Questions of the Week: August 30, 2018

I’ve had three questions that have come up fairly frequently and that bear repeating here in e-gardens.

“Is it too late to apply pre-emergent weedkillers this weekend?”

No. You’re right in prime time. In fact, the weather continues quite hot, which means that the cool-season weeds haven’t started germinating yet. But it could happen very soon. Try do get the applications made this weekend for sure.

Here is a link to the story we had in e-gardens last week in case you missed it.

 

“I see weedkiller granules on the soil even after I water. Is that normal?”

Yes. You probably applied a modest amount of water – just enough to wash the herbicide granules off the blades of grass and spread them evenly across the surface of the soil. Subsequent waterings will dissolve them further and that should settle them into the surface of the soil entirely. No problem.

 

“We had a heavy rain the day after I applied my pre-emergent weedkiller granules. Do I need to reapply them?”

This question actually was posted onto my Facebook page. I asked the lady where she was in Texas that they had a washing rain (expressing jealousy as I asked), and she said “Midland.” Who would have guessed! I told her we all rejoice for Midland. They don’t get many rains like that and goodness knows they deserve one.

As for whether to reapply or not, there are times that you might be able to justify it, but they certainly aren’t common. I have to leave that to the gardener’s best judgment. If it looks like significant percentages of the granules might have been lost with the runoff, yes, a back-up application soon might be in order – especially of the herbicide intended to stop grassy cool-season weeds. You do get a second chance at the broadleafed weeds with an application of broadleafed weedkiller spray later this fall.