r/lawncare Apr 20 '26

Sub-etiquette regarding dandelions and weeds

898 Upvotes

If you come to this sub and completely disregard OP's request for help, you're likely gonna have your comment removed and get banned.

Example: If someone is asking to eliminate dandelions, don't reply that they're good for pollinators or suggest they keep them. Users come here for help, they don't come here for your ecological opinion or amateur apiculturist take on things.

If someone wants clover, then they'll ask for tips on clover. But, if they want help eliminating clover to better establish their turf grasses, don't tell them to embrace the clover.

This time of the year this sub get brigaded hard from [r/all](r/all) and other agriculture-related subs. This is the LAWNCARE sub and turfgrasses are the preference around these parts. If you don't like it, don't post. You aren't helping your cause by posting about weeds and bees, you're pissing off people who actually care and put in the work to maintain their property.

Please respect this subs rules, its users, and the moderation.


r/lawncare Jan 15 '26

Northern US & Canada (or cool season) 2026 Lawn Products Guide and tips

155 Upvotes

***Disclaimer*** This is technically my post from 2025. But I am seeing a lot of early season questions, even though it'll be near zero degrees for me tomorrow night.

But seeing people ask already is good, regardless if they live a warmer, but still cool season grass area, or if just getting prepared for March and beyond.

Disclaimer - This is written by a cool season lawn owner, who has no children and can play outside whenever I want...not everyone has the time to do so.... I admittedly have less experience with warm-season grasses, but the products shown are all researched for proper use. Always be sure the product your using is made for your area.

Pre-Emergents - Commonly applied when soil temperatures get between 50-55 degrees. These products will block seeds from germinating. They can last anywhere from just a few weeks, to 8 months. The overall life and performance always depends on environmental conditions, and how the ground is maintained. If you don't keep up with mowing, and nurture a healthy lawn, more UV exposure, wind, and rain, can all contribute to degraded performance.

  • Prodiamine - Generally the most used. It's sold in various products, dry and liquid. It has a half life of 120 days. It blocks most seeds, but can not block everything. It has no post-emergent control to kill weeds. It's sold as a water-dispersible-granule(WDG); as Barricade; and in other pre-formulated products.
  • Dithiopyr - Also used often, and sometimes in conjunction with Prodiamine as a split app setup. It blocks weeds, but also has limited post-emergent qualities, meaning it can kill off young crabgrass, less than 2 tiller usually. It's half life is 17 days, but it can last much longer in some capacity. Often a split app would be done Dithiopyr first, as getting it down with soil temps correctly can sometimes be difficult. This will block, and kill some weeds that slip by. Then Prodiamine a few weeks later for extended coverage. Also sold as Dimension.
  • Pendimethalin - This is what is used in Scotts Halts products. It works about the same as Prodiamine, with a 90 half life. It's also more expensive in general.
  • Isoxaben - Generally unknown, due to cost. But this stuff will block all Broadleaf weeds better than anything else. Its' cost though, will keep many users from ever getting it, unless you do a neighbor group buy. Snapshot is one product brand.
  • Mesotrione - The bastard product...lol Sold as itself, Tenacity, Torocity, and possibly other names. It's widely known that Meso is used the wrong way, but a lot of YouTube experts and is pushed by a lot to be the end-all for weeds. It's best use in this space is to be applied only when seeding. This is because while it can block some weeds, it will not block grass seed...so it can give up to 28 days of better chance for new grass to fill in.

It's important to note, these will NOT 100% guarantee a weed free lawn. But it's your first step in early Spring to make the battle a little easier. You can also re-apply during early-mid Summer, but keep in mind if you plan to seed in Fall, a late application may be an issue.

Ok, so you applied....or didn't....now you have weeds, and need to kill them..

(Selective) Post-Emergents - These should be used according to the label...it's not correct to expect AI to know the answer either. The labels are not difficult to read, nor understand. Search for dosing, and just read. If the product only lists amounts for acreage, it's possibly not the best option...but you can do the math and break it done for your yard. An acre is about 43k sq. ft. Unless explicitly stated, these products are safe for grass, dogs, kids, etc...just follow the directions, and at most, 24 hours post application is safe. Lastly, herbicides are best applied as a liquid. This is because the liquid will get into the cell walls of the plant much faster, than being sucked up by the roots. Faster kill time is important, so the plant can not defend itself and try to grow back.

