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*** Pre-Emergent FAQ ***

104,723 Views | 368 Replies | Last: 3 mo ago by Prince_Ahmed
Ducks4brkfast
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AG
Looks like Lemmon is suggesting pre-emergent now, and not waiting until February.

https://ktrh.iheart.com/featured/gardenline-with-randy-lemmon/content/2020-01-15-apply-pre-emergent-herbicide-early-this-year/
Cromagnum
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Gonna be fun to try and apply it with all our yards being swamp right now.
Charlie Murphy
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Thoughts to if it is safe to spray Bonide Weed Beater Ultra right now? I assume so but you guys seem to know better than i do.
Boat Shoes
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Ducks4brkfast said:

Looks like Lemmon is suggesting pre-emergent now, and not waiting until February.

https://ktrh.iheart.com/featured/gardenline-with-randy-lemmon/content/2020-01-15-apply-pre-emergent-herbicide-early-this-year/


Any idea how this impacts Dallas and North Texas? Should I be considering applying pre-emergent this week?

Thanks
jtraggie99
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Boat Shoes said:

Ducks4brkfast said:

Looks like Lemmon is suggesting pre-emergent now, and not waiting until February.

https://ktrh.iheart.com/featured/gardenline-with-randy-lemmon/content/2020-01-15-apply-pre-emergent-herbicide-early-this-year/


Any idea how this impacts Dallas and North Texas? Should I be considering applying pre-emergent this week?

Thanks
I'm in McKinney and putting mine down today. That being said, I usually wait until early March. Last year I had stuff coming up before then and decided at that time I would try end of January - beginning of February this year and see how that goes.
DallasAggie89
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From Neil Sperry's website:

Note: It is still too early to determine proper timing for application of pre-emergent weedkiller granules (except in deep South Texas, where that timing is already here). Watch here for updates each week.
double aught
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HDeathstar
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Bonide Weed Beater Ultra - Sprayed this last week and it worked like a charm. I think the main concern is hot weather and rain. Needs grass to be dormant, and weeds growing. Time it between rains. May not get many more cold spells
Sweet Kitten Feet
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You mean you sprayed last YEAR?
BowSowy
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Guessing I missed the boat on spring pre-emergent down in Houston? Should I just skip it for the spring and spot treat weeds until the May round of pre-emergent?
Sweet Kitten Feet
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I think around now is when it's typically been done in years past. Late Feb, early March. I plan on putting mine out this weekend in College Station.
jtraggie99
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BowSowy said:

Guessing I missed the boat on spring pre-emergent down in Houston? Should I just skip it for the spring and spot treat weeds until the May round of pre-emergent?

Obviously, the goal is to get down pre-emergent prior to weeds germinating and coming up. That said, there is not some magic window that if you miss, you have to wait a couple of months or whatever. Just put it down. It will help with more coming up. Anything that is already actively growing you can spot treat. Or you can use something like the Bonide Weed Beater Complete which has pre- and post-emergent control. That's what I used this go round. I've typically done that or dimension.
Cromagnum
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At this point you arent treating for cool season weeds anyways. You may stop some from popping up but you are really setting up to block the summer weeds at this point.
YourFavAggie
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Neil Sperry - Feb 13th

Deep South Texas apply pre-emergent granules Dimension, Weed-EX with Halts or Balan to prevent germination of crabgrass and grassburs. Repeat 90 days later for full season of control. These are safe on any type of lawngrass. In Central Texas your time will come first two weeks of March. Far North Texas, last two weeks of March. Remember that these are "pre-" emergent products to kill the weeds before they emerge (germinate).
Eyes of texas Crying
Boat Shoes
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YourFavAggie said:

Neil Sperry - Feb 13th

Deep South Texas apply pre-emergent granules Dimension, Weed-EX with Halts or Balan to prevent germination of crabgrass and grassburs. Repeat 90 days later for full season of control. These are safe on any type of lawngrass. In Central Texas your time will come first two weeks of March. Far North Texas, last two weeks of March. Remember that these are "pre-" emergent products to kill the weeds before they emerge (germinate).


Late March seems awful late for North Texas. But what do I know.
YourFavAggie
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Soil temps for North Texas are 52 as of today for a 5 day average. I have heard you want to get pre-emergent down before it hits 55 degree average over 3-5 days.

I know we have some cooler days coming up, but I am keeping an eye out as well. Fairly new to all of this myself, so any other advice is welcome
Eyes of texas Crying
Gary79Ag
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Well, Neil Sperry lives in the McKinney area do I'm pretty confident in his schedule for N Texas as his schedules have worked for me in the 40 years I've lived in Sherman!!!
Boat Shoes
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Gary79Ag said:

Well, Neil Sperry lives in the McKinney area do I'm pretty confident in his schedule for N Texas as his schedules have worked for me in the 40 years I've lived in Sherman!!!


