If chickweed was worth money in the spring of 2000, we would all be rich!  Conditions were such that chickweed, ground ivy, henbit, annual bluegrass (Poa annua), etc. were rampant in lawns and gardens this spring.  First I'll tell you why and then I'll tell you the cure.

    Weed seeds can lay dormant in the soil for years and years.  To drive this point home, consider the fact that the archeologists discovered live seed in the pyramids of Egypt.  A week is defined as "any plant growing in an area where it is not wanted" and weeds tend to be opportunists.  The intense drought of 1999 yielded sparse population of turf grasses due to summer drought demise and poor fall seeding conditions because of continued drought.  This allowed the weed seeds space and sunlight exposure needed to make their bid for predominance in the lawn and landscape.  Chickweed, ground ivy, henbit and annual bluegrass are cool season annuals.  Their life cycle is as follows:  They begin to germinate heavily in late September and continue to do so through early spring.  These weeds are killed by the heat of the summer in the mid Atlantic region and parts further South.  During their glory, they tend to choke out all competition in the turf including the grass.  These weeks also compete with plants in beds for water and nutrients.  In the spring their flowers spew seeds for fall germination.

    "Pre emergent" herbicides are used to interrupt the life cycle of unwanted seeds by forming a vaporous barrier over the soil which cannot successfully be penetrated by the sprouted, emerging weed seedling.  We usually think of Crabgrass Prevent ors for the spring, since crabgrass is a warm season annual which germinates in the spring.  It should be noted that pre-emergents, except for Tupersan (Sideron) also affect germination of grass.

    The following products need to be applied in the first 3 weeks of August in order to prevent the germination of cool season weeds:
 

     *Gallery (also called Portrait) for the prevention of chickweed, ground ivy, henbit, and other broadleaf weeds in turf grass.  Note - Do not re-seed within 60 days of application.  Apply this product early so you can over seed!

    *Betasan for annual bluegrass in turf grass.  Note - You cannot over seed for 4 months following application of this product.  Forget about fall seeding!

    *Amaze for flower, bulb, and ornamental beds for broadleaf weeks and fall germinating grasses.

    Avoid using formulas combined with high nitrogen fertilizers for turf grass as this fertilizer will kill your grass if applied in early August.  It's just too hot!

    See "Our Store:  e-Commerce" for these products.  We also carry Gallery with 5-5-20 Fertilizer at our store for large lawns.  Unfortunately, the bulkiness of the fertilizer carrier makes this product impractical to ship via mail.

   *photo by Steven Foster