Here in North Texas, the early spring sun means we need to think about weed control early. Our balmy climate is like rocket fuel for spring-blooming weeds, and without proper lawn care, that lawn you’ve been looking forward to all winter could end up looking like a wild jungle. 

But fear not, because we’re here to talk you through every step of the weed-busting process. With a little preparation, lawns from Plano to Frisco can be weed-free and ready for summer!

North Texas Spring Blooming Weeds

To combat troublesome early weeds, it’s important to first understand how they work. Time and time again our customers express surprise when we suggest they start a weed control regime in winter.

“But surely we don’t have to think about weeds yet? It’s still so cold in McKinney!”

This is a common but potentially costly misconception. While the trees might be bare and the mercury still hovering around 40, don’t be fooled. There’s a ton of activity happening just below the surface of your lawn, and if left undisturbed, invasive weeds like BlueGrass and Henbit will be popping up everywhere by the time spring rolls around. 

Many of the early-blooming spring weeds we see in North Texas are winter annuals. This means they germinate in the fall, go dormant over winter, and then produce seeds by late spring to early summer, before eventually dying.

Although weeds of this variety usually don’t appear until the weather gets warmer, to control them, you have to start to work much earlier. If you wait until you can see the head of the plant, then chances are, it’s already too late to stop it. 

Weed Control and Lawn Care

So how do you stop weeds before they’ve even appeared on your lawn? The answer is actually pretty simple: year-round targeted weed control.

In terms of controlling weeds and invasive grasses, you have two choices: pre-emergent control or post-emergent control. The difference between the two lies in when the treatment is applied. In other words, do we treat weeds before or after they have sprouted?

As we mentioned earlier in this post, removing weeds after they have germinated is a lengthy, laborious task, which requires constant hard work to achieve. For this reason, our specialist lawn care programs primarily focus on pre-emergents. 

Pre-emergents are herbicides that act as a barrier around your lawn’s surface. Pre-emergents prevent weed seeds from germinating, saving essential nutrients and growing room for your lawn to flourish. 

Pre-emergents come in a variety of formulas and can be specifically adapted to work on whatever pests you’re dealing with in your area. In North Texas, we begin applying our series of pre-emergent treatments in late fall and continue all the way through until the end of April.  We apply three pre-emergent as part of our lawn care program: once at the end of the season, and twice a couple of weeks apart at the start of the new year, giving your lawn a strong fighting chance against winter annual weeds. 

To ensure your lawn thrives, we also conduct a full assessment of your lawn to identify the ideal type of fertilizer to use. We then apply this at regular intervals, monitoring grass quality to ensure maximum results.

We also include post-emergent weed control within every application throughout the year. This allows us to control weeds that have already germinated. This can be caused by many reasons, including timing or even a built-up resistance to specific herbicides. Either way, with College Fund Landscaping your lawn will be treated with expertise at the right time of year! 

Common North Texas Weeds

College Fund Landscaping has been serving the greater Frisco area for more than 23 years, and in that time has encountered three types of weeds more than any others.

Poa Annua (Annual BlueGrass)

Annual BlueGrass, also known as Poa Annua, is one of the most common weeds in the United States. It is recognizable by its smooth, green leaves that are shaped a little like the bow of a ship. Throughout its life cycle, it produces greenish-white seed heads, the majority of which appear in the spring. It can grow in a wide variety of conditions but prefers moist or compacted soil. 

This hardy weed can cause major problems for home lawns and is a real nuisance to remove once seeds have germinated. Selectively removing Poa Annua is troublesome because of its growth pattern, meaning that once it’s up, you’re stuck with it until warmer temperatures cause it to go dormant. Implementing a comprehensive lawn care program early on in the year is by far the most foolproof way to protect your yard from Poa Annua.

Chickweed

Chickweed, or starwort as it’s often called, grows from seeds that germinate in the late fall and winter. Painfully common throughout the US, it creates a dense, thick tangle across lawns, which produces little white flowers in the spring.  Again, Chickweed is a pain in the caboose to remove once it has germinated. 

Henbit

Henbit is a common weed in the U.S. that is found across most regions. In North Texas, the warm weather means that Henbit seeds usually germinate in the cross-over period between winter and spring, then die out when temperatures rise in mid-summer. 

Henbit is lethal to thin lawns that lack nutrients and moisture, and can quickly degrade the quality of your grass. Because of this, we make sure to treat Henbit infestations with a combination of pre-emergents and rich fertilization, helping nurse your lawn back to health at the same time as killing the weed.

North Texas Lawn Care Package

With more than two decades of lawn care and landscaping experience, College Fund Landscaping knows North Texas weed control like the back of our hand. We have helped transform lawns across the state, serving customers in Plano, Frisco, McKinney, and everywhere in between. 

Our comprehensive lawn care packages not only include everyday maintenance like mowing, blowing, and line trimming, but also personalized, long term solutions for a range of weed and pest related issues. 

Contact us today to learn more about our lawn care packages, and have your lawn spick and span in time for summer.