February Lawn Tips

Hillary Thompson

May 18, 2018 4 min read

Follow Nature's Bright Yellow Sign...the Forsythia Bush

Forsythia is a shrub with yellow flowers that is one of the first shrubs to flower in spring.

The rule of thumb is to apply spring pre-emergent herbicide when Forsythia starts blooming. That's why every year we say, "Forsythia is the Signal."

In a typical year, if you don't have a Forsythia bush to signal you, apply pre-emergent between February 15th and March 1st to kill weeds before you even see them.

Any later than that window and it's too late to kill weeds with a pre-emergent herbicide (you'll have to switch to a post-emergent to apply directly to the weeds).

Pre-emergent Herbicides

What does pre-emergent mean? It's an herbicide applied to the ground to stop emergence/sprouting of weed seeds so that you never even see the weeds.

Again, Forsythia is the Signal! Any later than March 1st and you'll need to switch to the post-emergent herbicide program until autumn.

ACT NOW due to the warmer soil temps.

Pre-emergent herbicide for Elite Tall Fescue lawns: Prepare to apply 16-4-8 with .25% Barricade to help create a weed-resistant barrier. We have this in stock.
Pre-emergent herbicide for Warm Season lawns (Bermuda, Zoysia, Centipede): Prepare to apply 0-0-7 with .25% Barricade to create a weed-resistant barrier WITHOUT nitrogen fertilizer as it's too early to fertilize warm season turf. We have this in stock.

Post-emergent Herbicides

What does post-emergent mean? It's an herbicide applied directly to existing, visible weeds to kill them once they have already sprouted.

We stock Trimec post-emergent herbicides to apply directly to weeds that you can see now, such as henbit and dandelions.

Alternative Weeding

Exercise & Organic Lawn Care Tip Combo: Can't make it to the gym this week? Spend a few hours weeding by hand! You'll burn calories, plus you'll be practicing organic lawn care.

Winter Turfgrass Tips

It's still a great time to lay Elite Tall Fescue sod. It requires MUCH less water to establish Fescue now (when it's cool) than when temperatures start to warm.
Although it seems counter-intuitive, it's fine to install dormant Bermuda, Centipede, and Zoysia grasses at this time of year. Follow the link for more information or call us with any questions.
Apply our Dolomitic Limestone to all yards except Centipede. Proper soil pH is essential for a plant's ability to uptake important available nutrients. Application of lime (and all fertilizers) should be based on soil test results.
Fertilizing Tall Fescue: Use our 16-4-8 + Iron. Come by and pick some up.
Don't apply fertilizer to warm-season lawns just yet. Wait until after green-up in spring.
As always, don't forget to incorporate our Soil3 organic compost into any new sod installation and to existing lawns for natural nutrients instead of fertilizer.