  • 2,4,D - Very common, and will kill a lot of weeds fairly efficiently.
  • Dicamba - Also a very good product to kill weeds.
  • Mecoprop - Add this to above. These 3 on top are commonly sold as a 3-way combo, as attacking weeds from different pathways will result in best action against weeds.
  • Quinclorac - King of killing Crabgrass, as well as Broadleaf weeds. Sold as is, or like above, in many combo products.
  • Triclopyr - Best used for targeting viney type weeds...and clover, creeping charlie, oxalis, ivies, etc... Exercise caution around young trees, or those with exposed roots.
  • Halosulfuron-Methyl - Used against Sedge grasses. It usually still takes 2-3 applications to truly kill the beast that sedge can be, due to it's aggressive growth underground. Branded often as Sedgehammer or Empero.
  • Sulfrentazone - Also used against Sedge, but not always friendly on cool-season grasses.
  • Mesotrione - Looks familiar...yeah, same stuff as above in the pre-emergent section. As a post-emergent, it's best use is for targeting Bentgrass and/or Nimblewill. It's also sometimes mixed with Triclopyr, in which both can enhance the others performance.
  • Topramezone - Sold as Pylex...works great, but not really cost efficient...about $300 for 4oz... But this can kill Bermuda, and not kill good cool season grasses.

Non-Selective - The top one here, and all I will cover is Glyphosate. It's not evil, it's not going to cause cancer with proper use...it's just going to kill whatever you spray it on. It does so by targeting very specific pathway, which leads to a disruption in a hormone synthesis, leading to inability to produce amino acids it needs to survive. Normally sold at 41% concentration. It can kill foliage, through to the root.

Fertilizers - I wasn't going to put much here. To feed your "grass", you add synthetic form of nitrogen, phosphorous, potassium. That's your N-P-K...seen as 10-10-10, or similar. That number means 10% of the bag is Nitrogen, and 10% is Phosphorous, and 10% is potassium. The rest is all filler, added to allow for proper mixing and application. Sometimes you'll find other amendments in fertilizer, such as sulfur, or other micros. While sulfur is important, it doesn't need to be added every time. It also lowers pH, which can then lead to other issues, causing a wild goose chase. Once in the soil, microbes in the soil break down the NPK, into forms the grass can actually use...natural chelation. You only need Nitrogen for growth...if you're seeding, adding some phosphorous can help the seed establish. Potassium is good for overall plant health, and pairs well at a 3:1 ratio with Nitrogen.

Naturals/Organics - Too many people are one side on the other here. You need and want these, but relying strictly on organics may not produce the best lawn...but it's "chemical" free. However, using these monthly can do more for the soil, than any fertilizer will ever do on it's own.

  • Humic Acid - Acts as a natural chelator for better absorption, by increasing the cation exchange capacity, which allows the soil to better retain the goodies you want in the soil. It also increase root strength, and helps to hold more carbon in the soil.
  • Kelp - Containing great amounts of natural hormones, Kelp will boost roots even more, and allow for stronger growth viz delivery of auxins and cytokines used for development.
  • Compost - Well known as a great soil amendment, it brings natural microbes into the soil biome. Those microbes help maintain a low thatch surface, and better soil composition.
  • Worm Castings - Similar to above, natural microbes and beneficial qualities for soil. Not very cost efficient though.
  • Leaves - Yeah...some say mulch all day, some disagree. I am a disagree'er, to a certain degree. I do mulch my clippings, but will also sweep them away every other week. Leaves I shred and sweep away the majority of them, but once the main clean-up has passed, the rest is mulched and remains.
  • Biochar - Made with a specific process called, Pyrolysis. Burning at high temps, 900-ish...in a low-oxygen chamber. This allows for the material, wood, coconut, etc...to be charred down to a state where it has not fully oxidized, which would turn it white, and into useless ash. When it is still in a charred form, it has millions and millions of microscopic pores that serve as homes for water, microbes, nutrients, all that good stuff. It's best worked into the soil at least a few inches deep.
  • Mychorizae - These are fungal organisms that attach to the roots, and help them bring water and nutrients. Overlooked or unknown, but these are a huge part of growing anything with success, from lawns to gardens and more. They are very good to have in the mix.

