In summer, everything is green and bright. One might even say green is the color of summer. As the sun shines, the dew sparkles on each blade of grass, giving the morning that little bit of extra life and light.
The scene is perfectly set across an expanse of neatly mown and trimmed turf with tidy blades standing perfectly like little soldiers…that is, until a nasty, gangly weed pops into the picture with its leggy, floppy, unkempt leaves that completely contradict the turf’s orderly appearance, ruining the vista and the moment. Like an off-key note accidentally played on a piano during a beautiful musical composition, the weed stops you in your tracks, turning heads for all the wrong reasons.
And just like their appearance, common weeds in Atlanta lawns have some pretty ugly names as well. Two summer annual broadleaf weeds that are particularly nasty include fireweed and pigweed.
Fighting fireweed on your property
Many fire departments say fire can double in size every 30 seconds, depending on the conditions in which the fire started and the elements that continue to fuel that fire. Some turf professionals say that’s where fireweed gets its name: It’s sometimes hairy medium green leaves are aggressive and adaptable, enabling these broadleaf weeds to grow superfast, appearing in chunks that seem to quickly take over the lawn if not just as rapidly managed.
Another tricky thing about fireweed is that it can grow from a warm-season lawn’s thatch layer, living above the preemergent herbicide barrier that may have been applied to the turf. That’s both a negative and a positive trait. Unfortunately, preemergent herbicides can’t always prevent fireweed growth. But since fireweed doesn’t securely root itself in the soil, proper maintenance like weekly mowing, as well as the rising Atlanta heat, can encourage these broadleaf weeds to dry up and disappear.
HighGrove’s lawn care and landscape maintenance experts know how to spot fireweed and use a variety of tactics to keep this weed at bay, including post-emergent sprays for broadleaf weeds, as well as proper maintenance to shorten the unwelcome stay of this seasonal lawn visitor. We also work hard to annually aerate lawns to limit thatch layers, ultimately limiting fireweed’s chances of invading your turf.
Stopping pigweed
Despite their trouble with one particular big, bad wolf, pigs are pretty tough little animals. They move low and quick, rooting around with their tough, elongated snouts and eating anything in their paths.
Unfortunately, the same can be said for pigweed, broadleaf weeds with stout, vertical, hairy stems that have an extended germination period and a high rate of seed production from summer throughout fall, meaning it can grow very rapidly in a lawn or at the edges of landscape beds.
Maintaining and encouraging dense turf through proper mowing and watering, in addition to the proper use of postemergent herbicides, can help crowd out pigweed.
Fireweed and pigweed may be Atlanta’s toughest broadleaf weeds, but HighGrove’s lawn care and landscape maintenance professionals are tougher. We can assist any commercial property manager in the battle on not only fireweed and pigweed, but all weeds. Have our experts inspect your metro Atlanta commercial property and provide a weed control and landscape maintenance strategy. Call us at (678) 298-0550 or use our handy contact form.
