Welcome to City-Data.com Forum!
U.S. CitiesCity-Data Forum Index
Go Back   City-Data Forum > General Forums > Garden
 [Register]
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
View detailed profile (Advanced) or search
site with Google Custom Search

Search Forums  (Advanced)
Reply Start New Thread
 
Old 04-20-2021, 09:59 AM
 
2,169 posts, read 1,928,942 times
Reputation: 3831

Advertisements

My front yard is about 1/3 acre. The grass is green and lush and awesome but there are now random dandelions popping up everywhere.

About 4 weeks ago I put down Lesco Stonewall crabgrass preventer (Highly recommend, super cheap and has done an excellent job as I have no signs of crabgrass which I normally struggle with).

2 weeks ago I did a light treatment of granular lime.

2 days ago I sprayed the whole lawn with liquid iron 2-3 oz per 1000sq/ft which has already noticeably started to green up the lawn.

I plan to put down a high nitrogen fertilizer this week to help with the iron uptake and beef up the grass blades a bit.

I wanted to avoid a weed and feed as I'd prob look to put that down in about 10-12 weeks before the heat of summer kicks in and the weeds really start popping up. The lawn is due for nitrogen so that's my main focus.

Is it possible to spot treat these dandelions? Will they actually go away? I've been randomly spraying them every other day and I can see the ones dying but every day more pop up. I'm just trying to hold them off for now. Could I put down the nitrogen, keep spot spraying the dandelions and maybe try one of those hose attachment sprayers that kills dandelions so I'm not missing any.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message

 
Old 04-20-2021, 10:06 AM
 
Location: East of Seattle since 1992, 615' Elevation, Zone 8b - originally from SF Bay Area
44,099 posts, read 80,155,784 times
Reputation: 56918
It's a lot of work but can be done, I have eliminated a lawn full of buttercups and some dandelions that way, spot spraying about every other day for two years. The trouble with dandelions is that if there is already a flower it may still go to seed after it's "dead." The other problem is that if there are any nearby at the neighbors, the seeds will come and you will still get more.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 04-20-2021, 12:59 PM
 
2,169 posts, read 1,928,942 times
Reputation: 3831
Quote:
Originally Posted by Hemlock140 View Post
It's a lot of work but can be done, I have eliminated a lawn full of buttercups and some dandelions that way, spot spraying about every other day for two years. The trouble with dandelions is that if there is already a flower it may still go to seed after it's "dead." The other problem is that if there are any nearby at the neighbors, the seeds will come and you will still get more.

That's my main issue is the nearby neighbors. The people to the left get their lawn professionally treated so they don't get many. The people on the other side have a lot of woods between us and them so we don't have to worry there. The people across the street however do nothing, their yard is more weeds than grass every year, which is fine, but the reality is on a windy day those dandelions can travel plenty far and land on our lawn.

I'll just keep spot spraying for now to try and keep them under control and look to do a weed and feed in early June, hopefully that takes care of them.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 04-20-2021, 01:40 PM
 
Location: A coal patch in Pennsyltucky
10,250 posts, read 10,499,227 times
Reputation: 12547
Quote:
Originally Posted by Fedupwiththis View Post
That's my main issue is the nearby neighbors. The people to the left get their lawn professionally treated so they don't get many. The people on the other side have a lot of woods between us and them so we don't have to worry there. The people across the street however do nothing, their yard is more weeds than grass every year, which is fine, but the reality is on a windy day those dandelions can travel plenty far and land on our lawn.

I'll just keep spot spraying for now to try and keep them under control and look to do a weed and feed in early June, hopefully that takes care of them.
I only spot spray and it works great on broadleaf weeds like dandelions. I have .62 acres and doubt there are currently more than 3-4 dandelions in my yard right now. I would never use a weed & feed again. you're supposed to apply it when the grass is wet, but it is not going to rain for 24 hours. Applying to wet grass is messy and the spreader clogs up.

Now chickweed and Creeping Charlie are another story. Weed killers are not very effective on either one.

BTW, I used to have neighbors on either side of me that kept their lawns very nice. New neighbors have moved in who don't know the difference between grass and weeds. Not much you can do except spot treat your lawn a few times a year.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 04-21-2021, 08:04 AM
 
15,691 posts, read 20,188,881 times
Reputation: 20853
I spot treat my dandelions. When I first moved in, there were hundreds. If you get to them early enough you can kill them before they start to grow mature flowers. Of course, it's harder to see a dandelion without flowers in a thick lawn. In the evenings I would just walk a corner of the yard and spray. After one aggressive season, I eliminated quite a few.