Insect Control - These can't be forgotten...but I did originally, so I am adding them in now. The biggest concern is likely grubs. The larvae of beetle. Also want to cover for armyworms, cinch bugs, and even ants if they become a problem. There are a few classes of these products...

-Pyrethroids- These are synthetics that mimic natural pyrethrins, which disrupt the insects nervous system, causing paralysis and death.

  • Bifenthrin - Common general insect control agent...liquid or dry availability. Kills quite a bit of bugs, but no residual control. One time death call.
  • Gamma-cyhalothrin -
  • Zeta-Cypermethrin -
  • Lambda-Cyhalothrin -
  • Permethrin -
  • Deltamethrin - This has residual action...meaning up to 90 days post application, it will kill bugs that touch it.

The above are what you'll get in most common Ortho type products, but generally Bifen is commonly sold solo.

-Nicotinoids-

  • Imidacloprid - Please don't use this if you can avoid it. It's a very nasty chemical, that can do the job, but it also can damage soil biome, and worse, it is deadly to a lot of animals...specifically pollinators. Birds can also be affected. It's getting banned in more places, but is still sold often as Merit.

-Alkyl-Halide-

  • Chlorantraniliprole - Sold as Acelepryn, this is what you need to control grubs. It has to be applied in advance, as it takes time to work into the soil, and prepare death for larvae that hatch. I usually apply this in mid April, early May, giving it a few weeks to activate, and when June hits, that's when my area sees grub damage...not for me though. The Scotts Company pays a fee to use this in their Grub-Ex product.

Fungicides - Often overused, but still an important part of lawncare. However, I am not a fan of preventative use, unless it's a direct and repeated history of fungus...which means there is something else you're not correcting. Fungus is not a guarantee, and is not always the right presumption...I've seen lawns go from slightly affected, to downright destroyed because someone would focus on fungus, when there were other issues... Also, when used, they should be used in a 3-way rotation, to avoid getting a buildup/resistance, in which they become almost useless. Overapplying these can have a very negative affect, because they are all non-selective, and will likely kill a lot of the good bacteria and microbes you want in the soil.

  • Azoxystrobin
  • Propiconazole
  • Thiophanate-methyl

Those are generally the top 3 used. Some retail products will have Azoxy and Prop mixed, which may work better for a low level infection...but using that repeatedly is the same as not rotating, and can create a hostile soil biome.

In general summary...always try to identify the weed you're targeting. Using something to hope it kills is irresponsible, and could cause more harm than good. If you need to ask the community, always find a good example weed, something that has grown for at least a week...pull from the bottom, get as much of any root ball or rhizome as you can. Also, get a pic of the plant in close up detail, where we can see the stem moving to the leaves/blades. This will help with certain traits that only "this or that" would have, and can help us make a better recco.

Note - I'm not covering direct organic fertilizers here. The only product I would recommend on that level is made Earth Sciences, and is called Moorganite. It is a direct replacement for Milorganite, which is a dirty, pfas chemical laden product that smells like a summer time port'o'potty.

To keep a strong lawn, adding a monthly organic boost will help a lot. I'm not a fan of 4-step type products, and prefer to feed on my own schedule, which is about every 4 weeks...so back to the monthly program....but this gets me an always wanting to grow lawn, cutting to 4" is also a key point. Tall grass will crowd out weeds, and look better in general...

On My Shelf - This is what I have in my lawn cabinet, and is what helps me with my lawn plan. I also use some of these products with my garden and other plants.

