Weed Management in Landscapes

Embed Doc
Copy Link
Readcast
Collections

CommentGo Back

EST

OTES

Publication 7441

University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources Revised August 2001

EED

ANAGEMENT

ANDSCAPES

Integrated Pest Management for Landscape Professionalsand Home Gardeners

Weed management in landscapeplantings is often made difficult by thecomplexity of many plantings: usuallymore than one species is planted in thelandscaped area and there is a mix of annual and perennial ornamentals. Thegreat variety of ornamental species,soil types, slopes, and mulches createsthe need for a variety of weed manage-ment options. There are also consider-ations regarding public concern aboutthe use of chemicals to control weeds.The choice of a specific weed manage-ment program depends on the weedspresent and the types of turf or orna-mentals planted in the area. Because of the many variables, weeds in land-scape plantings are controlled by acombination of nonchemical andchemical methods.Most landscape plantings includeturfgrass, bedding plants, herbaceousperennials, shrubs, and trees. Informa-tion on integrated pest managementfor turfgrass can be found in

UC IPMPest Management Guidelines: Turfgrass

(see “References”). Use this publicationas a practical review and guide toweed management options suited togeneral types of landscape plantings.

WEED MANAGEMENTBEFORE PLANTING

An integrated approach, utilizing sev-eral options, is the most economicaland effective means of controllingweeds. Begin your weed managementplan for landscapes before planting byfollowing these five basic steps:1.

Site assessment.

Before soil prepara-tion and when the weeds are visible,evaluate the soil, mulch, and slope of the site. Identify the weed species inthe area, with particular emphasis onperennial weeds. The best time tolook for winter annual weeds is mid-to late winter; perennials and sum-mer annuals are easiest to identify inmid- to late summer.2.

Site preparation.

The most often over-looked aspect of a landscape mainte-nance program is site preparation.Control existing weeds, especiallyperennials, before any grading anddevelopment are started. Glyphosate(Roundup, etc.) can be used to killexisting annual and perennial weeds.Preplant treatment with fumigants(available to licensed pesticide appli-cators only) or soil solarization can be used if time allows; however, 6weeks are required for solarizationto work and it is most effective whendone during the time of highest sunradiation—from June to August inCalifornia.3.

Define the type of planting.

There aremore weed control options if theplanting consists entirely of woodyplants as opposed to herbaceousannuals or perennial plants, or amixture of all three.4.

Don’t introduce weeds.

Weeds aresometimes introduced in the soil brought to the landscape site eitherwhen amending the soil or in thepotting mix of transplants.5.

Encourage rapid establishment of de-sired plants.

Use the best manage-ment practices to get the plantsestablished as quickly as possible sothat they become competitive withweeds and more tolerant of herbi-cides applied to the site. Hand-weeding and keeping weeds fromproducing seeds in the landscapewill greatly reduce overall weedpopulations.

WEED MANAGEMENTAFTER PLANTING

When developing a weed managementplan for an existing planting or after aninstallation is in place, consider thetypes of plants present and the weedspresent and their life cycles (annual, biennial, perennial) (Table 1).

TABLE 1. Common Weeds inLandscape Plantings.Annuals

annual bluegrassclover (black medic and burclover)common groundsel +crabgrass (large and smooth) +little mallow (cheeseweed)pigweed (redroot and prostrate)prickly lettucepurslanesowthistlespurge (prostrate and creeping) +wild barleywild oat

Biennials

bristly oxtongue +

Perennials

bermudagrass +creeping woodsorrel +dandelionfield bindweed +kikuyugrassnutsedge (yellow and purple) +oxalis (creeping woodsorrel andBermuda buttercup)+ especially troublesome

August 2001Weed Management in Landscapes

Weed control options in the landscapeinclude hand-weeding and cultivation,mowing, mulching, hot water treat-ments, and chemical control. All of these methods are used at one time oranother in landscape maintenance op-erations (Table 2). After elimination byhand-pulling, cultivation, or a post-emergent herbicide application, thesubsequent growth of annual weedscan be discouraged with mulches and/or preemergent herbicides.

