Remember Those Dandelions?

          Remember last spring when those pesky yellow flowers kept popping up in your yard? You mowed them off, you sprayed them, and all it seemed to do was make them mad!

          Now is the time to spray them with a herbicide! But, you don’t see any! Take a closer look. They may not be flowering but if you look closely you will find the plants in a rosette stage (just leaves, no stems or flowers) hiding in the grass. These rosettes are happily absorbing the sun’s energy and storing it in their roots so they can surprise you next spring with all those pretty yellow flowers!

          If you apply a herbicide now the plants will take that herbicide right into their root system along with the sun’s energy it is moving downward and your herbice application will be much more effective. Fall is an excellent time to apply herbicides for most perennial weeds.

          What should I use! While granular weed and feed products are popular and easy to use they are not likely to be as effective as a liquid herbicide application. They can be used but remember that we are getting a couple of weeks past the ideal time for fall fertilization and granular herbicides may not not as effective on small leaf plants like black medic and clover.

          Ideally look for a lawn and yard herbicide that contains a combination of 2,4-D, and dicamba. If you have crabgrass look for a product which also contains quinclorac. These ingredients will be listed as the active ingredients on the label of the product.