On May 30, 6:33 am, Pat Kiewicz wrote:
Joe said:



I noticed a certain plant growing on my lawn this year that I haven't
seen before. I took a couple of pictures. Can someone tell me if I
have something to worry about. Right now they are growing in a
spot
where I find it tough to grow grass and they aren't really noticeable
unless you look up close. I'm worried they might take over the
entire
lawn though. Here are the pics:

http://img206.imageshack.us/img206/5151/weedsdq4.jpg

http://img78.imageshack.us/img78/9940/weeds2ws6.jpg

Looks like speedwell. You need to mow the lawn tall (to shade
it out) and increase its thickness through proper fertilizing and
watering. Speedwell (depending on species) is a winter
annual or short-lived perennial, so a spring application of
a pre-emergent is not going to control it.

Some people don't mind having wildflowers in the lawn,
and speedwell has pretty (if tiny) flowers. So whether it's
friend or foe is an aesthetic choice.

From NSCU:

" Establishing a dense, vigorous turf is the best way to reduce the
encroachment of winter annual weeds. First, select adapted turfgrass
cultivars for your area and then properly fertilize, mow and water to
encourage dense growth. Watering scheduled to meet turfgrass needs
helps to minimize chickweed competition.

"All of the winter annual weeds described, with the exception of corn
speedwell, may be controlled with selective broadleaf postemergence
herbicides if the desired turfgrass has tolerance. When controlling
several different weeds, it may be desirable to select a combination
product which is a mixture of two or three broadleaf herbicides. For
corn speedwell, repeated application of a three-way combination
product at one-half the label rate applied 10 days apart provides good
control. ...

...

"The best time to apply herbicide to winter annual broadleaf weeds is
from February through April--depending on the turf, location within
the state, temperature and growing conditions. In warm-season
turfgrasses, winter annual broadleaf weeds should be sprayed while
the turf is still dormant and before spring green-up occurs. Spray
before resumption of spring growth in cool-season turfgrasses. By
spraying at these times, the turf has a greater chance of growing into
those areas previously infested with weeds."

http://ipm.ncsu.edu/urban/cropsci/c0.../wintannu.html
--
Pat in Plymouth MI ('someplace.net' is comcast)

After enlightenment, the laundry.

thanks, I have a hard time getting grass to grow in that area due to
the exposed roots of a nearby tree. I really don't mind the plants and
the flowers are pretty I just don't want them to take over my yard.
I've fertilized and reseeded the yard already this year - paying
particular attention to that area - and we've been getting lots of
rain, so I'm not sure what else to do.