Fair point. So what happens if you put it down 2-4 weeks too early? Still effective I'd assume?
Sweet Kitten Feet
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It lasts 90-100 days. Ok to be a little early, just not ok to be a little bit late.
Boat Shoes
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Sweet Kitten Feet said:

It lasts 90-100 days. Ok to be a little early, just not ok to be a little bit late.


That's kind of what I was thinking. Throw it down now to be safe.
Gary79Ag
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I get weekly updates from Neil, so I'm not worried as he may change his decision next week depending on the forecasted weather conditions, etc, He has a weekly newsletter, so sign up for free and relax...he's got ya covered!

Neil Sperry E-Gardens Weekly Newsletter
Sweet Kitten Feet
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According to Neil Pre-Emergent time is here.

https://neilsperry.com/2020/02/pre-emergent-time-is-here/
Old School Brother
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Not if you live in DFW. His write-up says if you live in North Texas wait until mid to late March.
aggiederelict
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What's your guys thoughts on putting preemergent down with ryegrass? I overseesed in the fall and my ryegrass has done a really good job of choking out weeds.

I was thinking of waiting until the annual ryegrass starts to die off before putting it down but wanted to get more info. Also, what about fertilization schedule?

Thoughts?
cevans_40
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aggiederelict said:

What's your guys thoughts on putting preemergent down with ryegrass? I overseesed in the fall and my ryegrass has done a really good job of choking out weeds.

I was thinking of waiting until the annual ryegrass starts to die off before putting it down but wanted to get more info. Also, what about fertilization schedule?

Thoughts?

Depends on what preemergent you use. Barricade and the rye will be fine, dimension and its probably toast.
Sweet Kitten Feet
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Thoughts on Pendulum? That's what Producer's carries so that's what I've been using.
aggiederelict
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I have a bag of Surflan XL 2G.
cevans_40
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You should be fine. Best option would be to do half rate now and then another half rate in 4 or 5 weeks
cevans_40
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Sweet Kitten Feet said:

Thoughts on Pendulum? That's what Producer's carries so that's what I've been using.

Pendi is fine. Not the most desirable for crabgrass control but it will work. I would advise going at maximum rates if you have Bermuda or split applications if you have st Augustine
cevans_40
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jtraggie99 said:

Boat Shoes said:

Ducks4brkfast said:

Looks like Lemmon is suggesting pre-emergent now, and not waiting until February.

https://ktrh.iheart.com/featured/gardenline-with-randy-lemmon/content/2020-01-15-apply-pre-emergent-herbicide-early-this-year/


Any idea how this impacts Dallas and North Texas? Should I be considering applying pre-emergent this week?

Thanks
I'm in McKinney and putting mine down today. That being said, I usually wait until early March. Last year I had stuff coming up before then and decided at that time I would try end of January - beginning of February this year and see how that goes.

I am guessing you were seeing winter annuals pop up late in the season after any preemergent applied in the fall had worn off. So basically, you put out material that was too late to control winter annuals and then lost efficacy sooner in the summer. The best option is to go to a 12 month preemergent schedule and then you never have to worry about gaps.
jtraggie99
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cevans_40 said:

jtraggie99 said:

Boat Shoes said:

Ducks4brkfast said:

Looks like Lemmon is suggesting pre-emergent now, and not waiting until February.

https://ktrh.iheart.com/featured/gardenline-with-randy-lemmon/content/2020-01-15-apply-pre-emergent-herbicide-early-this-year/


Any idea how this impacts Dallas and North Texas? Should I be considering applying pre-emergent this week?

Thanks
I'm in McKinney and putting mine down today. That being said, I usually wait until early March. Last year I had stuff coming up before then and decided at that time I would try end of January - beginning of February this year and see how that goes.

I am guessing you were seeing winter annuals pop up late in the season after any preemergent applied in the fall had worn off. So basically, you put out material that was too late to control winter annuals and then lost efficacy sooner in the summer. The best option is to go to a 12 month preemergent schedule and then you never have to worry about gaps.
That's exactly what I do. I put down pre-emergent 4 times a year. I went earlier this year based on a recommendation from a poster on this site in Frisco that is fairly knowledgeable in turf management, who suggested last year going as early as end of January for the first one of the year. Just been playing around with the timing. And the fact that our winters for a number of years now have been fairly mild, it's not a bad idea to try. I'll still be putting it down around every 3 months or so...
cevans_40
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jtraggie99 said:

cevans_40 said:

jtraggie99 said:

Boat Shoes said:

Ducks4brkfast said:

Looks like Lemmon is suggesting pre-emergent now, and not waiting until February.

https://ktrh.iheart.com/featured/gardenline-with-randy-lemmon/content/2020-01-15-apply-pre-emergent-herbicide-early-this-year/


Any idea how this impacts Dallas and North Texas? Should I be considering applying pre-emergent this week?

