Get Lawns Ready For Fall Early This Year

Fall is an ideal time to revitalize your garden. It’s the best season to invigorate your lawn, divide perennials and install new landscaping. But if you plan ahead and start a little early, your jobs will be a lot easier. If you’re planning on landscaping this fall, begin preparing the soil now, working in ample amounts of organic matter and controlling weeds. August is also a great time to plant cool season vegetables and annuals. For all the possibilities, see the Bayer Advanced regional calendars. And don’t forget to keep up with late summer watering.

Here are some things you can do now to get a jump on an active autumn:
Control grubs. White grubs live in the top few inches of soil and feed on the roots of lawn grasses. White grubs are typically ½ to 1-½ inches long, milky white with a brown head and almost always are curled into a C-shape.
White grubs are the larva or “juvenile” stage of various breeds of scarab beetles including Japanese beetles, chafers, June beetles and May beetles. These beetles can also cause damage to roses, trees and other plants around your yard.
There also are some simple but effective ways to identify white grubs. Look for the following symptoms:

• A general thinning and weakening of the lawn
• A wilted or dried-out look to your grass, even when soil is moist
• Large, brown, irregular patches of grass
• Large patches of dead turf that can easily be pulled up in one piece, much like a piece of carpet. You’ll find the C-shaped grubs underneath
• Moles, birds or raccoons digging in your grass; these animals love to feed on grubs, so frequent visits could be a sign of white grubs

White grub damage is usually most severe in late summer, but problems can begin as early as mid to late spring. To control grubs now and give your lawn a chance to recover this fall, use Bayer Advanced 24-Hour Grub Killer Plus with DYLOX®. It will kill grubs overnight and also controls mole crickets, cutworms and sod webworms. Next spring, follow up with Bayer Advanced Season-Long Grub control with MERIT®. One application will control grubs all summer.
Be sure your lawn is healthy and strong by watering, mowing and fertilizing regularly during the spring and summer.

Click here for additional tips on watering, mowing and fertilizing.
Control Lawn Weeds. The upcoming cool fall weather is the prime growing period for cool-season lawns, such as Kentucky bluegrass and fescues. But the best time to control lawn weeds is now. Late summer weed control will give your lawn the best chance to fill in and look great this fall. Warm season lawns are closing in on the end of their growing season, but there is still time to control weeds and fertilize.
Control and Prevent Lawn Diseases. Use Bayer Advanced Fungus Control for Lawns to control and prevent lawn diseases such as brown patch, dollar spot and red thread.
Control Brush and Woody Weeds. Get rid of those really tough weeds, like blackberry, poison oak, poison ivy, poison sumac, kudzu and over 60 other types of weeds and brush with Bayer Advanced Powerforce® Brush Killer Plus. It can also be used to kill tree stumps.
Care For Roses. Fall is one of the best blooming seasons for roses. Make sure you get the most bang for your buck, by giving them a little extra care now. Remove faded flowers, cutting back to the first leaf with five leaflets. Roses, such as floribundas and shrubs that bloom in clusters, can be lightly sheared after blooms fade. Feed and protect from insects and disease with Bayer Advanced All-in-One Rose and Flower Care. One application fertilizes your roses to encourage fall bloom and protects plants from insects and diseases (including powdery mildew, black spot and rust) for up to six weeks. To protect against spider mites (and other insect pests) and cure and prevent disease, use Bayer Advanced 3-in-1 Insect, Disease & Mite Control.