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How to Identify Weeds in your Lawn with Photos and Descriptions

We help you identify Weeds in your Lawn with Photos and descriptions

Weedol 1 litre

Lawn Weedkiller

A wide selection of weedkillers are available for lawn weeds. ONLY USE THOSE SPECIFIED FOR LAWN WEEDS.

Lawn weedkillers are special, in that the chemical ingredients will only kill the weeds - without harming the grass. Normal weedkillers will kill the grass as well.

Weed killers to avoid on lawns are any weedkiller containing Glyphosate, Simazine and Paraquat. All of these will kill the grass as well.

Granular weedkillers often have lawn feed incorporated - the popular Lawn Weed & Feed types, for they are easy to use and kill most of the common weeds in lawns.

The use of Lawn Sand is also beneficial to the lawn - not just for controlling small leaved weeds. Liquid lawn weed killers are quick in action, and are best applied with a watering can with a fine rose - not a knapsack sprayer, as the fine droplets can drift to neighbouring plants and do severe damage.

First of all, you have to identify the weeds in your lawn. Our pictures should help you.



Moss in your Lawn

Ribwort weed or narrow plantain
Moss in lawns

Moss is not strictly a weed in lawns, but is the symptom of an underlying basic problem

Spot Treatment can be carried out with ready-to-use Lawn weed guns: Simply zap the offending weed. Particularly good on Dandelions, Plantains and Thistles.

Lawn weedkillers are best applied when the grass and weeds are in active growth - Late Spring - Early Autumn. Mid summer is best avoided unless it is a wet summer and the grass is still growing well. Do not use weedkillers when the lawn is parched!

Common Lawn Weeds

White Clover

White Clover lawn weed Picture
White Clover

White Clover
Isolated patches of white clover can be treated with a ready to use lawn weedkiller gun. But an equally effective way, is to control it by raking with a wire tine (springbok) rake immediately prior to mowing. This will lift the stolons to a height where they can be mown - weakening the weeds and keeping them at bay. Otherwise the ground hugging clover will evade the mower blades.
Many people are quite happy to simple have a 'white clover' lawn!
A well fed and cared-for lawn rarely suffers from white clover.

Selfheal

Self heal and white clover lawn weeds - photo
A mixture of white clover and Selfheal

Selfheal
Prunella vulgaris - a somewhat beautiful name for a pernicious weed in lawns!
As with its bedmate here in the image, Self Heal weed is low growing - ground hugging lawn weed that will hide from the mower blades. Weedkillers containing the chemical 24-D is the weapon of choice.
As with white clover, it rarely seems to be a problem weed in well maintained lawns. But, if it does infiltrate, then it needs to be dealt with quite quickly. It spread rapidly.

Closeup photo of selfheal on lawn
A closer view of Selfheal

Self Heal flowers dying off - ready to turn to seedheads. The seeds will rapidly be spread with mowing actions. It is one of the most common lawn weeds and often gets overlooked until it has taken good hold.



The Greater Plantain

Photo of Wide leaves of Greater Plantain weed
The Greater Plantain

Greater Plantain is rare in well maintained lawns. Fortunately easy to deal with with almost any proprietary lawn weedkiller - especially the weed and feed applications. Isolated weeds can easily be dug out with a daisy grubber - even pulled out by hand.

Ribwort

Ribwort weed or narrow plantain
Ribwort - Narrow leaved Plantain

Ribwort
Plantago lanceolata - Lance shaped leaves - on this narrow-leaved plantain. Not found too often in lawns - other than neglected lawns. It will grow - as will the other plantains in lawns that have been heavily compacted.  Good normal lawn care will keep this lawn weed at bay.
Any normal lawn weedkiller will see this weed off - and the ready to use weed LAWN weed guns will work well.
Quite easy to dig out isolated weeds.

Creeping Buttercup

Creeping buttercup
Creeping Buttercup

Creeping Buttercup is a common weed of garden and lawn alike. It can be treated easily with any normal lawn weedkiller (selective weedkillers) and is normally finished off with one application of any of the lawn weed and feed type applications.
Not easy to dig out, but raking with a wire rake will lift the stolons up to be mown off.



Common Lawn Daisy

The daisy gets everywhere in the lawn - a weed
Common Lawn Daisy

Common lawn daisy is probably the most widely spread of the lawn weeds. Love them or hate them - up to you. Will soon take hold in well maintained lawns as well as neglected lawns.
It rarely competes well with lawns that are not mown to short. But, most lawns tend to be scalped, so the vast majority of lawns will have 'problems' with this lawn weed at some time.
Most lawn weed and feed applications will control this weed - as will the ready to use lawn weed guns for isolated patches.
Where they are killed off, there will be a considerable patch of bare earth.  Over-seed as soon as possible.

Dandelion

Dandelion weed
Dandelion

Dandelion is again a common lawn weed of neglected lawns.  It can be grubbed out with a daisy grubber, but as it has a lengthy tap root, this is not the best option. Bits of the tap root of this lawn weed will soon re-grow.
Easily controlled with one application of general Lawn weedkiller - or the Lawn weed and Feed types.

Dock Leaves

Dock leaves in the lawn
Dock Leaves - Not too often found in lawns!

Dock leaves  are rarely found in lawns - a sure sign of general neglect if they are! Esy to kill off with a lawn weed gun, or can be carefully 'painted' with a Glyphosate gel brush. Be aware that the Glyphosate will kill any grass it comes into contact with.



Birdsfoot Trefoil

Birdsfoot trefoil lawn weed
Birdsfoot Trefoil

Birds Foot Trefoil is not an easy weed to deal with, so prompt action is necessary once found. Raking before mowing has a good effect at control, but killing this weed with take a couple of applications of lawn weedkiller.
Lawn sand is particularly good at control of Birds Foot Trefoil as well as the other small-leaved lawn weeds

Dwarf Thistle

Dwarf thistle a lawn weed that can be uncomfortable!
Dwarf Thistle

Dwarf Thistle
Ouch! Not to be sat on when having a lawn-based picnic. Easy to kill lawn weed, with any of the normal lawn weed killing applicators. If it is just a solitary plat - as is often the case - don a pair of pruning gloves, and gather up the foliage to reveal the root area to be dug out! Zap it with a lawn weed gun for quick - and easy - effect!



Nutgrass

Nutgrass lawn weed
Nutgrass - A serious problem in Southern US states

  •  Nutgrass or nut Grass, is set to become one of the most common and troublesome weeds of US gardens and lawns. It is also a difficult weed to get rid of in lawns.

Nutgrass is actually a member of the ‘Rush’ family – a sedge. Sedges are often associated with damp boggy areas. Nutgrass certainly needs moisture, but is more prevalent in hot conditions, with full sunlight being it’s favourite growing conditions. Nut grass has been documented as being more common in more temperate regions, but does not – at present – seem to present such a serious problem in these cooler areas.






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