3 Factors to Consider When Choosing a Weed Killer
Weed. A four-letter word that can strike fear into the heart of any avid gardener. Controlling weeds is critical to maintaining a healthy garden. If you allow weed growth to continue unchecked, weeds could kill off your desired plants by using up all the available resources.
Chemical weed killers are commonly used to help manage weed growth. In order to ensure that your weed killer application is successful, there are some important factors to consider when investing in a product meant to kill weeds.
1. Stage of Growth
You will need to evaluate the weeds present in your garden to determine which stage of growth they are in before you can select an effective weed killer. Some products are formulated to affect weeds in the seedling stage. Others can only top-kill weeds after they have sprouted their first true leaves. If you apply the wrong chemical weed killer, you will not get the desired results.
Check to ensure that the weed killer you purchase has the right chemical composition to kill your weeds in whatever stage of growth they might be in.
2. Reaction Time
Another important factor to consider when buying a weed killer is the amount of time you want to wait before you see results. If you are hoping to see immediate results, you will need to select a weed killer that can create a contact burn. These products interact with sunlight to help burn plant tissue and kill off undesirable weeds.
When time isn't an important factor, you can select a systemic weed killer that releases chemical agents slowly. This type of weed killer functions efficiently in both warm and cool weather so you can address weed growth at any time of the year.
3. Location
The location in which your weeds are located can play a role in determining which weed killer will work best. Non-selective weed killers target any plant they come into contact with. This makes a non-selective product perfect for eliminating weeds along fences, around raised beds, and in sidewalk or driveway cracks. You can use a non-selective product on weeds mingled in with your garden crops if you exercise extreme caution to prevent the product from getting onto the plants you want to keep.
A selective weed killer is engineered to affect weeds, but not the surrounding plants. You don't have to be quite as cautious when applying a selective weed killer, but you will achieve faster results with a non-selective product.
To learn more about non-selective systemic weed killer, contact a garden supplier near you.
