Weeds can be found in just about every lawn. Weeds are not only unattractive to some people, but they compete with turfgrass for water and nutrients. But did you know that weeds are seldom a problem in well-managed, vigorously growing lawns?
Why Does Your Lawn Have Weeds?
Most lawns fall prey to weeds due to poor maintenance practices that weaken it. The three main factors likely to weaken lawns are improper irrigation, fertilization, or mowing.
In order to know how to manage weeds correctly, you'll need to identify the weeds and understand their life cycle. Certain weeds are associated with conditions such as compacted soil, overwatering, and poor drainage.
Weed Management
The newly updated...
/h2>/h2>Did you make a resolution to be healthier in 2016? If so, why not add keeping your landscape healthy to your resolution? UC IPM has a new resource that can help.
The Seasonal Landscape IPM Checklist or SLIC is a regional decision-making tool that can help you keep your landscape healthy by preventing pests and plant problems. It was designed to help landscape professionals and home gardeners know which activities to do to prevent, monitor, or manage pests each month. Monthly lists can be viewed online or printed as a PDF and you can carry it with you to ‘check off' activities as you work outside.
The newest feature of the tool...
- Author: Jeannette E. Warnert
Weeds don't just look unsightly, they also rob other plants of water, says a UC Agriculture and Natural Resources (UC ANR) expert in a new water conservation video released today.
Any loss of water is a concern as California's fourth summer of drought comes to a close. Missy Gable, director of the UC Master Gardener Program, suggests removing weeds so they won't compete with ornamental plants or edible vegetables.
If weeds are scattered throughout your yard and mixed in with plants, hand-weeding is probably the best eradication method. Cultivation can damage ornamentals with shallow roots, bring weed seeds to...
The UC IPM Web site contains many useful features to help identify pests and problems in the garden and home. One such feature is the Weed Gallery, which contains images and identification tips for more than 150 common weeds.
If you think you know the name of your weed, the gallery allows you to quickly access photos using common or scientific names to confirm identification. Just use the “List of All Weeds” link from the main weed gallery page.
If you don't know what the weed is, the gallery will help you identify the plant using visual characteristics. First, narrow your search by selecting the weed category—broadleaf, grass,...
- Author:
James Stapleton
In the backyard or in the wild, roguing (selectively pulling or cutting weed plants) and herbicide spot treatments can help prevent small patches of invasive weeds from becoming large infestations. However, herbicide applications may be of little value where senescent plants have already set seeds, because the dead “skeleton” plants may bear dormant but living seeds, which can initiate new infestations.
In the past, such plants may have been removed by stacking and burning them. However, under present conditions, burn permits are hard to come by. Landfill disposal is another option, but transporting seed-bearing plants may spread the seeds, making the problem worse instead of better. Deep burial of plant material...