As a commercial property manager, you want to project a clean, well-maintained look for your facility. You want to draw people into your business, and you want them to notice your property for all the right reasons.
Things like poorly maintained trees or dead and droopy flowers can lead visitors to believe you don’t care for your property. But the worst offender could be weedy, rough looking turf that makes your site look sloppy, neglected, and ignored.
Let’s face it, weeds are the worst. They can instantly give your commercial facility a bad name. Your lawn is like the entryway to your property, so you want it to look nice.
Whether you’re installing new turf, renovating your commercial lawn, or are just seeking better commercial weed control, these tips can help you figure out how to keep turf weed-free and boost the aesthetic value of your property.
Help Fight Weeds with Healthy Turf
Weeds are opportunistic. They see a lawn that lacks nutrients, lacks proper drainage and is thin or stressed, and they attack without hesitation.
Just like your grass, weeds need water, sunlight, and nutrients to grow, and maintaining a healthy lawn can help combat these invaders. Healthy turf will continue to out-compete weeds for these essential elements.
A healthy lawn is one that is mowed to the correct height, watered through proper irrigation, has an adequate balance of nutrients through customized commercial fertilization and is aerated annually to limit compaction. Additionally, monitoring for pests and diseases that can kill grass and give weeds an opening to emerge is important. The goal is to create an optimum environment for grass to grow over weeds. A thick, thriving lawn has the power to repel weeds … but they can still break through, which is why a program that includes pre-emergent and post-emergent herbicide applications is so important.
Where to Start with Commercial Weed Control
When it comes to commercial weed control, knowing which weed you’re battling is a big part of proper control. Why? Because different weeds require different eradication treatments.
For instance, weeds like crabgrass are best controlled with a pre-emergent treatment before they emerge from the soil. Working with a commercial turf maintenance professional who understands the timing of these applications ensures effective control of these weeds.
Other weeds like dandelions are best managed with post-emergent herbicides, after they’re visible above ground.
Some weeds like ground ivy spread very quickly and can become bigger problems to manage that require multiple control strategies. Having a commercial turf professional assess your soil properties and identify the right turf species for your site can help.
Commercial Turf Maintenance Requires Patience
Dealing with weeds on your commercial site is never easy, and once they take over, you want them gone as quickly as possible.
But commercial weed control can take some time. With proper fertilization and pre-and-post-emergent herbicide applications, your grass should regain control and crowd out the weeds. Typically, you can expect to see results from an herbicide application within a few days, but you’ll have to wait several weeks for some weeds to disappear completely, depending on your level of weed infestation and the current health of your turf.
