Weeds
Things you can't see may
hurt your lawn in the future. Cold weather conditions tend to be wetter
in many areas and spring and summer weeds could be waiting in the
grass. Research has shown that lawns that have been thinned by disease
or insects are vulnerable to invasions of weedy grasses and broadleaf
weeds.
If you don't act at the
right time, you could be facing multiple color and texture within
your lawn. Weeds can be difficult to eliminate once they've 'pop-up'
in your lawn. Weeds such as dandelions that produce flowers, are much
more visible if it appears in a lovely green lawn.

Battling
Weeds In Your Landscape
As every landscaper
knows, weeds are inevitable, but there are products and tools on the
market that can give you some real ammunition in the battle against
weeds in your landscape.
While you can certainly pull
weeds from your landscape by hand, these products can save you time
and effort. Let's look at a few.
Landscaping cloth is inexpensive
and indispensable in the battle against landscape weeds. This fine plastic
landscaping mesh is made to be laid down on bedding landscapes before
planting in order to form a barrier to weeds trying to take root. Be
certain to prepare your soil for landscaping and then lay the landscape
cloth down over the area you want to cover. Pieces of wire bent into
U-shapes can be used to anchor the landscape cloth edges to the ground.
Once you have secured the mesh, you are ready to begin planting your
bedding landscape.
The landscaping mesh cloth
is easy to cut with a utility knife. Simply cut an X, lift out some
of the soil and set the landscape plant into the ground. Fill soil back
in around the plant and smooth the landscape cloth around the base.
Cover with mulch and you now have a highly weed resistant bedding landscape.
Hoes, both large and small
are great tools to keep around for removing weeds from your landscape.
Smaller hoes are good for getting around tight areas in flower bed landscapes
while rake style hoes are terrific for weeding larger areas like vegetable
garden landscapes.
Sometimes the job may call
for chemical weed killer. Herbicides can be somewhat effective when
used correctly on weeds in your landscape. There are two main types.
Pre-emergent herbicides stop weeds from even germinating because they
form a gas barrier in the top layer of your landscape soil that the
weeds can't penetrate. Be sure to water the herbicide in well to activate
it.
Post-emergent weed killers
eliminate established weeds. Some formulas target specific types of
weeds, while others will kill anything sprayed on your landscape.
And don't forget, there is
another weapon in your arsenal for battling weeds in your landscape;
your local landscape company. Most landscaping businesses have a residential
landscape division that provides weekly or monthly landscape maintenance
to customers on a contract basis.
The battle against weeds
in your landscape requires vigilance, but it will pay off in the satisfaction
you'll feel every time you look at your lovely landscape.