2012 Seems to be a Banner Year for Weeds in the Tulsa Area
That’s good for business, but it makes our jobs more challenging in trying to get a handle on these spring weeds. There are several reasons for the accelerated generation of weeds this spring.- The lingering effects from the 2011′s drought are still evident in many Tulsa lawns. The best defense against weeds is always a thick, healthy, well-fertilized turf, which helps to choke out many undesirable weeds. When the turf is thin due to the lack of nutrition, poor soil, excess shade, turf disease, and lack of proper irrigation, the weeds will be the first to come into those thin areas and try to fill them in. Even with pre-emergent herbicides, if the turf is thin, you are going to have some weeds. Many lawns were wacked last summer, and it was hard to keep up with the watering. In some lawns, because of last summer’s drought, you’ll see “hot spots” along the edges or in areas with poor soil where it was difficult to keep irrigated. As a result, the turf thinned out and did not have time to fully recover in the fall. These are areas—even in well-maintained lawns—weeds may be evident this spring.
- We’ve just experienced the 4th warmest winter on record in Oklahoma. Trees, grass, shrubs, and even weeds are about 2-3 weeks ahead of schedule compared to where they should normally be in early March. This accelerated schedule yields some concern regarding crabgrass germination which normally occurs in late March to early April in the Tulsa area, but not this year. We expect to see some crabgrass germination in about a week in those “hot spots” so we are working as hard as possible to apply pre-emergent weed-control on Tulsa lawns as quickly as possible.
- The 3rd reason for the generation of weeds is maybe you are not using LawnAmerica! If so, why not? We’re the best Tulsa lawn care company in town, and we care for more happy homeowners than anyone else around. In fact, this past week we celebrated by crossing the 10,000 customer level at LawnAmerica, with more added every day. And if you are a customer, thank you! Don’t forget that lawn service calls are always free for full lawn care program customers if those weeds pop up in between regular treatments, as they often do during spring. So just give us a call, or request a service call, and we’ll be out within a few days to take care of any persisting weeds.
Water in Your Crabgrass Pre-Emergent ASAP
These warm March temperatures may be great for getting outside to play baseball, go hiking, playing, and starting on that summer tan, but it also makes it easier and quicker for crabgrass to germinate. So if you have a pre-emergent applied during March, don’t wait for rainfall to water it in as you usually can. Water it in within a day, in order to move the product down into the soil where it will do it’s job.
Come Say Hi at the Tulsa Home and Garden Show this Weekend!
LawnAmerica, along with “Big Jake” (our 9′ tall LawnAmerica guy), will be at the homeshow this weekend, so stop by and say hello! If you are an existing customer, Thank You! If you are starting service now, we’ll donate $50 to your choice of 5 local charites this spring. At LawnAmerica, we’re not only making your neighborhood more beautiful, we’re also doing our part in making our community a better place to hang our hat.
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- Most of the dormant bermudagrass is thick, healthy, with no weeds.
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- Where the turf was thinned last summer, a few weeds are present.
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- Even thinner turf along the edge, and more weeds.
Tags: Crabgrass Pre-Emergent, drought, lawn service calls, lawncare, pre-emergent, weed-control