Cultivation and Hand-weeding

Cultivation (hoeing) and hand-weeding selectively remove weedsfrom ornamental plantings. Thesemethods are time-consuming, expen-sive, and must be repeated frequentlyuntil the plantings become established.Cultivation can damage ornamentalswith shallow roots, bring weed seedsto the soil surface, and propagate pe-rennial weeds. When cultivating, avoiddeep tilling, as this brings buried weedseeds to the soil surface where they aremore likely to germinate. Perennialweeds are often spread by cultivationand should be controlled or removed by other methods.Frequent hand-removal of weeds whenthey are small and have not yet setseed will rapidly reduce the number of annual weeds. If weeds are scattered ata site, hand-weeding may be the pre-ferred management method. Hand-

Type of planting and commentsWoody Trees and Shrub Beds

. Densely shaded plantingsreduce weeds. Preplant weed control is not as critical as in other types of plantings. It is often necessary to combine treatments for complete weed control.

Woody Ground Cover Beds.

Woody ground covers shouldexclude most weeds; however, weed encroachment duringestablishment is likely.

Annual Flower Beds.

A closed canopy will help shade out manyweeds. Periodic cultivations (at 3- to 4-week intervals andbetween display rotations) will suppress many weeds.

Herbaceous Perennial Beds.

Weed management options inherbaceous perennial beds are similar to those for annualflowers, except (1) it is more important to eradicate perennialweeds as there will be no opportunity to cultivate or renovate thebed for several years; and (2) fewer species are included onherbicide labels.

Mixed Plantings of Woody and Herbaceous Plants.

Weedmanagement is complex because of the diversity of species.Different areas of the bed could receive different treatments. Sitepreparation is critical because postplant herbicide choices arefew.

Recommendations

Control perennial weeds before planting (although control may bepossible after planting); use geotextile fabrics with a shallow layer of mulch or use a thick layer of mulch without a geotextile base;use a preemergent herbicide, if needed, and supplement with spotapplications of postemergent herbicides and/or hand-weeding.Perennial weeds may be controlled by manual removal, spotapplications of glyphosate or glufosinate, or, in some instances,dormant-season applications of preemergent herbicides. Escapedweeds may be controlled manually or with spot applications of postemergent herbicides.Control perennial weeds before planting, although perennialgrasses may be selectively controlled after planting with fluazifop(Fusilade, Ornamec), clethodim (Envoy), or other selective grassherbicides. Annual weeds may be controlled with mulch plus apreemergent herbicide, supplemented with some hand-weeding.Use geotextiles where possible but do not use them where groundcovers are expected to root and spread. After planting, it is difficultto make spot applications of nonselective herbicides withoutinjuring desirable plants. Postemergent control of most annual andperennial grasses is possible.Control perennial weeds before planting and carefully select flower species for weed management compatibility. Annual weeds may becontrolled with mulches, preemergent herbicides, frequentcultivation, and/or hand-weeding. Perennial grasses can beselectively controlled with clethodim or fluazifop, or other grass-selective herbicides, but other perennial weeds cannot beselectively controlled after planting. Geotextiles generally are notuseful because of the short-term nature of the planting. Avoidnonselective herbicides after planting.Control perennial weeds before planting; use geotextiles wherepossible; use mulches with a preemergent herbicide; andsupplement with hand-weeding.Plant the woody species first; control perennial weeds in the firsttwo growing seasons, then introduce the herbaceous species.Plant close together to shade the entire area. Another option maybe to define use-areas within the bed that will receive similar weedmanagement programs.

TABLE 2. How to Manage Weeds in Five Types of Landscape Plantings.

August 2001Weed Management in Landscapes

weeding can be time consuming andcostly but should be included in allweed management programs to keepweeds from seeding.Young weeds in open areas also can becontrolled with small flaming units.Propane burners are available to rap-idly pass over young weeds to killthem. A quick pass over the plant is allthat is necessary; do not burn the weedto the ground. Flaming is more effec-tive on broadleaf weeds than grasses.Be careful not to flame over dry veg-etation and dry wood chips or near buildings and other flammable materi-als, and don’t get the flame near de-sired plants.The top growth of older weeds can becontrolled by using a string trimmer.Annual broadleaf weeds are more ef-fectively controlled than annualgrasses because the growing points of grasses are usually below ground. Pe-rennial weeds regrow rapidly afterusing a string trimmer. Be careful notto girdle and kill desirable shrubs andtrees with repeated use of a stringtrimmer.

