How to Remove Weeds From a Flower Bed

Keep flower beds looking beautiful by removing weeds promptly

Even with the best preventive measures, such as mulching, fertilizing and proper watering, weeds are still bound to appear in a flower bed. As these weeds appear, they must be removed right away, before they spread seed or choke out the beautiful flowers. Care must be taken, however, to get rid of the weeds without getting rid of the flowers.

Things You'll Need

• Garden gloves
• Garden hose
• Herbicide labeled for flower beds

Instructions

Hand Removal

1. Wet the soil around the weeds using either a garden hose or sprinkler. If it has recently rained and the soil is moist and loose, skip this step.

2. Put on garden gloves to protect your hands from spines and thorns that may be on the stems of some weeds.

3. Grasp a weed as close to the soil level as possible and pull until the roots are released from the soil. Make sure you have a firm grip on the weed so that it does not break off. Avoid disturbing the roots of nearby flowers as much as possible. Also, disturb the soil as little as possible since this bringing up buried soil can raise other weed seeds to the top where they may germinate.

4. Dispose of the weed in the trash. Do not leave it in the flower bed, or any seeds on the weed may germinate.

5. Repeat Steps 3 and 4 until all of the weeds are removed from the flower bed.

Herbicide

1. Wait for a sunny day when the wind is not blowing. Any wind or breeze could blow the herbicide on to the flowers, causing damage.

2. Cover the flowers with fabric, such as cut up sheets, or plastic sheeting. Leave the weeds exposed.

3. Spray the weeds with herbicide, following the manufacturer's directions.

4. Uncover the flowers.

Tips & Warnings

• Rinse any flowers that accidentally came in contact with the herbicide with water to minimize damage.

• Use leather gloves instead of garden gloves if the weeds have large thorns or stickers.

• Don't water for several hours after applying the herbicide.

References

• North Carolina State University; Weed Management in Annual Color Beds; Joseph C. Neal; June 2007
• University of California; Weed Management in Landscapes; C. A. Wilen, et. al; March 2007
• University of Hawaii; Weed Control Options in Landscape Beds and Groundcovers; Jay Deputy, et. al; Feb. 2001
• Purdue University; Weed Control for the Garden and Landscape; B. Rosie Lerner, et. al; Feb. 2003