Spring Weeds We are Seeing Right Now

Warm weather brings weeds! Some will be popping up now like henbit and wild onion. Doesn’t it seem like they came up out of nowhere? Because they did! It’s a temperature thing. Once that first wave of 60 degree weather and sunshine hits, count on weeds arriving. On the plus side, we’ve also seen daffodils blooming, too.

Let’s highlight weeds that are popping up right now, and then we’ll give a few tips on how to get rid of them.

Henbit

Henbit is a winter annual weed that we can count on coming up every year, earlier than dandelion. You can identify them by the square stems and pink and purple flowers and they can grow up to 16 inches tall. Their leaves are dark green and have scalloped edges.

Wild Onion

Although it is a winter perennial, it sprouts up in the spring, March and April to be specific. It grows 8-12 inches tall with leaves that appear directly from the bulb and looks similar to wild garlic. Both wild onion and wild garlic have thin, green, waxy leaves. But here’s how to tell them apart – the leaves of wild garlic are round and hollow, and those of wild onion are flat and solid.

Dandelion

Dandelion is a hardy perennial that grows individually on hollow flower stalks 2 to 18″ tall! The lance-shaped leaves are 3 to 12″ long and 1/2 to 2 1/2″ wide. You can identify these weeds by either the yellow 1 to 2″ composite flower or by the seed-head (the white puffy carrier of dandelion doom!), which appear after the yellow flower.

How to get rid of these weeds

Like most weeds, these three can be pulled up. Pull them before they get a chance to set seed. Many weeds will grow and set seed multiple times a growing season. We also recommend spot treating with a post-emergent herbicide. If you choose to pull wild onion, be sure to get the entire plant. Any fragment left behind will regenerate and grow.

A happy healthy turf is always the best defense against weeds. Make sure you are mowing at the right height, watering, and fertilizing appropriately.

What’s coming next? The Forsythia bush is blooming! This means it’s time to apply your broadleaf pre-emergent! This will deter broadleaf weeds such as the ever-annoying crabgrass!

If you’re seeing weeds, give us a call! We can tell you what they are and how to get rid of them!