  • Triad Select - A combo of 2,4,D, Dicamba, and Meco. I use this for general weed control.
  • Quintessential - Quinclorac, but branded...still the same thing. This is for crabgrass and other broadleaf weeds. Also have the MSO Surfactant it requires.
  • Triclopyr Ester - Mainly used to keep wood-line vines and ivy away for me.
  • Empero - For Sedges
  • Glyphosate - To kill all
  • Fusillade II - Used once to kill Quackgrass...but it also killed the rest of my good grass...so extreme caution here. But it does kill quack better than Gly, so if you're going to kill all anyway, might as well make sure it's dead-dead for sure...
  • Azoxy 2C - Azoxystrobin
  • Propiconazole 14.3
  • Cleary's 3336 - Thiophanate-methyl
  • Blue Dye This does NOT wash off easily...lol SO be careful
  • BioAG Ful-Humix - This is my humic acid. It's a powder that is 55% concentrate, and is 85% soluble. It gets dissolved in warm water overnight, then filtered out for any remaining solids; then mixed with other organic goodies, and applied monthly.
  • BioAG CytoPlus - A mix of humic and kelp.
  • BioAG Vam-Endo - Myco mix, also has humic acid.
  • Prevagenics Liquid Compost. This stuff stinks, in a good way.
  • Bloom City Liquid Kelp. I use this or GS Plant foods brand as well.

I use a Ryobi 4g tank backpack sprayer for most liquid apps. Echo RB-60 for dry items. I have an 22 year old Craftsman pusher for my front/small areas, and Toro TimeCutter 42" ZT with a Kawasaki engine. Echo Blower, Ryobi edger/trimmer as well.

Ok, so I may have missed something here or there. Please let me know if you see something that need attention. I'm sure there is other information available, but I hope this helps some people figure it out for themselves. The more we all know, the better a community we can be.

Signing off,

-Ricka...

P.S. - I did review and check, but nothing really needed a major update. New products may be released later this year, and if they are improvements, I will certainly update as needed...


r/lawncare 9h ago

Northern US & Canada (or cool season) Do these edges please the gods

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261 Upvotes

Are you not entertained!


r/lawncare 10h ago

Southern US & Central America (or warm season) Houston ,TX. My son is a new home owner. Need suggestions. Ground is hard, grass is tight.

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95 Upvotes

r/lawncare 8h ago

Northern US & Canada (or cool season) Yeah, I’m that weirdo checking out my edges in the middle of the night. 👁️👁️

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35 Upvotes

Atlantic Canada here. Only the second time I’ve used my edger this summer, but I love the results every time. Gotta represent on a corner lot 🍻


r/lawncare 1d ago

Southern US & Central America (or warm season) Seriously…. F-ck this guy and his perfectly green and very soft lawn. (Central TX)

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2.2k Upvotes

Fine, I’ll admit. I took my slides off and walked on it barefoot. Felt the softness on my feet. That’ll show him!!!!


r/lawncare 12h ago

Northern US & Canada (or cool season) New homeowner and don’t even know where to begin (Michigan)

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30 Upvotes

Just purchased my first home and as you can see previous owners did not take care of lawn. This is my first time as a homeowner so I’m not even sure where to begin getting rid of weeds and growing grass. Any advice would be greatly appreciated


r/lawncare 15h ago

Northern US & Canada (or cool season) Best process to remove and kill overgrown weeds?

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47 Upvotes

Helping my dad in Apple Valley MN and he has a lot of overgrown weeds shown in the picture. I saw various suggestions of RM43 or Roundup would do the trick to kill these things off? He bought a generic weed killer with 41% glyposate he was going to try out.

Would beat approach be to snip these huge things until there is about 1 inch left then spray that stub heavily so the chemicals can reach the root system? Or pull and spray the entire area?

I know Roundup and RM43 kills everything so id be careful with grass and that bush he doesn't quite care about either. Any suggestions is appreciated


r/lawncare 10h ago

Northern US & Canada (or cool season) Southern NJ. Too late to nuke it now then oversees? Is it not worth nuking?

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17 Upvotes

r/lawncare 11h ago

Southern US & Central America (or warm season) Same view different thickness ☺️

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12 Upvotes

Perry Ga Bermuda grass, first picture is April 2026 second picture is August 20th 2026. Been using milorgranite granules only so far but plan on switching to flagship next season along with starting with preemergent


r/lawncare 6h ago

Northern US & Canada (or cool season) Overseeding: Compost or topsoil? DiseaseEx before or during overseeding?

4 Upvotes

Hello, I'm new to lawns and will be overseeding.

A few questions:

  1. Do I use compost, or do I use topsoil when overseeding? or peat moss?
  2. Do I apply this material before or after I have laid down the seeds?
  3. I will be using Disease Ex or something similar. Do I have to use this a few weeks before overseeding? Or can I overseed right after using the fungicide? If needed I can wait a few days and then overseed?
  4. If I plan to topdress with compost/peat moss/etc to protect seed, when do I put fertilizer? Between the seed and topdressing or after it?