Thanks
I'm in McKinney and putting mine down today. That being said, I usually wait until early March. Last year I had stuff coming up before then and decided at that time I would try end of January - beginning of February this year and see how that goes.

I am guessing you were seeing winter annuals pop up late in the season after any preemergent applied in the fall had worn off. So basically, you put out material that was too late to control winter annuals and then lost efficacy sooner in the summer. The best option is to go to a 12 month preemergent schedule and then you never have to worry about gaps.
That's exactly what I do. I put down pre-emergent 4 times a year. I went earlier this year based on a recommendation from a poster on this site in Frisco that is fairly knowledgeable in turf management, who suggested last year going as early as end of January for the first one of the year. Just been playing around with the timing. And the fact that our winters for a number of years now have been fairly mild, it's not a bad idea to try. I'll still be putting it down around every 3 months or so...

If you are going 4 times a year, timing really doesn't matter that much. Optimal would be like Feb 1, May 1, Aug 1 and Nov 1. That schedule would coincide with highest weed pressure dates.

I also have a turf background and am always willing to help.
jtraggie99
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AG
cevans_40 said:

jtraggie99 said:

cevans_40 said:

jtraggie99 said:

Boat Shoes said:

Ducks4brkfast said:

Looks like Lemmon is suggesting pre-emergent now, and not waiting until February.

https://ktrh.iheart.com/featured/gardenline-with-randy-lemmon/content/2020-01-15-apply-pre-emergent-herbicide-early-this-year/


Any idea how this impacts Dallas and North Texas? Should I be considering applying pre-emergent this week?

Thanks
I'm in McKinney and putting mine down today. That being said, I usually wait until early March. Last year I had stuff coming up before then and decided at that time I would try end of January - beginning of February this year and see how that goes.

I am guessing you were seeing winter annuals pop up late in the season after any preemergent applied in the fall had worn off. So basically, you put out material that was too late to control winter annuals and then lost efficacy sooner in the summer. The best option is to go to a 12 month preemergent schedule and then you never have to worry about gaps.
That's exactly what I do. I put down pre-emergent 4 times a year. I went earlier this year based on a recommendation from a poster on this site in Frisco that is fairly knowledgeable in turf management, who suggested last year going as early as end of January for the first one of the year. Just been playing around with the timing. And the fact that our winters for a number of years now have been fairly mild, it's not a bad idea to try. I'll still be putting it down around every 3 months or so...

Optimal would be like Feb 1, May 1, Aug 1 and Nov 1. That schedule would coincide with highest weed pressure dates.

Yep, that is pretty much what I am aiming for. This time of year can be difficult though, trying to get stuff down in between rains and cold snaps.
bco2003
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Sperry is moving up his timeline, indicating to put down pre-emergent now, south of the Red River. Posted this just now:


Quote:

Garden Tip: PRE-EMERGENT TIME Between I-10 and the Red River (the central "waistband" covering 75 percent of Texas).North of that line, this will apply in two weeks. South of that line, it's late, but you might get limited help even now.
Once and for all, let's put this to bed. Here are the facts.
Dimension, Halts or Balan (among others) granules.
Apply now to PREVENT GERMINATION of SEEDS of crabgrass and grassburs (annual summer weed grasses).
Repeat application 90 days later for full season of control. The granules are effective for only 100 days you will need two treatments. WARNING: Many stores do not stock pre-emergents in June, so buy two rounds now. In fact, buy three. You'll need the third in late summer for winter weeds. More on that in August.
Water moderately after applying the granules to cover the soil's surface.
Safe around trees and shrubs and on any type of lawngrass, but still, read and follow label directions.
These are not "weed-and-feed" products. I do not endorse those. Too much risk of damaging trees that share the same soil, plus it's too early to feed.
The big grassy weeds you're seeing now are not crabgrass. They're probably rescuegrass or some other winter grass that could have been prevented with the Labor Day application of pre-emergent. The tiny grass with all the seedheads is annual bluegrass (Poa annua). All you can do now is mow frequently to keep seedheads from forming this spring, spot treat or hand dig. You can spray broadleafed (non-grassy) weeds with a 2,4-D based product.
Note: Several of you have asked about spraying glyphosate on dormant bermuda to kill grassy weeds. DO NOT DO THAT!!! At least, do not do that now! Bermuda is not dormant at this time. The only time in my life that I have ever recommended that treatment is in very limited spot-treat application to clumps of dallisgrass in mid-winter (mid-January) when bermuda is totally brown and dallisgrass has started to green up ever so gently. But not now!
This is the third or fourth notice that I've given on pre-emergents here, with a like number in my e-gardens newsletter. Basically, you have only 10-14 days) to get this job done. I will remind you one more time.
Sweet Kitten Feet
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Put it out Sunday in college station and watered it in.
 
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