How fast weeds grow

However, as lawn quality improves, lawn weeds and herbicide use will be greatly reduced. Important Note on Grassy Weed and Herbicides. The bad news: This is not the case with some grassy weeds. There are fewer selective herbicides capable of controlling grassy weeds. Grassy weeds are classified as undesirable grasses, however they are genetically similar to desirable grasses.

Since many desirable grasses and grassy weeds are genetically similar, there are fewer herbicides that can effectively control one type of grass without harming other types. Fortunately, some of the more common grassy weeds, including crabgrass, foxtails and sedges can be controlled using selective herbicides.

Weed Classifications. A weed is classified as any plant that is growing where it is not wanted. Even turfgrasses can be considered a weed when they have spread into planters or into neighboring yards.

When these plants first emerge from the soil after germination, monocots will emerge as a single blade while dicots emerge from the soil with two blades. These look very similar to grasses, but are easily distinguished by their triangular stems. The broadleaf weed category contains some of the most commonly recognized weed types. Within this group are plants such as dandelions, plantains, chickweed, clover and many other species. Grassy weeds contain some of the more difficult weeds to control.

They include annual bluegrass, crabgrass, foxtails, goosegrass, nimblewill, barnyard grass and sandbur, to name just a few. The small groups of sedges contain a few varieties such as purple nutsedge, yellow nutsedge and also hurricane grass. Annual and Perennial Weed Types. Many weeds are annuals and have a one year life cycle. This means they will germinate from seed, mature and die within twelve months.

There are summer annuals and winter annuals. Winter annuals will germinate from seed in the fall and survive the winter in a seedling or young grass state. They resume growth in the spring producing many seeds then die as the air and soil temperatures heat up in late spring or early summer. Annual bluegrass, common chickweed, and henbit are examples of winter annuals.

Summer annuals will germinate from seed in late spring, mature and die in the fall with the first killing frost. Crabgrass, sandbur, black medic, prostrate spurge and carpetweed are examples of summer annuals. Since annuals die each year their survival depends on the seed produced the previous year. Most annuals produce large volumes of tiny seed. These small seeds are easily blown and worked into the soil.

With perennial weeds , their survival is attributed to well developed root systems, rhizomes and stolon production, or seed. Perennial weeds grow especially fast and are much harder to kill than annuals, which have to grow from seed every year. Perennial roots have lots of energy in them from previous years of growth. Miller explained that energy helps the shoots grow very quickly. This makes perennial weeds particularly hard to control.

Dandelions are one kind of perennial. Each dandelion fuzz ball has as many as seeds that travel in the wind. How many dandelions do you think you have in your lawn?

If there are 50 plants, just think of those 50, new dandelions that can sprout from all those seeds. While they may be bullies to plants, weeds have also inspired some interesting ideas.

You never know what might inspire a great idea or when that idea will strike. Search for:. Weeds are considered opportunistic and grow when conditions are favorable, such as specific temperatures, lawn moisture levels, bare or thin turf areas, and can even grow in cracks in the roads, sidewalks or driveways. Weed seeds come in abundance and from many sources while also having the ability to lay dormant in the soil for years before germinating.

When actively growing, weeds produce thousands of seeds per plant and disperse them throughout the season. Some weeds like dandelions are spread with a little help from the wind. Other sources of weeds include poor quality grass seed purchased from the store and soils brought in for new plantings. There are three different types of weeds in every lawn and landscape bed. All can be controlled; however, some are easier than others. There are many ways to control or reduce weeds in a lawn.

One option is to apply a preventative pre-emergent control ; however, there is currently no single product that covers the entire spectrum of broadleaf weeds. Most commonly used are post-emergent herbicides when controlling weeds in a lawn or landscape. Selective herbicides are another way to get rid of weeds in a lawn. The most widely used selective herbicides work by disrupting chemical processes happening inside the weeds. The herbicide mimics a natural plant chemical that stimulates uncontrollable growth.

By blocking the photosynthesis process, the weed basically starves to death. The herbicide disrupts the sequence of chemical reactions and produces toxic compounds within the plant causing it to die off.

This type of product should be used with caution to reduce damaging desirable turf species and ornamental plants and grasses. The natural way to get rid of weeds in your lawn is to hand pick them out. On smaller size lawns and mulch beds this is an effective way to control a small number of weeds. If you can pick the annual weeds before they flower and produce seed, you can aid in reducing the number of weeds that regrow. You need to remove all the roots to be successful and this is a difficult way to achieve it.

Cultural practices also play a key role in creating a more weed free lawn. Following these simple steps helps your lawn to be the healthiest it can be. Weeds are extremely opportunistic plants that can enter your lawn from a variety of different sources.