We are officially in the midst of Fall lawn season in the DC Metro area, where the best time to work on your lawn is ideally between August 15th and September 30th. Here, in part 1 of our lawn care guide, we'll walk you through removing fall weeds.

Should I remove weeds or seed first?

Once grass seed goes down, we can't attack weeds until the new seed has germinated and been mowed twice. Because of that, it's important to address all weed removal first before you move on to seeding. After your freshly-germinated grass seed has been mowed twice, you may safely spray weeds again.

How do I remove weeds in my lawn?

First, identify the category of weed, then you can find the best herbicide for removal. Weeds are divided into two major categories: broadleaf weeds and grassy weeds.

Broadleaf weeds are most of the common weeds you see around the yard: clover, wild violets, dandelions, oxalis, and wild strawberry among many others. A broadleaf weed is literally anything that is not a grass. 

How do I treat broadleaf weeds?

To treat broadleaf weeds, we recommend a product called Speed Zone, which can be purchased in our turf department. Speed Zone is a liquid that comes in concentrated form and is designed to kill anything that isn't grass. As an added measure to ensure the product binds to weeds for removal, we recommend adding Wilt-Pruf to your mixer. 

How do I treat grassy weeds?

The grassy weed family is dominated by crabgrass. Invariably, crabgrass will show up along the edges of the driveway and sidewalks and that problem area between the sidewalk and the street. Other common grassy weeds include nutsedge, Japanese stilt grass, wiregrass and nimblewill. If you have an unfamiliar grassy weed growing in your lawn, and you aren't sure what it is, bring in a decent-sized sample to our turf department for identification and information on treatment. 

Here are our two favorite products for treating grassy weeds:

• Image All-In-One Lawn Weed Killer not only kills crabgrass and nutsedge, but also kills the majority of broadleaf weeds. 

• Bayer's Bermudagrass Control for Lawns does not do a great job of killing Bermudagrass (wiregrass) but does a wonderful job killing crabgrass and Japanese stilt grass. 

What do I do after spraying weeds? 

Once sprayed, weeds should die in 5-7 days. Leaves will turn brown and lose firmness when ready to be removed. Most weeds will come out with either routine mowing or a rake, but more deeply rooted weeds may need additional manual removal. And since you treated the weed with herbicide, we recommend not composting afterwards, but disposing of in a yard waste bin instead.

What's next?

Keep an eye out for Part 2, where we will walk you through seeding and overseeding your lawn, in the weeks ahead.