To get a lawn you’ll love there is a particular way in which your lawn care should be undertaken to ensure a healthy and weed-free lawn. Firstly you fertilise and then you spray to eradicate the weeds.
Weeds are usually able to take hold of your lawn if the lawn plants themselves are lacking. If the lawn isn’t healthy, growing well or is diseased then they leave the way open for the weeds to invade. In fact many weed control products specify that the products should not be used on lawns that are struggling or stressed, give the lawn plants a boost first.
Mowing too often or too low (taking off too much green of the lawn plants or more than a third), can affect the ability of the turf to repair itself. Applying a fertiliser will allow the lawn to receive a much needed boost of vitamins and nutrients and will let the plants repair from the stress of being mowed before weed control and chemical treatments are applied.
Herbicides and weedicides are more effective when the plants are growing well. Applying a fertiliser will aid the lawn and weeds growth, while also strengthening the plants and opening the pores on the leaves to allow for much greater absorption from contact sprays.
Weeds grow a lot taller and a lot faster than lawn plants, so fertilising and giving them all a boost will allow the weeds to grow above the lawn plants, making identification and targeting that much easier.
Once the fertiliser has been applied it is recommended that you wait 10 -14 days, before spraying with the appropriate weed killer. This approach will enable the lawn plants to strength and not take in the herbicide, which can cause them to ail or even die as a result.
It is also recommended to leave mowing for at least one week after spraying. If conducted too soon much of the herbicide will be removed from the weeds in the process, before it has had a chance to work its way through the entire system of the weed. Overall, if you mow too soon you could undo all your hard work and the weeds are more likely to grow back.
The best rule of thumb is mowing, fertilising and spraying weed control.
Mowing, ideally leaving at least one week between each stage. Taking this time will allow the lawn plants to strengthen, the weeds to die off and the turf to repair and recover. A little extra time now will eradicate the weeds from your lawn with one application and will leave you with a lawn to enjoy for the rest of the season and beyond. Both fertilising and weed control spraying should occur when both the lawn plants and the weeds are actively growing durng the warmer months of Spring and Summer.
Do not use a fertiliser with added weed controller on a buffalo leaf turf. Always, apply a weed control product specific to the variety of lawn you have.
Fertilising and mowing regularly will reduce the need for weed control products being needed. A full, thick and healthy lawn will not allow weeds to take control of the yard in the first place and go to seed and spread. Following the right order will give you a lawn you’ll love!
Hi so confused as when googling it seems half the lawn are sites say apply weedkiller first then fertiliser then you and others say different? Surprised as you’d think there would be a common consensus
Hi Jim, to achieve better results the first time around, its better/easier to kill a healthy weed and that’s why we inform you to fertilise first, a healthy weed takes more weed killer in to their system resulting in a higher kill rate. Clearly if the weeds you are spraying are already healthy then you wouldn’t need to fertilise them. I hope that makes some sense.
Could you please suggest how long after applying bin-die to lawn, should a fertiliser then be applied?
Thanks, Chris.