College football is officially in full swing, and there is a possibility that we may not be in air-fryer high-heat mode too much longer. This summer heat has made me ornery.
With a little reprieve in the heat and you start inching back into your yard, there are a few things we need to consider handling now that summer is finally winding down.
If your landscape is like most everyone else’s, I am sure you are battling weeds. Try to treat some of the weeds before they produce seed or spread by rhizomes.
Annual weeds will die when we get a good frost, but perennial weeds will sit idle and be ready to jump when we warm up in the spring.
There are a lot of good chemicals to kill
weeds in the lawn, but make sure you find the right one for the type of turf you have. For instance, 2,4-d is a great herbicide for broadleaf weeds in Bermuda and zoysia grasses, but it will burn the heck out of St. Augustine and centipede. I would use Atrazine and/or Image Kills Nutsedge on St. Augustine and centipede for weed control this time of year.
Mid-September is when we suggest applying preemergence for cool-season weeds. Poa annua, henbit, and dandelions can take over in winter, so make sure to take charge before these weeds do. I like the different 0-0-7 products that usually have something like pendimethalin or prodiamine as a preemergence because it has 7% potassium. Potassium is good for root health, and we need to replenish our soils with that element because it doesn’t stay very well.
Don’t be afraid to use a preemergence labeled for ornamental use in your flower and shrub beds as well. I have seen 85% weed reduction in flower and shrub beds from using these chemicals. Products like Barricade and Preen are great.
Just remember that these chemicals kill seeds, so if you are planting something by sowing seed, be careful and read the label on the bag before you apply.
Adding a little nitrogen to your lawn would be ok right now to keep the green going, but do it now and go lightly. If you have bermuda grass, raise your blade up one-half inch to keep it looking green for a little while longer.
As for pruning, if you have mophead hydrangeas, I would have preferred to cut them back a few weeks ago, but there is still a little time. Don’t butcher them, but don’t be afraid to cut out any leggy parts.
Definitely don’t cut oakleaf hydrangea back, since they flower earlier. I don’t like cutting them back at all if you can handle their size.
Azaleas, gardenias and camellias have set their buds for upcoming blooms, so be careful not to cut off the parts that make them so spectacular in the coming months. Heavy pruning on plants like boxwoods and pittosporum is probably OK this time of year, but if you do it much later than now, the tender new leaves will be susceptible to damage from a hard freeze.
This article originally appeared on Augusta Chronicle: Fight fall weeds now to keep lawns healthier through winter | Exclusive
