Preen: A Powerful Weapon in the War Against Weeds

Preen Weed Preventer is a granular garden product formulated to be shaken or broadcast across the soil surface to reduce weed problems. Once activated, it stops weeds from germinating in your flowerbeds, gardens, and around trees and shrubs.

The original formula does not kill existing weeds but instead prevents weed seeds in the soil
from germinating and pushing through the soil surface.

How Does Preen Work?

Preen is a type of herbicide classified as a pre-emergent, formulated to work to control annual grasses and certain broadleaf weeds.

The active ingredient in Preen is trifluralin, one of the most used herbicides in agricultural production and gardening. Trifluralin’s mode of action is as a mitotic inhibitor. It stops mitosis, or cell division, in rapidly dividing cells such as germination and root formation. The microtubules that pull the cells apart are disrupted, halting division.

To be activated, Preen weed preventer needs to be watered into the soil.

Once activated and in the soil, the product creates a barrier within the top couple inches that prevent weed seeds from germinating. Over time, the active ingredient will degrade, making it necessary to reapply it throughout the growing season for best results.

Benefits Of Using Preen In Your Garden

There are many benefits to using Preen in your flowerbeds.

• Simply reducing the number of weeds in an applied area make it a favored product with home gardeners, but many people overlook the trickle-down effect it has.
• Easy to use; most containers come with a specially designed cap to help evenly broadcast it across the soil with just a simple shake of your wrist.
• Weed seeds never germinate, drastically reducing the number of weeds you must contend with.
• Garden plots and flowerbeds look pristine with minimal effort.
• Using Preen as a weed preventer is more effective than hand weeding. When hand weeding it’s challenging to remove the entire weed, so it often comes back with a vengeance; Preen stops weeds entirely.
• There is little need for post-emergent herbicide applications if Preen is used properly. This cuts down on the cost associated with purchasing weed killers, as well as the safety concern regarding their application.
• With fewer weeds growing in unwanted spaces, your vegetables, ornamental flowers, trees, and shrubs are not competing for resources such as water, sunlight, and soil nutrients. Your plants will grow stronger, healthier, and have higher yields.
• Less time is spent pulling or digging up weeds in your garden and flowerbeds. This means more time to sit outside and relax, enjoying the weather and gardens you are growing.
• Weeding can be extremely taxing on your body. Applying a pre-emergent product to prevent weeds reduces the fatigue on your body, saving your hands, knees and back from hurting for days to come.

Tips For Using Preen

As with any other garden product, especially a chemically active one, you should follow these tips and warnings to ensure safety and increase the product’s efficiency:

• Preen can be applied in the spring as soon as soil temperatures begin to warm up and perennial plants start growing. Early application will get a jump start on weed prevention.
• Avoid applying the product to areas in the garden or flowerbeds where you intend to plant seeds or transplant seedlings or young plants.
• Wait until newly planted transplants have been watered a couple of times before application. This ensures the plants are acclimated enough to tolerate Preen if they come in contact with it.
• Avoid getting Preen on the leaves if possible, to prevent damage to the foliage; apply when the plants are dry to prevent the product from sticking to them.
• Follow the label directions for application rate. Good coverage equals effectiveness.
• After application, water just enough to wet the soil surface, to activate the soil barrier.
• Reapply Preen every 9 to 12 weeks for continued prevention. In areas where you receive a higher amount of rainfall, or you have very sandy soil, you may need to reapply it more often.
• Try to minimize soil disturbance after application and activation as this decreases the effectiveness of the “barrier” created in the soil.

“Preen” is a pre-emergent weed control product intended for homeowner use. La Rosa Landscape Company uses commercial quality pre-emergent herbicides to help maintain landscape beds, tree rings, and other areas. Our trained, licensed, and certified landscape professionals know the right time and application rate. We also have the proper tools to apply pre-emergents and other commercial-quality products safely and effectively. Leave it to our professionals to make your landscape healthy and beautiful!