A garden or lawn weed can be any plant growing where you don’t want it to.
However, there are some particularly weedy species to keep an eye out for.
Whether you’re trying to identify lawn weeds or garden weeds, this handy guide can help.
Credit: Jay Wilde
Bindweed also produces white to pale pinkmorning glory-throw in flowers.
Control:Mulch your gardento prevent bindweed.
It grows as a dense mat, thanks to its creeping stems.
Credit: Marty Baldwin
Control:Mulch to prevent black medic in gardens.
Pull or dig out weeds by hand or use an herbicide.
Discourage it by keeping the soil well watered and amended with organic matter (such as compost).
Credit: Peter Krumhardt
Control:Mulch your garden to prevent black nightshade.
Pull the weed by hand or treat with an herbicide.
All parts of this plant are toxic (including the fruits) to humans and pets if swallowed.
Credit: Marty Baldwin
It has an extensive root system that can grow several feet out from the main plant.
Control:Mulch your garden to prevent it in landscape areas.
Control:Mulch to prevent chickweed in gardens or use a pre-emergent herbicide in early spring.
Credit: Marty Baldwin
Pull weeds by hand.
This lawn weed grows roots anywhere the stem makes soil contact.
Seed heads spread out like four fingers.
Credit: Peter Krumhardt
Types of Weed Killers
A pre-emergent herbicideworks on weed seeds.
It won’t have an effect once plants start to grow.
A post-emergent herbicidetargets weeds that are already growing.
Credit: Dean Schoeppner
A broadleaf herbicidekills non-grass bang out plants.
A nonselective herbicidekills any plant it touches.
The plant gives off a distinctive mint-like scent when mowed or crushed.
Credit: Marty Baldwin
Control:Mulch garden areas in spring toprevent creeping Charlie, also known as ground ivy.
Pull plants by hand or spray with a post-emergent herbicide in spring or fall.
Control:Dense turf grass limits cudweed.
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Remove individual weeds by hand or apply selective herbicide.
It resembles crabgrass but is much taller and has larger seed heads.
Control:Maintain a healthy lawnand apply pre- and post-emergent herbicides or remove weeds by hand.
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Yellow flowers mature into puffballs.
Control:Mulch to prevent dandelionsin gardens.
Pull dandelion weeds by hand or treat lawns with a broadleaf herbicide, which won’t kill grass.
Credit: Marty Baldwin
Control:Mulch the garden to prevent weeds or use a pre-emergent herbicide in spring.
Pull weeds by hand or spot-treat with a nonselective herbicide.
Control:Mulch to prevent dock.
Credit: Marty Baldwin
Pull and dig up plants or treat with an herbicide.
It produces small white to pale lavender, daisy-like flowers in spring and early summer.
Control:Mulch your garden to prevent fleabane.
Credit: Peter Krumhardt
Control:Mulch to prevent henbit in gardens or use pre-emergent herbicide in spring.
Pull plants by hand or treat in lawns with a broadleaf herbicide.
Control:Prevent knotweed with a deep layer of mulch or apply a pre-emergent herbicide in spring.
Credit: Peter Krumhardt
Once the plant grows, hand-pull or spot-treat it with a nonselective weed killer.
Control:Mulch your garden to prevent lamb’s-quarter.Pull weed plants by handor use a post-emergent weed killer.
Control:Mulch your garden to prevent musk thistle.
Credit: Peter Krumhardt
Use an herbicide or dig the weed out by hand.
Control:Mulch garden areas in spring to help prevent nutsedge.
Control:Mulch garden areas in spring to prevent weeds.
Credit: Marty Baldwin
Pulloxalisweeds by hand or spray weeds with a broadleaf herbicide in spring or fall.
Identify weeds by their hairy-looking clusters of green flowers (though some varieties are grown as annuals).
Control:Mulch garden areas in spring to prevent pigweed or use a pre-emergent herbicide in spring.
Credit: Marty Baldwin
Pull weeds by hand or spot treat with a non-selective weed killer.
Control:Mulch to prevent plantains growing in the garden.
Pull by hand or if growing as a lawn weed, use a post-emergent herbicide.
Credit:BHG/Kelli Jo Emanuel
The weed has leaves divided into three leaflets and can sprout clusters of green berries.
Control:Prevent poison ivywith a deep layer of mulch.
All parts of poison ivy contain oils that cause a severe allergic skin reaction in many people on contact.
Credit: Marty Baldwin
These oils are present even in dead leaves and can become airborne and inhaled if the plant is burned.
Control:Prevent pokeweed seeds from germinating with a deep layer of mulch.
Once the plant grows, hand-pull or spot-treat it with an herbicide.
Credit: Marty Baldwin
Tiny but prolific flowers appear all along stems through summer.
Control:Mulch your garden to prevent prostrate spurge or use a pre-emergent herbicide in lawns.
Pull weeds when young or spot-treat with an herbicide.
Credit: Marty Baldwin
Control:Mulch your garden to prevent purslane or use a pre-emergent herbicide in the spring.
Pull plants by hand or spot-treat with a nonselective herbicide.
Control:Mulch your garden well to prevent quackgrass.
Credit: Denny Schrock
Dig plants out by hand, being sure to remove every bit of root.
Spot treat with a non-selective weed killer.
Control:Use mulch or a pre-emergent herbicide in spring to prevent quickweed.
Credit: Marty Baldwin
If plants do grow, pull them by hand.
Control:Mulch your garden to prevent ragweed.
Use a post-emergent herbicide or pull it out by hand.
Credit: Marty Baldwin
Control:Use a post-emergent herbicide before the weed flowers or remove individual weeds by hand.
It’s an upright plant with pink or white flowers in summer and fall.
Control:Mulch garden beds in spring to help prevent seeds sprouting.
Credit:BHG / Kelli Jo Emanuel
Pull plants that do pop up by hand or spot treat with an herbicide.
Greenish yellowish flower clusters appear in spring and summer and seeds ripen in fall.
Control:Mulch toprevent stinging nettle.
Credit: Marty Baldwin
Dig out weeds or treat with an herbicide.
Tiny blue or purple flowers with a white center appear in late winter into early summer.
Weed Control:Mulch garden beds to prevent speedwell seeds from sprouting.
Credit: Peter Krumhardt
In lawns, encourage dense grass growth to shade out weeds.
The weed has yellow flowers in summer.
Weed Control:Mulch your gardento prevent velvetleaf or use a pre-emergent herbicide in spring.
Credit: Marty Baldwin
Pull existing plants by hand or use a post-emergent herbicide.
The plants quickly spread outward to form dense mats of foliage.
Control:Mulch your garden beds to prevent white clover in landscape areas.
Credit:Kelli Jo Emanuel / BHG
Small purple flowers appear in late spring.
Control:Mulch garden beds in spring to prevent wild violet.
Pull weeds by hand or spray with a broadleaf herbicide in spring or fall.
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Violet flowers are edible, but never eat the blossoms after applying herbicides.
Yellow flowers on the plant are followed by large puffballs of seeds.
Control:Mulch your garden to prevent yellow salsify.
Credit: Marty Baldwin
Pull plants by hand or spot treat with a post-emergent herbicide.
Control:Mulch your garden to prevent yellow sweet clover.
Pull plants by hand or spot-treat with an herbicide.
Credit: Denny Schrock
While garden and lawn weeds are inevitable, you have several options for dealing with them.
Weeding early and often will give you the best chance of success.
Credit:Bob Stefko
Credit: Marty Baldwin
Credit: Marty Baldwin
Credit: Marty Baldwin
Credit:Kelli Jo Emanuel / BHG
Credit: Peter Krumhardt