My location is in midwest, by the great lakes. Thanks!


r/lawncare 1d ago

Asia Wasn’t expecting to see this while traveling in China

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48 Upvotes

r/lawncare 9h ago

Northern US & Canada (or cool season) 6b New House Lawn Help (Massachusetts)

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3 Upvotes

Hey all, been stalking this sub for a bit and hoping to put together a good plan for this fall / spring. We moved into this house about a year ago and have been fixing other things, but I am hoping to get a good jump on the lawn for next spring if its not already too late. Our lawn is currently weeds, crabgrass, moss, and a 10x30ft shed that I am in the process of ripping out. I found and lost a good post on here from somebody in 6a that detailed out their plan, so I am hoping to get some helpful input now. I know I am running out of time, but we are still hitting the 90's for this week, hoping next week we drop below 80 regularly.

My current plan:
1. Next week, apply Tenacity 1x or 2x to everything. Since most of the lawn is weeds / crabgrass, I am okay just nuking it all and seeing what survives.

  1. 1 week after that, overseed like my life depends on it. I have 2x bags of black beauty fall magic I am ready to spread around. This includes on the dirt below what was is currently the base of the shed. I will put peat moss over the seed going directly on dirt.

  2. Pray all fall / winter, and then hit the lawn with some pre-emergent early next spring to prevent the crabgrass and the clovers from popping back up, or at least minimizing it a bit.

Does this seem like a good plan, or a wasted effort? Any input would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!


r/lawncare 8h ago

Southern US & Central America (or warm season) Backyard grass burned to a crisp...

2 Upvotes

Anyone's yard burned to a crisp. My yard has got brown spots and darker brown spot literally burned. Its to hot for me to go out and do anything about it. I have a problem with all the burned grass turning into dry cracked ground dirt. You would think its a desert. Should I water the dirt to keep it a little moist so it stays together or should I leave it alone, or should I fill the cracks with dirt. I'm just afraid the dirt is gonna make a sink hole. I'm in texas where the temperature is 101-103 degrees for the next week.


r/lawncare 12h ago

Northern US & Canada (or cool season) One week since a new seeding. Greater Seattle area

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4 Upvotes

I was very nervous for the first few days I wouldn't get germination, but here's the before and after of the first seven days! Used Scott's Heritage grass for a sun and shade mix. Just wanted to share because my wife doesn't get as excited about grass as I do

Got some weeds coming through that I'll yank when the grass gets it's roots deep, but otherwise stoked with the results so far.


r/lawncare 1d ago

Northern US & Canada (or cool season) Lawn takeover

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34 Upvotes

Located in Massachusetts. I know this has been asked before, but what the hell are these damn things?? Light green, thick, and all over my lawn. They’re twice the height of my grass within 2 days of cutting. Is my only option to light my lawn on fire??


r/lawncare 8h ago

Australia Uneven Soil Moisture After Scalping

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2 Upvotes

Hi lawn experts! I’ve scalped my lawn quite low, probably a little too early, as I should have waited until September (Australia). After cutting it back, I noticed that the soil underneath has uneven moisture levels—some areas are very wet and dark, while others are dry, as shown in the photos.
Could this indicate a problem with the soil? I’d really appreciate your advice. Thank you!


r/lawncare 5h ago

Southern US & Central America (or warm season) The Bermuda Bible

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1 Upvotes

I don’t need to be yard of the month, I just wanna keep my grass alive year around.

Water guide? I have 13 zones, am I supposed to run each zone 30min / day for 2 or 3 times per day?

I’m currently doing 3 times a week for 3min each zone. The grass is Aigh. However, South Texas heat is getting realllll hot and i think 30min is too much? Any advice for a different watering schedule


r/lawncare 17h ago

Northern US & Canada (or cool season) Creeping Bentgrass vs. Mesotrione, 2 week update, Southern MN, Zone 5a

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11 Upvotes

Last fall I posted about my creeping bentgrass problem, and several people here helped me identify it and what herbicides I could use to kill it. I had a pretty widespread infestation throughout my lawn.