Now after a couple of seasons I have a small handful in my yard. I mostly hand pull those now when I find them. I've also been overseeding my lawn as much as I can, which has really thickened it up and helped eliminate weeds.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 04-21-2021, 09:06 AM
 
11,230 posts, read 9,161,362 times
Reputation: 32246
I spot treat dandelions with a hoe. By the time you've found your herbicide, sprayed it, put it up, washed your hands thoroughly - I'll have pulled the hoe out of the shed and dug up those 10 or 20 dandelions.

You've got to stay awake for dandelions, once they've seeded, it's too late no matter what you do. Again, there is zero environmental issue to using a hoe every single day if you want.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 04-22-2021, 02:05 PM
 
Location: Near the Coast SWCT
83,285 posts, read 74,525,174 times
Reputation: 16504
Quote:
Originally Posted by Fedupwiththis View Post
My front yard is about 1/3 acre. The grass is green and lush and awesome but there are now random dandelions popping up everywhere.

Is it possible to spot treat these dandelions?.

Of course, why not? If its just one or two random ones either pluck them out with a trowel or spot spray.


Quote:
Originally Posted by Fedupwiththis View Post
Will they actually go away? .

No, not unless you do something about it. Yes, they stop showing up once you manage them


Quote:
Originally Posted by Fedupwiththis View Post
Could I put down the nitrogen, keep spot spraying the dandelions and maybe try one of those hose attachment sprayers that kills dandelions so I'm not missing any.



If more and more are coming up chances are spot spraying will be a hassel and an annoying task. Grab one of those hose weed sprayers and spray away. Do a test area fist make sure your grass survives.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 04-22-2021, 02:17 PM
 
Location: NC
9,342 posts, read 13,922,544 times
Reputation: 20836
Dandelions belong to what are called broadleaf weeds. There are certain weed killers that kill broadleafs but let grass survive just fine. Ask your local lawn and garden or farm store for a good product. Say goodbye to visible dandelions that way.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 04-22-2021, 02:55 PM
 
Location: A coal patch in Pennsyltucky
10,250 posts, read 10,499,227 times
Reputation: 12547
Quote:
Originally Posted by luv4horses View Post
Dandelions belong to what are called broadleaf weeds. There are certain weed killers that kill broadleafs but let grass survive just fine. Ask your local lawn and garden or farm store for a good product. Say goodbye to visible dandelions that way.
Exactly! Any of the products at Lowe's or Home Depot work fine on broadleaf weeds.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 04-22-2021, 07:01 PM
 
7,419 posts, read 7,012,940 times
Reputation: 2770
Where are you located?

Avoid weed and feeds.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Fedupwiththis View Post
My front yard is about 1/3 acre. The grass is green and lush and awesome but there are now random dandelions popping up everywhere.

About 4 weeks ago I put down Lesco Stonewall crabgrass preventer (Highly recommend, super cheap and has done an excellent job as I have no signs of crabgrass which I normally struggle with).

2 weeks ago I did a light treatment of granular lime.

2 days ago I sprayed the whole lawn with liquid iron 2-3 oz per 1000sq/ft which has already noticeably started to green up the lawn.

I plan to put down a high nitrogen fertilizer this week to help with the iron uptake and beef up the grass blades a bit.

I wanted to avoid a weed and feed as I'd prob look to put that down in about 10-12 weeks before the heat of summer kicks in and the weeds really start popping up. The lawn is due for nitrogen so that's my main focus.

Is it possible to spot treat these dandelions? Will they actually go away? I've been randomly spraying them every other day and I can see the ones dying but every day more pop up. I'm just trying to hold them off for now. Could I put down the nitrogen, keep spot spraying the dandelions and maybe try one of those hose attachment sprayers that kills dandelions so I'm not missing any.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.

Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.


Reply
Please update this thread with any new information or opinions. This open thread is still read by thousands of people, so we encourage all additional points of view.

Quick Reply
Message:


Over $104,000 in prizes was already given out to active posters on our forum and additional giveaways are planned!

Go Back   City-Data Forum > General Forums > Garden

All times are GMT -6.

© 2005-2024, Advameg, Inc. · Please obey Forum Rules · Terms of Use and Privacy Policy · Bug Bounty

City-Data.com - Contact Us - Archive 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37 - Top