although the seed heads are fairly small, several crops may be dropped into the soil during a season. Buckhorn has a taproot with strong lateral roots. Cutting or pulling only results in a new plant springing from any part of the severed root.
I once knew a landscaper who called this weed “Indian Paintbrush.” He would call the office to talk to me and say, “hey, did you spray out that Indian Paintbrush over on Colonial Drive?” I would happily tell him, “Yes sir I did. I took care of it this week. You should expect that Indian Paintbrush to be gone shortly.”
Oxalis
This creeping, spreading perennial is often a turf problem in mid summer. Its stems are either flattened along the ground or slightly upright and it spreads by creeping rhizomes. Leaves are composed of three apple green, heart-shaped leaflets. They are occasionally tinged with purple and covered with soft fine hairs. Flowers are small with five conspicuous, bright yellow petals.
Oxalis kind of looks like clover to the average customer who isn’t as well versed in their lawn as some people are. It is a bit of a secondary problem to crabgrass when it is visible because it shows up at about the same exact time and about the same exact places. Oxalis is a bit difficult to control mainly because it is most visible during the hottest time of the year. When you spray it during the heat of the day the weed control isn’t readily absorbed into the tissue of the plant therefore it is slow to die. It will turn a purplish color and almost black but doesn’t curl up and die the way some weeds do.
Dandelion
Contrary to popular belief, dandelion is not an annual, but a very hardy perennial. Its strong taproot penetrates the soil from two to three feet and the aboveground rosette remains the year round. Dandelion, with its yellow blossom, grows over a large area of the United States and it is probably the most easily recognized of all turf weeds. Yellow blossoms soon mature into round, white puffballs full of seeds. These seeds are carried many miles by the wind and a single plant can serve as a continuous source of infestation.
The dandelion can make you look like both a heel and a hero. It is your goal as a lawn technician to keep all weeds out of your customer’s lawns. Whenever you see a weed you must acknowledge it and spray it in an effort to eradicate it. Dandelions, when you spray them in spring time, will curl up and look like as if they have been poisoned. When a customer sees that all the dandelions in his/her lawn are dying only a day or so after you have treated for them they are certain that they made the right decision to hire your company. However, in many cases, only a few days after that, as long as the spring time weather is normal…more dandelions. There is usually a two or three-week period every spring where you can’t even fathom why there are so many dandelions everywhere you look. Do your best to spray every single one of them and your customers will love you and your service. If you happen to be driving by a lawn that you know you treated a few weeks before and see that it has a dozen dandelions in it don’t be afraid to make an unscheduled stop and take care of them for your customer. Just make sure you let them know that you were there.
You will probably at some point in your lawn care life hear the lawn guy urban legend about the specialist who has a service call for dandelions. It is hot out and he has tons of stops to do. This one service call is all the way across town and it is going to take him a half an hour out of his way. When he gets to the customers house he finds that there is one single dandelion in the middle of the front yard and he his met there by a homeowner who is rather dissatisfied at the emergence of this solitary weed. Before the specialist can gather his bearings he bends over and picks the dandelion and hands it to the homeowner. He says, “All set, have a nice day” and walks away only to be fired later in the day. I think there are at least a dozen or so variations of this story but there is also a moral to be learned. People have different expectations. You will have customers who wouldn’t pick up the phone for a thousand dandelions and are thrilled with your service and then you will have customers who are offended at the sight of just one tiny weed. You will need to treat each customer as an individual and be very aware that your goal is to keep them happy no matter what their demands are.