A Good Start, And More ...

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Hi Julie,

I'll work my way backwards. I tackled a major weed infestation problem in my yard that I started last Fall and finished this Spring. I had Broad and Narrow Leaf Plantian, Dandilion, Onion Grass, and Creeping Charlie, as the main culprits for my weeds. I used Ortho's product:

Concentrate

Yes, as it says at the bottom of the .pdf - Creeping Charlie is one of the weeks it kills.

I don't know if it will kill Hostas (Ornamental Grass) but you can go to Ortho.com and email them. I've emailed Ortho before and they're great! If you know the specific strain of Hostas, that would help them more.

I will say that I followed the instructions on the container by-the-book! My lawn was pretty-far along the path where weeds dominated the grass. I had to make 3 applications vs. Ortho's recommendation of 1-2 applications. (I ended up buying the gallon container.) Just follow the directions by the book and you will succeed (even if your problem isn't as bad as mine). After I killed the weeds, I manually dethatched my lawn w/a Scrake (Scaring Rake, or also known as a Dethatching Rake). This created a LOT of debris! (Do have LOTS of waste bags around. Adjust the blade for a slight angle, just enough to gather up the dead debris and scar the dirt.) There was very little grass left because the weeds did such a nasty job! The BEST time to do this is in the Fall, after you've sprayed, and the weeds have 'died'.

The stuff I'm recommending (assuming Ortho says it's OK for your job) is a POST-emergence product. This means that it kills when it 'sits' on TOP of the weeds. It actually 'burns' the leaf's surface from the top, DOWN. A PRE-emergence product is suppose to leach into the soil, get absorbed by the roots, and kill the weeds from the bottom, UP. However, since I wanted to seed right after killing my weeds, a PRE-emergence product is a no-no. (If I used the PRE, I would kill my new grass! PRE is no good for situations where new grass is being grown right away, such as my situation.) Ortho doesn't make a PRE-emergence product anyways (so I was told by Ortho), but they're out there. Home Depot doesn't have a PRE product but your local Nurserys may. (I haven't crossed that bridge yet ...)

Anyways, this Spring, the grass looks great! In April, I Plug-Aerated my lawn (best in Fall, or Spring, when lawns store food for Winter or begin to grow). I also added a Nitrogen mix, added Weed and Feed, and seeded. A few of my neighbors have complimented me on my lawn. Most of the weeds are around the perimeter of my lot. Those, I can take care of manually. Unfortunately, as I mentioned, I used a POST-emergence weed control solution. My Broadleaf Plantian is back because I didn't kill from the bottom, UP! I'll have to spray again this Fall. I have the feeling I'll have to spray EVERY Fall! That's the thing - Am I now a slave to my lawn??! ;-)

We'll see. I hope yours turns out nice too. My best to ya and hope this helps.

Jay J -Moderator

PS: God Bless America!!!