How to Recognize Weeds in the Lawn

Online resources can help you verify weeds in your lawn.

Gardeners consider weeds to be plants that spread aggressively and grow in areas where they don't want these plants to grow. Because of their overgrowth, weeds may choke and kill your grass. Sometimes, they also host insects or diseases that could be transferred to the other plants in your garden. Here's how to recognize weeds in your lawn.

Instructions

1. Survey your lawn and note any foreign plants growing among your grass blades. This can be tricky if you're dealing with grass-like weeds, such as bentgrass, Bermuda grass or quackgrass. These weeds look like grass, but grow in tufts and have a rough appearance. Pulling them only eliminates them temporarily, as it's hard to get all the roots out. Herbicide kills them but also destroys your lawn. You'll have to either apply new sod or reseed the area you treated with herbicides.

2. Refer to a weed chart to verify what you see growing among your grass blades is a weed. The one at http://www.american-lawns.com/problems/weed-types.html has detailed descriptions of various common lawn weeds. However, it shows pictures of only a few of them. For pictures of broadleaf weeds, check out http://commodities.caes.uga.edu/turfgrass/georgiaturf/WeedMngt/Broadleaf/Broad1.html. For photos of grass-like weeds, go to http://commodities.caes.uga.edu/turfgrass/georgiaturf/WeedMngt/GrassWeed/Grass1.html.

3. Label your weed and decide what to do about it. Different weeds are vulnerable to different treatments. Take the information on the weed infesting your lawn to your local nursery or extension office. Their staff can recommend the best strategy to eradicate it from your yard.

References

• "Sunset Western Garden Book;" Kathleen Norris Brenzel (editor); 2001

Resources

• american-lawns.com: Types of Weeds
• University of Georgia: Broadleaf Weeds
• University of Georgia: Grass-like Weeds