Phoenix Area Sod Lawns being taken over by Spurge

Sod in Arizona is fighting spurge

Over the summer many lawns in the Phoenix area can develop weeds, particularly Spurge. You might recognize this weed as close to the ground, dark in color with some forms having hairy or purple-red spotted leaves and red stems. Spurge can grow in a circular shape and create a dense mat of weeds (see image to the right). As you prepare your winter lawn we want to help you get rid of these pesky weeds.

Spurge is the most common turfgrass weed in the US, and Arizona in particular due to the heat. Spurge primarily grows in the summer, but it can grow well into the fall. It is easy for this weed to grow in Arizona sod in the fall since the weather remains warm here.

Your first reaction to kill this weed would be to spray it, but we advise against doing so. If you are planning to overseed your lawn, applying weed killing chemicals could slow down the growth of your new lawn. We recommend pulling the weed up with your hands, roots and all. This method of removing Spurge weeds is better for your lawn if you are preparing it for overseeding and in general, since it isn’t as harmful to your lawn.

If your lawn in Phoenix did grow Spurge this year we hope that you were able to pull it out before any real damage was done to your winter lawn. If you feel like your lawn is already a total loss you can always order fresh sod from our Arizona sod farm, already overseeded. In any case we want to help you prevent weeds from ruining all of your hard work in maintaining your sod in the Phoenix area, as it can be a struggle given our environment. The best weed prevention is a healthy lawn!

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