As the cold weather starts to creep in, you might be thinking about packing up your trowels, putting away your gardening gloves and letting your garden die back naturally. But before you do, we recommend you find out about their life cycle so you can be ahead of the game when it comes to spring.
The life cycle of most garden weeds
Most garden weeds begin their lifecycle during the warm, summer months when sunshine is plentiful. During this time, you'll find yourself combatting everything from dandelions to giant hogweeds, all of which have been nestled in the ground since last winter.
Did you know, most garden weeds continue to grow at a fairly rapid rate throughout autumn? The warm, damp conditions are actually perfect for some species of weeds, and you might even notice some weeds out-competing the plants that have started to die back.
If you're an avid gardener, you'll already know that some weeds are too hardy for their own good. No amount of cutting or pulling seems to prevent them from growing. These hardy weeds often have deep root systems that help to preserve them in the harshest conditions.
But what happens when the weather gets really cold? Like most plants, your garden weeds are likely to die back when the frost and snow sets in, however, that doesn't mean they're gone for good...
Do weeds die in the winter?
When a weed dies, it often leaves some of its seeds in the soil. While you might think that it's simple to kill these seeds with a generous spray of herbicide, they're protected by a special coating so that they have a higher chance of survival. Once these seeds are trodden into the ground, they are nestled in a nice warm place where they will stay until the warm weather returns.
As we approach spring, some of these seeds will be exposed to sunlight and the dreaded colony of weeds will start to grow again. Some people would argue that there's little you can do to prevent the re-emergence of weeds, but here at Lawn and Weed Expert, we believe there are always actions you can take to reduce the number of weeds in your garden.
Ways to prevent winter weeds in your garden:
1. Remove them before they deposit seeds in the soil
Before the winter weather hits, you can tackle your garden weed problem by removing the weeds from your garden completely. The benefits of this are two-fold. First, it will make your garden look neat and tidy, second, it'll prevent the weeds from dropping their seed in the soil. By removing weeds completely, you can break the weed's lifecycle and prevent an ongoing weed problem.
2. Treat them with a pre-emergence herbicide
If you've caught the weeds too late in the season, when they've already dropped their seeds in the soil, you might be able to treat the ground with a pre-emergence herbicide. These special herbicides are designed to tackle seeds pods and can help to kill the weeds before they emerge.
3. Contact Lawn and Weed Expert!
Tackling an ongoing weed problem on your own can be tricky, especially when the weather is cold! If you've got a weed problem in your garden then we can help. We provide a professional weed control service that can tackle even the toughest of weeds.
Weed Control Service >
Read More:
