Life and Landscape— PBI Gordons Winter Weed Control

Life and Landscape— PBI Gordons Winter Weed Control

( SPONSORED CONTENT) – Everyone loves fall. The summer heat is gone; the corn has long since stopped sweating and harvest is in the air – along with pumpkin spice everything. And we can finally relax, knowing all the work is done. Wait, that doesn’ t sound right.

Country life means there’ s always work to be done, even in the fall and winter. And one of those chores – one that seems as if it should( or would) end with the lower temperatures – is weed control. But ignoring fall weeds empowers them to make next year spring and summer the best they’ ve ever had.

Let’ s take a look at the species that thrive in autumn.

Weeds Don’ t Care About Frost

You know some of the weeds still hanging around all too well: the dandelions, thistles, clover and violets. Wait, you thought they were gone for the season? You know them better than that.

That dandelion you pulled by hand a couple of months ago laughed when you didn’ t get the entire root. Now, it’ s just waiting for the right moment to pop through the fall weeds and try to drop a few seeds before the ground freezes. Even if it doesn’ t drop those seeds, it’ ll be one of the first to pop up in late winter or early spring.

And the thistle? Hitting it a few times with the mower or“ weed whacker” just made it angry. It will follow the dandelion’ s lead and look for an opportunity to drop a few more seeds before the first frost. And if it doesn’ t get the chance, it’ s coming back as soon as the soil temp hits as low as 50 degrees Fahrenheit.

As for clover and violets? You’ ve been fighting long enough to know that they’ re not going away because of a little cold weather. They might slow down in the fall and winter, but they’ re always there, strong and resilient, ready to eat up the nutrients and water meant for your turf.

Meet the Winter Annual Invaders

In addition to these tough perennials, the winter annuals absolutely love the cool weather. That’ s your chickweed, henbit, purple deadnettle, hairy bittercress and wild mustard: They germinate in the fall and winter, dropping seeds to guarantee a massive, weedy turnout in the spring.

“ How bad can a few seeds be,” you ask? Well, one chickweed plant produces 10,000 to 20,000 seeds. Scary as that might sound, chickweed is a wimp compared to some others. Shepherd’ s purse can produce about 40,000 seeds in one season. Prickly lettuce? Up to 46,000. And marestail cranks out up to 200,000 seeds per plant!

Of course, you don’ t have to worry about all of those seeds sprouting in the spring. Oh, they’ re going to sprout, but some of them will wait years – even decades to germinate. So, as you settle in for a long winter’ s nap, remember that hundreds of thousands of weed seeds are hibernating as well, waiting for just the right moment to wake up and give you more work to do.

Now’ s the Time to Act

Alternatively, you can just kill them this fall. Choosing the right herbicide for the job is important year around, but it’ s especially important in fall. Make sure you choose an herbicide that is formulated to perform in the fall. How do you do that? Read the label. We can’ t stress this enough: Always read and follow label instructions when using an herbicide.

Two great options: Gordon’ s LV Max Fast-Acting Weed Killer and Gordon’ s SpeedZone EW Lawn Weed Killer. Both products are formulated to deliver dependable control of listed weeds in cool weather.

LV Max controls more than 90 broadleaf weeds, and it’ s ideal for large properties. SpeedZone also controls more than 90 broadleaf weeds, and it works fast, with visible results within hours.

Enjoy the Fall, But Stay Vigilant

So, enjoy the fall, arguably everyone’ s favorite time of year. Bask in the beauty of the leaves. Enjoy the excitement of harvest. Light a fire and make some s’ mores, and embrace( or ignore) the pumpkin spice everything. But don’ t go to sleep on the weeds: They’ re already preparing for a bountiful spring.

38 AcreageLife October 2025 AcreageLife. com

AcreageLife. com October 2025 AcreageLife 39