If you want your lawn to thrive every season, you must take good care of it year round. To do so, you’ve got to be vigilant of weed outgrowth. They can deprive plants of the primary nutrients needed to stay healthy.
These weeds create a competitive environment for plants. Nutrients and minerals can become scarce due to the aggressive and competitive nature of weeds.
In harsh seasons such as winter or late autumn, these circumstances can severely impact the plants. If weeds are present when your lawn and garden are preparing to go dormant. This sets them up for failure come spring time, as the weeds take over and soak up the already-depleted moisture and nutrients.
Spring is a common time of year to start putting down weed control products. It is also a good time of year to put down warm-season turfgrasses, like bermuda. Evergreen Lawn and Landscape would love to install new sod for you today.
To successfully control weed growth, you must understand the type of weeds you’re dealing with. Each type requires different measures for eradication.
Types Of Weeds
There are multiple types of weeds found in your lawn. Following are the two most common types.
Broadleaf
The characteristic feature of broadleaf weed is the net-like veins. They have a central vein through which smaller “branched” veins emerge from, just like in the leaves on a healthy tree or shrub.
These weeds can be either annual or perennial, meaning they have a high chance of surviving harsh weather. They can thrive in low nutrient conditions.
The root system of broadleaf weed is either a thick, dense single taproot, or several branches of smaller roots. Some of these weeds also produce visually appealing flowers, but they still pose a threat to surrounding plants.
To control these weeds, understand their lifecycle and use an herbicide that specifically targets broadleaf weeds. Just keep in mind that such chemicals can also harm other leafy plants so it needs to be applied carefully.
Examples
A few common examples of broadleaf are listed below.
- Curly dock
- Prostrate Knotweed
- Dandelions
- Chickweed
- Chicory
- Thistle
Grassy Weeds
As the name indicates, these weeds are grass-like. It is difficult to distinguish these weeds in a populated lawn. They have long parallel veins, just like the blades of healthy grass.
The attachment of leaves to the stalk is visible when you look more closely, and they grow in patches. Grassy weeds grow abundantly, spreading throughout your lawn fairly quickly.
They penetrate the root system of your grass bed to utilize the minerals and nutrients in the topsoil. The oval or round stems may produce several blades from a single stalk.
Grassy weeds usually do not flower. In rare cases, if the flowers appear, they will be inconspicuous. The only feature distinguishing these weeds from grass is that their blades point in various directions, whereas grass growth is unidirectional.
Herbicides that target grassy weeds can also harm the surrounding turf, so careful spot-treatment is necessary for safe application.
Examples
Following are the examples of Grassy Weeds
- Blue Grass
- Rye Grass
- Millet
- Smooth Crabgrass
Broadleaf vs. Grassy Weed
The primary difference between these two lies in their structure. Grassy weeds resemble lawn grass whereas broadleaf have branched veins. To kill the grass weeds, nonselective weed killers are preferable.
However, careful application is required because they can kill the health plants as well. For broadleaf weeds, selective weed killers are effective. Broadleaf produces distinct flowers, whereas grassy weeds rarely sprout them.
Conclusion
Both broadleaf and grassy weeds can severely compromise plant growth. To eliminate them, identifying the weeds accurately is necessary. Moreover, keep your lawn healthy and nutrient-rich to give your grass and garden the upper edge. A dense, robust lawn is less likely to host intrusive weeds!