Have a plan for a weed-free landscape!
Tips for a Weed Free Landscape
Each of us will want an approach to dealing with weeds that matches our goals for our outdoor spaces. What all weeds do have in common is that they don’t care about our plans. If left to their own devices they’ll establish a foothold and spread as far and wide as we allow them to.
Whether you’re worried about your lawn, your flower gardens, or some other area of your property—the key to getting the upper hand on weeds without making it a full-time job is to have a plan. Keep reading to learn how to put together an effective approach to dealing with any weeds that are causing you problems in any area of your property and what you need to do to stay weed-free once you’ve gotten rid of them.
A 3-Point Plan for a Weed Free Landscape
If you just pull weeds as you notice them, you’ll spend all summer long chasing the problem. That’s not the best way to enjoy your time outdoors. Once you know what you want the results to be, you can make a plan that puts weeds at a disadvantage right out of the gate. Chemical and mechanical approaches to removing weeds will be your last line of defense on an as-needed basis.
Know Your Enemy
Whether you want to encourage certain weeds or just want to show every uninvited guest to the door, there are things that you can do to make the work of eliminating weeds easier while you’re still in the planning stages. It takes a different approach to deal with crabgrass in your lawn than it does with dandelions, or thistles, in your flower garden.
For gardens and landscaped areas, the best approach is one that incorporates techniques to discourage weeds from growing there in the first place. When you’re dealing with the open spaces of your lawn it makes more sense to get a head start before the weeds gain a foothold and to use all of the tools at your disposal to keep them from getting out of control.
Plan the Work and Work the Plan
The winter months are a great time to start thinking about your plan of attack for the weeds that gave you problems on your lawn and in your landscaping over the course of the previous year. If you have a general idea of where your problems were and when they started to appear, then you’ll have a good idea of what you need to do and when you need to have it done.
In your landscaped areas and garden, it makes sense to use felt or other barrier materials to block out any pests from last year that might have spread seeds or gone dormant to wait for the following spring. Using mulch, stone, or other decorative covers on top of the felt will limit the opportunities for weeds to get the air and sunlight they need. If weeds do appear in the gaps that you open for your flowers, or shrubs, pull them before they grow enough to cause problems.
Healthy plants are actually one of the best defenses against weeds. By planning your garden and landscaping you can limit the spots where weeds stand any chance at all. By filling those spots with healthy plants, you make it even tougher for weeds to survive. This is a good rule to remember for your lawn since growing healthy grass is the easiest and best way to combat clover and crabgrass.
The Best Defense is a Good Offense
If you follow the first two steps of the plan we’ve laid out for you then you should notice a huge difference in the number of weeds that you have in your lawn and landscaping. But even a solid plan can’t eliminate every weed so you’ll need to have a strategy for dealing with the weeds that manage to get a leg up on your defenses.
For your lawn, it’s best to start in the fall with a weed and feed treatment that will help your lawn come back healthy right out of the gate the following spring. An early spring treatment can help control weed problems if you’d had a particularly tough time with unwanted weeds and groundcover in the grassy areas around your property.
When it comes to combatting weeds in your garden and landscaping it’s best to engage them in hand-to-hand combat. Pull weeds from your garden and landscaping early to make sure they don’t outcompete your ornamentals, vegetables, or other desirable plants. As the season progresses, the strength of your plants will help to choke out additional waves of weeds before they get a chance to break the surface of the soil.
Let the Local Landscaping Experts Help You Plan and Execute a Weed Free Landscape
Taussig Landscape has seeds, starters, ornamental shrubs, and everything else that you’ll need to lay the foundations of a weed-free yard and garden. Homeowners trust us to help them get and keep beautiful landscaping for a reason. Stop by today or give us a call to speak to one of our landscape design experts about the dreams you have for your home’s outdoor areas.
