10 Tips To Control Summer Weeds

Great tips from Foxborough #1 Lawn Management Company:

1. Controlling summer annual weeds does not mean blindly broadcasting herbicides across your lawn. Take Turf Pro's advice: You should not spray weeds when temperatures consistently range above 85 degrees. Instead, focus on thickening up your turf and applying a post emergent herbicide in mid to late spring when the weeds are still young. This will ensure your grass recovers before temperatures rise. 

2. The best time to use a preventive chemical agent on grubs is in mid to late June, depending on the weather. The best time to use a grub control to kill last year’s grubs is in very early spring, depending on the weather. Many large companies however broadcast these agents regardless of the situation. Turf Pro believes these practices are unethical.

3. SPOTTED SPURGE: A summer annual, Spotted Spurge is another weed that appears in dry, sandy and compacted soil. You’ll often find this plant in gardens, brick walks, waste areas and other low-nutrient or disturbed sites. Its leaves are pale green and have a mark in the middle of them. When injured, its stem secretes a white sap.

4. Purslane (Portulaca oleracea) is a unique weed because people find it both useful and obnoxious. India and the Middle East cultivate Purslane for cooking and many use it for its health benefits. Yet, it can also be a damaging weed. Its matted surfaces deprive grass areas to grow, as well as vital nutrients. It’s ability to reroot after being dug up and its knack to populate quickly can easily reduce the astethic qualities of your lawn.

5. Why should you apply fertilizer to your lawn if it already looks healthy? 
Potassium (a nutrient in most fertilizer bags) helps grass manage environmental stresses like cold and heat. However, to be effective, turf must consume potassium PRIOR to being stressed. Therefore, your lawn might look healthy now, but without proper potassium intake, it will eventually fail to fight off that summer drought or winter cold!

6. You can find this common weed in disturbed and compacted sites throughout the world. Known as cuckoo’s bread, doorweed and Englishman’s foot, it is also indicates the quality of your soil and turf. Loosen up your soil with aeration in the fall and fill in areas with slice or overseeding to reduce Broad Leaf Plantain. However, if you have kids in your house, you might want to keep 2-3 of these weeds - their leaves stop bleeding in seconds - better than any bandage and you don't even need neosporin or similar antiseptic while using it.

7. LARGE CRABGRASS. This grassy weed is just one of many crabgrass types. A vicious plant, crabgrass will quickly occupy a thin or newly seeded lawn in the spring and summer. A single Large Crabgrass plant is capable of producing up to 150,00 seeds! By June, crabgrass is already growing and often a post emergent herbicide is necessary to hold off the pesky weed. However, these plants will always grow back when your lawn is thin and the soil is disturbed. A thick, healthy lawn will keep Large crabgrass at bay! 

8. WILD VIOLETS. These purple flowers brighten anyone’s gloomy morning. After all, the Violets are a sign of spring and summer. However, once established, this perennial is very hard to eradicate from your lawn because of its deep underground root system. Even a few remaining roots can form new colonies. Identify by its five smooth, hairless and heart shaped petals, as well as its purple and white flowers. Then manage with multiple herbicide applications during bloom. Growing thicker turf is the long term solution. 

9. CORN SPEEDWELL.
If this winter annual appears in your lawn, it likely means your property has poor soil. Identify the weed by both its small, blue to purple flowers and by its opposite based leaves along the base and smaller leaves at the stem. 
The weed will die come summer, but like all annual weeds it seeds vigorously. To manage it, create a long-term plan. Use a herbicide to knock it back and increase the density of your turf and quality of your soil. Although it is generally a weak weed, it may take at least two seasons to see expected results.

10. DANDELION. 
These bright yellow flowers (known also as lion's tooth and monk's head) grow in almost any conditions from mid spring to late summer. 
Because the aggressive plants root themselves up to 1 foot deep, pulling them from the ground usually does little, but strain your back. Instead apply a broad spectrum, pre-emergent herbicide for control and establish thicker grass!

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