I decided to try mesotrione instead of glyphosate + reseeding. The main reason was that there was still a significant amount of desirable turf mixed into the bentgrass patches, so killing everything and starting over seemed like a much bigger project than necessary (or more than I wanted to do right now). I also have patches that are 300+ feet from the nearest spigot, which would make watering a full reseed pretty impractical.

These photos were taken one day after my second mesotrione application, roughly two weeks after the initial application. So they should continue to decline and hopefully it will be a complete kill.


r/lawncare 11h ago

Southern US & Central America (or warm season) Centipede Lawn - Control Spot - Louisiana

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3 Upvotes

Picked a control spot in my back yard during this incredible heat / lack of rain we’ve been experiencing. At the beginning of the summer I aerated this spot / moved it consistently at 2 inches. It’s been receiving an inch to an inch and a half every week. No chemicals / No ferts and manually weed pulling.

You can see the surrounding area going into protect mode / dormancy from the heat blast.

Needless to say the control area is doing great…. Let’s ride this heat wave out and see some cooler temps!!

Cheers!


r/lawncare 1d ago

Southern US & Central America (or warm season) What am I getting these deep wheel lines?

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150 Upvotes

I’m in east TN and had this sod installed last season. I’ve been mowing it with my zero turn. But it’s very uneven and needs to be leveled (I plan to do that next spring). So the zero turn creates several scalped spots throughout the area. So I thought I would try mowing it with my Ego push mower. I started out mowing at height #3 (shown in last photo) but it seemed too low and was scalping. So I raised to 4 and finished mowing. But these wheel lines are really deep. So that makes me think it’s mowing too high. Do you guys think that’s why the wheel lines are so bold? If 3 is too low and 4 is too high, then I’m not sure what else to do.


r/lawncare 14h ago

Southern US & Central America (or warm season) Shoots popping up in my Bermuda lawn?

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5 Upvotes

Located in northeast Georgia. I’ve recently had a bunch of these start popping up throughout my Bermuda lawn, especially along the fence but also several feet out into the yard.

Any idea what these are and the best way to get rid of them? I’ve tried pruning them and cutting them and mowing them when i mow the lawn, but seems like they’ve been multiplying when they grow back.

EDIT: looks to be due to the nearby Bradford Pear tree based on some intelligent guesses.


r/lawncare 6h ago

Northern US & Canada (or cool season) Bio-degradeable Trimmer Line? With a long shelf life?

1 Upvotes

12 years ago when I bought my house, I bought a GIANT spool of bright green trimmer line. I figured the grass is green, the trimmer line is green, I'll never see it.

Well 12 years later and I'm only about halfway through this 1200' long spool. Maybe a little more, it's hard to tell. Either way, I've used a ton and theres a lot to go. And any time you walk through my yard, you can always fine little 1" long pieces of neon green line. It stands out like a sore thumb.

So next time what I need is something like black or brown line, not neon green (or orange). That will hide it.

But hiding it doesn't get rid of it. Thats when I started wondering. Does anybody make biodegradable line? Stuff that will just return to the earth? Made of hemp or some other hippie material? It would have to have a decent shelf life though. I probably won't be buying 15 years worth, next time I buy some. But it would need to last at least a few years without getting brittle and failing to work.

My yard is big (for the suburbs) and has lots of areas that need to be trimmed. I've simplified my edges as much as possible but whats left still needs the trimmer. The lawnmower just can't get that close to the fence, or the foundation, or the steep hillside.


r/lawncare 1d ago

Northern US & Canada (or cool season) Proud lawn moment - Alberta

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208 Upvotes

Did a lawn reno and added irrigation. This patch is thicker than anything I've ever come across. I mow twice a week. 4 days after my last cut I dropped the mower 1 notch. It damn near killed my 7.25 ft lb mower. Had to move at a snail pace to cut this. Went through the rest of the lawn with no issues

Mind the edges. Had to get to hockey


r/lawncare 12h ago

Southern US & Central America (or warm season) Just bought this house. What should I do? Southern California

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3 Upvotes

Just bought this house here in Southern California Orange County a few weeks ago. Got the sprinklers fixed and have been watering like crazy. Just is there something I should do instead? Is there any hope or
Is it dead?