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The Lawn Care Season Has Kicked-Off in the South

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lawn care in the south now beginning During the spring, I travel across the US to conduct training seminars for our great Field Staff and Customer Service Professionals in many of the states where Spring-Green does business. I started off in Columbia, SC, working with teams from North and South Carolina along with a team from Alabama. All of these locations started their lawn care year or are getting ready to start within the next week. It may be early February, but if the weather is good, as it has been, these operations are getting a jump start on late winter weed control. This helps lessen weed populations before warm season grasses begin breaking dormancy and start growing again. I had a chance to take a walk outside around the hotel where I am staying today and observed many weeds growing in the turfgrass around the building. These are not the type of weeds that start growing in the fall, also known as winter annuals, but are recently germinated weeds. Much of the south has been enjoying a mild, although recently stormy, winter. This allowed weeds to grow almost unchecked this winter, so steps need to be taken to control them.

weeds showing up in the south

The control methods include applications of both pre-emergent and post-emergent weed control products. The difference between the two is fairly simple. A pre-emergent is applied to prevent weeds from germinating and a post-emergent is applied after the weed has germinated and is actively growing. Not all weeds are prevented with an application of a pre-emergent. The primary weeds controlled by a pre-emergent are annual grassy weeds like Crabgrass, Foxtail and Goosegrass. Fortunately, these materials will also prevent many annual broadleaf weeds such as Spotted Spurge, Knotweed and Lespedeza from germinating as well. A post-emergent weed control material is applied mainly on actively growing broadleaf weeds. There are post-emergent products that can also be used on many grassy weeds, but that is a blog post topic for another day. The important aspect of controlling weeds with a post-emergent product is that the weed has to be actively growing to get the best control. If it is too: cold, hot, dry or even wet, these conditions can affect the ability of the product to do its job.  The owners that attended the training course today are well aware that the weather can change, but it is important that Spring-Green locations take advantage of each day that allows them the opportunity to work on their lawns. If you have questions on weed control this winter, contact your neighborhood lawn care professional at Spring-Green.