How to Kill Common Blue Violet Weeds in the Yard

Diminutive violets cause big lawn troubles.

Violets may be pretty in a woodland setting, but the blue violet is an insidious lawn weed that plagues homeowners across the United States. The weeds are difficult to kill with sprays, due to the waxy leaf coating that encourage chemical run-off. A perennial that emerges from rhizomes and creeping roots, violets can seem impossible to eradicate without carefully timed herbicide applications.

Things You'll Need

• Hand trowel
• Post-emergent herbicide

Instructions

1. Dig violets by hand, if you have only a few. Make sure you get all parts of each plant, including roots and rhizomes, because violets are tenacious weeds.

2. Apply a post-emergent herbicide such as dicamba or triclopyr to the violets in the fall as the plants are beginning to go dormant. Check the label on your chosen product to ensure that it contains a spreader-sticker, a chemical that will hold the product on the violet's leaves so the herbicide can be better absorbed. Reapply the herbicide approximately two weeks later.

3. Maintain a lush lawn in future growing seasons. Fertilize, water and trim your grass regularly to encourage healthy growth. Growing a thick lawn will make it more difficult for violets to get a foothold.

References

• University of Illinois Extension: Managing Ground Ivy and Violets in Lawns
• University of Nebraska-Lincoln Extension: Weed Control -- Dandelion, Ground Ivy and Wild Violets
• Iowa State University Extension and Outreach; Yard and Garden: Lawn Care; Richard Jauron, et al.; April 2011