Bermuda – Control in Flower Bed

Q: I am trying to control weeds bermudagrass in my flower beds. What should I use?

A: A quick answer is that you can simply dig it out but I know that’s a chore if you have big beds.

There are three chemical avenues you can take to control weeds in flower beds. The first is to apply a pre-emergent (click for sources) weed preventer twice each year: mid-March and mid-September.  The pre-emergent will prevent weed seeds from sprouting . It will also prevent flower seeds from sprouting. Be sure to read the label to make sure the product is labeled for flower beds.

Your second task is to control perennial grassy weeds like bermudagrass. This can be done with a selective post-emergent grass killer such as Vantage (click for sources) . The Vantage label lists specific plants on which it can be used.

You can try the product on a small area first to see if it hurts your flowers while controlling the bermuda.

Also consider painting the weed leaves (do not spray) with glyphosate (click for sources) that has been sprayed onto a foam paintbrush. Secondarily, if you are careful, you could spray glyphosate with a hand-held sprayer while protecting your flowers with a piece of cardboard.