preemergent granule advice...in Fla (ric help)

I work in the pest control industry in S Fla. I recently obtained a job ridding weed from medians etc. We are getting ready to begin the program of raking mulch, pulling and spraying, applying a granular preemergent then mulching.
It is extremly critical that I get a handle on it.
I am recommending snapshot and another recommends ronstar. (we ruled out the granular forms of surflan and pre-m)
ANY feedback and observations on the the two would be greatly appreciated.
thank you

 

Olive

First, as I read the label Ronstar is not labelled for this application, not that it wouldn't work.

Second, I personally have had very little luck with Snap shot. I have had great success with Pennant Magnum, However it must be sprayed.

 

The label states that you can use more than one prem at a time .
To me , that's the , well , a very important key to control .
If you apply 2 or more , you are on the roght track .
Is your goal of control grass or broad leaf ?
The labels will tell you which is best fot your target pest .

 

Olive

Don't forget to fertilize under the mulch before installing it.

Airhead

I make no bones about I believe Pre Emerge causes Chemical Root Pruning. In the case of Planter Beds I believe in not using Broad leaf Pre Emerge due to the fact most desirable plants are Broad Leaf. I believe we also place too much emphases on Chemicals, when in fact Cultural Practices are more important in controlling weeds. Proper Mulch depth will control weeds for a much longer time than any Chemical. I do not like Plastic ground cloth of any kind when installing a organic mulch. I feel Plastic Ground ground is detrimental to the other benefits of Organic Mulch. I feel Plastic Ground cloth also acts as a sheeting action to divert water and nutrients away from target areas. I have used with great success, Newspaper as weed barrier. Newspaper does decomposes and help add soil organic matter.

 

Ric
My guess is , it's in the contract to use a prem .
However , you are right about the mulch being the best prem.
Good calll, Ric

 

AirHead

One place where Pre Emerge comes in real handy is when it is mixed with Roundup. I find Pennant Magnum to work well with it. If you stop to study where you are Spraying Roundup, you will find it is in the same spots repeatly. The reason generally is because culture practices in those area have broken down or there is no reasonable culture practice to prevent weeds.

 

pennant doesnt have near the number of weeds controlled on the label.
im thinking now that I might be better off spraying because with the mulch the pre em. granuals will get moved around. Im thinking maybe a mixture of spray.
i have all the info.

 

Olive

Why are you applying a pre-emerge in the first Place? Is it spec in the Job. If you are doing it to keep weeds down then you are wasting money. A good Mulch job will last longer than any Pre-emerge. Of course the first part of any job is the preparation of the site. A good chemical kill on the weeds will do the most good. Remember Pre-emerge will not kill re-emerging weeds from roots as a general rule.

 

I'm guessing it's a gov. job because he used the word "medians" .
Poor guess is another guess
Guess we'll find out , huh?

Ric , why do you like pennet, sorry for the spelling ??????

 

Airhead

I am not a big believer in pre-emerge as I have previously stated. But it gets the two types of weeds that I have the most problems with and at the same time has less root pruning. Those two types of weeds are # 1 Sedges and # 2 Grassy weeds. I do not apply it as a general treatment. I use Pennant in my spot sprayer when spot treating. Of course occasionally on a new yard, That spot treatment turns out to be 99% of the turf area. I use a 12V pump 25 gallon tank with mechanical agitator and 300 ft hose reel for most Turf weed control.