Mowing

Mowing can be used to prevent theformation and spread of weed seedsfrom many broadleaf weeds into culti-vated areas by cutting off flower heads.However, weeds that flower lowerthan the mowing blade are not con-trolled. Repeated mowing tends tofavor the establishment of grasses andlow-growing perennial weeds. Mow-ing of some ground covers can rejuve-nate them and make them morecompetitive against weeds.

Mulches

A mulch is any material placed on thesoil to cover and protect it. Mulchessuppress annual weeds by limitinglight required for weed establishment.Many types of landscape mulches areavailable. The most common are bark and other wood products and black plastic or cloth materials. Other prod-ucts that are used include paper, yardcompost, hulls from nuts (pecans) orcereals (rice), municipal composts,and stones.

Organic mulches

include wood chips,sawdust, yard waste (leaves, clip-pings, and wood products), and hard-wood or softwood bark chips ornuggets. Bark chips are moderate-sized particles (

⁄

inch) and havemoderate to good stability, while bark nuggets are larger in size (

⁄

to 2

⁄

inches) and have excellent stabilityover time. These materials can be usedin landscape beds containing herba-ceous or woody ornamentals.The thickness or depth of a mulchnecessary to adequately suppressweed growth depends on the mulchtype and the weed pressure. Thelarger the particle size of the mulch,the greater the depth required to ex-clude all light from the soil surface.Coarse-textured mulches can be ap-plied up to 4 inches deep and providelong-term weed control. Fine-texturedmulches pack more tightly and shouldonly be applied to a depth of about 2inches. If the mulch is too decom-posed, it may serve better as a weedpropagation medium rather than ameans of prevention. Plan to periodi-cally replenish landscape mulches,regardless of particle size, because of decomposition, movement, or settling.If seedlings germinate in mulches, alight raking, hoeing, or hand-weedingwill remove the young weeds.

Inorganic mulches,

which include both natural and synthetic products,are generally more expensive and lesswidely used in the landscape. Naturalinorganic mulches are stable over timeand include materials such as sand,gravel, or pebbles. Most of these prod-ucts are used in public and commer-cial plantings. If using a rock mulch,consider placing a landscape fabricunderneath it. The fabric creates alayer between the mulch and soil,preventing rock pieces from sinkinginto the soil. The fabric prevents soilfrom moving above the rock layer,which would bring weed seed to thesurface.Black plastic (solid polyethylene) can be used underneath mulches to im-prove weed control. It provides excel-lent control of annual weeds andsuppresses perennial weeds, but lacksporosity and restricts air and watermovement. For this reason, black plas-tic may not be the preferred long-termweed control method in landscape beds.

Synthetic mulches,

which are manu-factured materials that are calledgeotextile or landscape fabrics, have been developed to replace black plasticin the landscape. Geotextiles areporous and allow water and air to passthrough them, overcoming the majordisadvantage of black plastic. Al-though these materials are relativelyexpensive and time-consuming to in-stall, they become cost-effective if theplanting is to remain in place for 4 ormore years. Geotextiles are usedmainly for long-term weed control inwoody ornamental trees and shrubs.Geotextiles should not be used wherethe area is to be replanted periodically,such as in annual flower beds or inareas where the fabric would inhibitthe rooting and spread of ground cov-ers. Tree and shrub roots can penetratethe materials and if the material is re-moved, damage can occur to theplant’s root system. This might be aconcern if a fabric has been in placelonger than 5 years. At least onegeotextile fabric (BioBarrier) has anherbicide encapsulated in nodules onthe fabric that reduces root penetrationproblems.Placing a landscape fabric under mulchresults in greater weed control thanmulch used alone. There are differ-ences in the weed-controlling abilityamong the geotextiles: fabrics that arethin, lightweight, or have an openmesh allow for greater weed penetra-tion than more closely woven or non-woven fabrics.To install a landscape fabric, you canplant first and then install the fabricafterwards using U-shaped nails to pegit down. After laying the cloth close to

of 00

Category:	Uncategorized.
Rating:
Upload Date:	01/22/2009
Copyright:	Attribution Non-commercial
Tags:	This document has no tags.

Documents

People