Weed alert! Here’s some weeds to look out for during the warmer months…

With the increase in temperatures, your lawn may find itself too weak to defend itself against some common summer weeds. It is important that you keep your lawn healthy and strong in order for it to be able to respond to the hotter temperatures so it can continue to flourish. Check out our article on summer lawn care for tips.

If you have found that some of these undesirable weeds have infiltrated your lawn, then it’s best to act straight away.

Bindii (jo-jo)

Soliva Sessilis

Bindii is possibly the most annoying weed due to the pain it causes to our bare feet! Bindii is a low growing weed with a flower at its centre.

At maturity, the flower produces a prickly seed pod which is a menace during the warmer months when we are trying to enjoy our lawns.

Control – Hand removal or selective Bindii herbicides like All Purpose Weed Control with the active Bromoxynil, preferably in winter or early autumn before the plant sets seed, as it is easily managed if tended to early.

Creeping Oxalis

Oxalis Corniculata

Creeping Oxalis has small light green heart shaped leaves, very similar in appearance to clover.

The flowers are small, about 3-4mm in diameter and bright yellow in colour containing five petals.

Control – Hand remove small plants, or you can dig out small sections. Herbicide applications like All Purpose Weed Control or Amgrow Bin Die are recommended for larger infestations.

Crowsfoot

Eleusine Indica

Crowsfoot grass (also known as crabgrass) is a summer annual that grows in easy to identify tufts, staying fairly flat to the ground with almost white flat sheathed stems and smooth strap like leaves.

Control – Hand removal, make sure when doing so that you carefully remove the entire plant and don’t spread the seeds. You can also carefully treat the individual tufts of crowsfoot with a glyphosate product like Round Up or Zero.

Paspalum, Nutgrass & Clover Weed Killer and herbicides formulated with the active DSMA will control crowsfoot. It can be easily mixed in a pressure sprayer, with the addition of a surfactant or wetting agent to ensure it adheres better to the leaf. For best results, spray the crowsfoot when it is actively growing during the warmer months. Repeated applications may be required in order to fully eradicate it from your lawn. Make sure you adhere to the application rates on the side of the product.

*For kikuyu, buffalo lawns and QLD Blue Couch, it is best to only spot spray the crowsfoot and not the entire lawn as it can cause harm to your grass as well.

Summer Grass

Digitaria sanguinalis and Digitaria Cilaris

Summer grass is an annual weed which has soft hairy leaves that grow close to the ground in clusters. The grass roots at the node (joint) and the sheathes of the leaf are usually purple tinged in colour at the base.

Control – Summer grass can be removed by hand, but it will continue to re-emerge in sparse unhealthy lawn areas. Getting your grass to spread and thicken will make it difficult for Summer grass to infiltrate.

An effective way to treat Summer grass is to apply a post emergent herbicide. The active ingredient common in many of these selective herbicides is DSMA, which is commonly provided as the herbicide for Paspalum. This active must only be applied via spot treatment to buffalo and kikuyu lawns, so always follow the label instructions and application rates.

White Clover

Trifolium Repens

Clover shaped, trifoliate green leaves with circular markings, on thin stems with small white ball like flowers. Sometimes four leafed stems can be also found but are quite rare so very lucky!

Control – Hand removal and/or use of selective herbicide like All Purpose Weed Control or Bin Die. Lawns love nitrogen, while clover hates it, so increasing the fertiliser on your lawn will also help.

More information on clover here.

Looking for more information on managing and removing lawn weeds? Click here.