The fall season is the best time to get your lawn in its best form for the following spring. The temperature and weather conditions in autumn are perfect for restoring your lawn back to its full potential, including 100% grass cover, soil restoration, and making your lawn more wear tolerant.

The three most important tasks you can do for your lawn include:

  1. Late Season Fertilization
  2. Aerating
  3. Weed Control

Getting a handle on your weed control during the fall can make a huge difference in the kind of lawn you get in the spring. Pre-emergent weed control can have a tremendous impact if used to treat your lawn earlier rather than wait for winter to be over.

Weed control will be most successful in the fall if you follow a regimented lawn care program that includes proper fertilization, mowing, irrigation, pest control, and weed control.

Common Winter Annual Weeds

Did you know there are winter annual weeds that germinate in late summer through early fall and then grow throughout the winter months into early spring? These weeds, if not treated right away, will have a negative impact on your spring lawn.

Some of the most common types of winter annual weeds are

  • Henbit
  • Chickweed
  • Corn Speedwell
  • Lawn Burrweed
  • Dandelion, however, this weed is also a spring/summer annual

Treating your winter annuals in fall vs. spring allows the pre-emergent herbicides to kill the weeds before they set seed in the spring when daytime temperatures begin to rise.

Best Time for The Application of Autumn Pre-Emergent Herbicide Treatments

Autumn is the prime time to do lawn treatments and give your turf a clean slate. Being proactive and preventative in your weed control is just one of the ways you can improve your spring lawn and save time and money on additional weed killers.

In Portland, OR, homeowners can treat their lawn with pre-emergent herbicide applications as early as Labor Day. Warmer regions can wait until late October to treat their turf. The general rule is that the air temperature should be 50° or higher when applying the pre-emergent herbicides for optimal performance.

Treating your lawn during the autumn attacks perennial weeds at the roots. This essentially kills them in one fell swoop. The fall application will help control winter weeds and prevent an outbreak on your lawn during the spring. Waiting to treat your lawn in the spring could result in a weed proliferation that will be much harder to eradicate.

Contact us to perform your pre-emergent herbicide treatments, aeration, and other fall tasks.

If you are not sure when to have your lawn treated, contact J&C Lawn Care at (971) 284-2035 and ask a representative when they can perform fall tasks, such as aerating and pre-emergent herbicide treatments, on your property.