Between the heat and the humidity you may have found you have some new things growing in around your lawn that although they might be green, they aren't what you planted! My favorite definition of a "weed" is -A rose growing in a petunia patch! Simply put a weed is an unintended or undesirable plant based on where it is growing. Lantana is a weed in Hawaii, and in many places bermudagrass, they very same thing we're trying to grow as a lawn is a "weed". So as you may have guessed the first thing we have to determine is what are we trying to grow? Then anything else becomes a weed! Control of the weed then is based on properly identifying it. We generally break them down into two types-Broadleaf (clover,dandelion,spurge,oxalis,etc.) and grassy types-(crabgrass,nutgrass,etc.). Once you have determined what you're trying to grow and which are the weeds then you can plan your attack. My suggestion is to bring samples into the nursery and let us help you determine which product(s) would be best for your situation. It is helpful to know how big the are is also as that will help determine how much or which formulation would be most economical for you.
The best and most economical way to control weeds is to use pre emergent herbicides a couple of times a year! If you time it properly in spring and fall you can save yourself a heap of hard work! Preemergents can be used in turf as well as rock. So stay tuned and we'll give you a heads up when it is time again!
The two most common hot weather weeds seem to be spurge and nutgrass. Spurge is far more common and almost everyone gets it at some point it seems. Spurge is a low growing milky sapped plant that thrives in hot weather and can be just as present in turf as it is in rock or a garden bed. Spurge produces large quantities of seed and spreads fast. You can use fertilome weed out plus "Q" to control it in your lawn and Killzall or Roundup will work fine in rock areas. Again spurge can be prevented by using preemergent herbicide in Spring. Lowell True a retired county extension agent used to tell people that the best way to get rid of nutgrass was to "move"! Nutgrass is actually not a grass but a sedge. It has a complex root system with nodules or "nut" type arrangements on it. It thrives in heat and wet conditions and itcan spread from the root system or from seed. Most areas with "flood" type irrigation have problems with nutsedge because our water shed lakes and streams are filled with it. We are fortunate to now have a product called "Sedgehammer" that is effective on this pest. It does take time-so be patient and it isn't cheap, but it does work and it is worth it in the long run. Just step on the end of nutgrass with your bare feet some time and you'll know what i mean!
Hope you've taken good advise and used preemergence religiously and I'm writing this for no purpose-if not - You've got work to do!
