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We just finished
cleaning out the leaves and debris that had blown into this landscape bed,
and from a distance, it looks pretty good. But if you get down and look
closer, you’ll see it’s getting ready to be invaded by 2 very obnoxious
weeds!
Look closely and you’ll
see small sprigs of green starting to show. And if left alone, these little
critters will slowly take over the bed and by spring, already have you way
behind in weed control! What you’re seeing is Chickweed, and Henbit - Two
of early spring’s most noxious weeds.
Chickweed and henbit are
winter annuals. Their seeds germinate in the fall, they grow slow and low
over the winter, and come on like gang busters in the spring! But if you
react now, you’ll head of the spring weed rush.
Clean out your beds of
leaves and debris, and then look for these weeds coming up. If you see
them, rake hard and pull them out of the ground…they’re very shallow
rooted. If you can’t do that, a quick shot of Roundup should do the trick.
Then, apply a pre emergent herbicide such as Preen. This will stop any
remaining chickweed or henbit seeds from germinating, and come next spring,
your landscape beds should be chickweed and henbit free.
By the way, these also
grow in thin or bare areas of the lawn. See, they’ve already gotten a good
start here in these bare spots. Again, rake them out, get rid of them now,
and work on getting these thin or bare spots thicker next spring with
grass. They only grow in the lawn, where the grass has thinned or died out
... Another good reason to keep your lawn as thick as possible. |
