Lawns provide an excellent place for children to play and families to relax during summer. However, weeds pose a significant challenge when it comes to maintaining a clean, beautiful lawn. If you want to keep out unwanted plants, you need a good weed killer.
Various weed killers are available on the market today. They feature different degrees of effectiveness and poison. The time needed to apply each type also varies, and it is essential to know when to plant new grass seeds after using weed killer.
Planting your grass too soon after using some weed killers can ruin your lawn. In some cases, the seeds may fail to grow if traces of the weed killer are still in the soil.
Some herbicides also damage sprouting grass seeds and young plants. You will need to be cautious about how you space the period between weed-killer application and grass sowing.
When should I replant grass after using a weed killer?
The amount of time you should wait depends on the chemical composition of the weed killer you pick.
You may have to wait for several months after using some weed killers and only a few days for others. Reading the label on the bottle ensures that you understand the chemical composition of your chosen herbicide.
Typically, weed killers are categorized into three distinctive groups, namely:
- Selective weed killers
- Pre-emergence weed killers
- Glyphosate
Sowing grass seeds after applying selective weed killer
Selective weed-killers are often garden-friendly. They destroy grassy and broad-leaf weeds without leaving a trace in the soil. They are ideal for killing weeds in lawns while leaving other plants unharmed.
Gardeners can reseed grass after killing weeds with selective herbicides within a month or so. Although they can do it sooner depending on the directions mentioned on the herbicide’s label.
Sowing after applying pre-emergence weed killer
Pre-emergence weed killers work by creating a chemical barrier on the soil surface that prevents weeds from sprouting. They kill the weed at the initial stages and often affect plants of the grass family.
That means if you plant your grass soon after applying this type of chemical, the seeds may not germinate until the weed killer becomes ineffective.
It is essential to wait for at least four months to regrow grass seed after spraying pre-emergent weed killers. By this time, the herbicide would have decayed and all its traces removed.
After using Glyphosate
Glyphosate is a systematic weed killer that destroys whole plants from the roots to the shoots without leaving any residue in the soil.
The herbicide affects several plant types. These include grasses and any other desirable plants that accidentally absorb the chemical.
It takes about a week for glyphosate to destroy weeds, and manufacturers indicate that if the chemical gets washed into the soil, it does not last for more than 48 hours.
Since Glyphosate is applied to the leaves of the weeds, you can sow grass seed as soon as three days after using the weed killer.
How long does a weed killer stay in the soil?
Knowing how long weed killers stay in the soil helps you determine the ideal time to sow your grass seeds.
Besides giving the weed killer time to decay, you must also allow the weeds to die. Some weed killers evaporate within two to three days, while others take a longer time.
Reseeding your lawn immediately after applying a weed killer may be a waste of time. Read the application instructions that accompany a particular weed killer to determine how long you need to wait.
The number of times to spray a weed killer on your lawn also depends on the type and chemical composition. Some killers only require a single treatment per year.
In most cases, the chemicals in weed killers are not a problem for home gardeners once they are allowed to evaporate. Issues only arise if you sow grass seed after weed-killer application without giving the chemical time to evaporate.
Read Also
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- How long does Roundup stay active in the soil?
- Should you spray weeds before or after mowing
IW’s Chief Editor and a lover of green spaces.