Treating with Preemerge
This video is all about treating with preemerge but before we get to that, Gregg talks a bit about a serious pest, crapemyrtle bark scale.
Crapemyrtle Bark Scale
It’s a serious pest on one of our favorite landscape trees and it’s not going away. In fact, we had more customers than ever come in to talk with us about this issue in 2021. For details on how to identify and treat this pest, please visit our complete blog post.
If you skipped going to that post and you have crapemyrtles, we suggest you go inspect them for any odd looking spots on the bark and make sure that your tree’s bark is the color it should be and not black. If you see any signs of an issue, visit the post or come see us with pictures and we will help you get started on a treatment plan.
As with anything, it’s key to treat properly… use the right chemical control at the right time. Not treating leads to the spreading of this pest. And like with an antibiotic, you need to go the distance; it’s not a one and done thing. There are steps that need to be following for a few growing seasons to get the scale under control.
Treating with Pre Emerge
What is pre emerge? This is a chemical, usually in granular form, that is applied to lawn and landscape beds to prevent weeds. It prevents weeds by creating a chemical barrier in the soil that is several inches in depth. This barrier keeps any weed seeds that are in that soil area from germinating.
Pre emerge does not take care of perennial weeds such as onion and clover. Please visit our post on spreader sticker and weed control for information on these hard to kill weeds.
Pre emerge also won’t kill annual weeds that are established; a post emerge product will have to applied to control those.
When to Treat with Pre Emerge
Because weed seeds germinate at all different temperatures, this chemical barrier layer needs to stay present year round. Apply pre emerge every 60 to 90 days in both lawn and landscape bed areas to control new weed outbreaks.
So, if you haven’t applied pre emerge in the past 60 to 90 days, it’s time to apply it! When grass is dormant or going dormant, apply a pre emerge without fertilizer in it. We recommend Hi Yield Turf and Ornamental Weed and Grass Stopper which can be applied in both lawn and landscape beds. During the growing season, apply a pre emerge containing fertilizer, such as Good Earth brand Grass and Weed Preventer.
Wondering how to apply pre emerge? Check out our post on using a spreader.
Please note that these tips are for zoysiagrass and bermuda grass; for St. Augustine, please visit us. Also, if you are planning on starting any type of seed, whether it’s overseeding your lawn or seeding annuals in your landscape beds, don’t use pre emerge in those areas. It does not differentiate between plant seed types!