Fall lawn care for Florida and October plant clinic

FLORIDA — If your lawn has a history of winter annual weeds such as henbit, wild geranium, annual bluegrass, chickweed, and lawn burweed, you can apply a preemergence herbicide to prevent these weeds from emerging.

Apply it during October when nighttime temperatures drop to 55° – 60°F for several consecutive nights. This will be just before the winter annual weeds emerge. After the seedlings are visible, it’s too late to apply a preemergent herbicide.

Overusing some preemergence herbicides may result in lawn roots stunted and weak. Follow label directions when using herbicides!

Fall webworms and armyworms may remain active during fall until the lawn is dormant. Your lawn will look like it has been mowed very close to where these caterpillars are feeding. Closer examination of leaf blades will reveal notched leaf edges where caterpillars have chewed.

Large patch fungus is common during the cooler weather of fall, winter, and spring. In most cases, this lawn disease results in circular brown areas in the lawn. These circular areas slowly expand, sometimes becoming several feet or larger in diameter. The grass in the center of the circular patches may be green, giving a donut pattern.

For specific recommendations on controlling lawn pests, contact your UF/IFAS County Extension Office, come to our October plant clinic, or use this link: https://hort.ifas.ufl.edu/yourfloridalawn.

The final plant clinic for 2023 will be held Friday, October 20, from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. at the temporary UF/IFAS Extension Annex located at the Okaloosa Technical College (OTC) in Fort Walton Beach.

The plant clinic provides a place for individuals to bring samples of their lawn, landscape, or garden plants for diagnosis, including weeds and insects for identification.

Bring a fresh sample of the weed, plant, insect, etc., to the clinic to participate. This may include a plant stem with several leaves, a 4-inch square of grass with roots attached, etc. It’s important to bring fresh samples for diagnosis/identification.

You may also bring a soil sample from your lawn, landscape, or garden for pH testing.

Publications related to fall lawn care will be available for those attending the plant clinic.

Use the entrance closest to the fire station, not the main entrance, and follow the signs to the Extension building located at the back of the OTC campus.

Call the OTC Extension Annex at 850-651-7476 or the Extension Office in Crestview at 850-689-5850 for directions to the Extension Annex or for instructions on how to take an appropriate soil sample for testing.

Larry Williams is the Extension horticulture agent with the Okaloosa County Cooperative Extension Service, University of Florida. Contact Larry at 689-5850 or email lwilliams@myokaloosa.com.

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