Save Your Lawn From Doveweed With These Helpful Tips
Although many types of weeds can crop up in a lawn, doveweed is one of the sneakiest and can cause a lot of trouble once summer begins. Doveweed is a summer annual weed that germinates towards the end of spring. Because it looks similar to different types of grass, such as St. Augustine grass, identifying it can be tricky. Doveweed appears a bit later than other weeds that tend to grow during the season, and you should definitely take steps to get rid of it once you notice it.
Doveweed has lavender flowers that make seeds and the weed can propagate vegetatively as well. Doveweed spreads pretty fast and cutting the weed with a mower can cause it to spread even quicker. It can also be tricky, if not essentially impossible, to remove doveweed by hand. Although removing the weed by hand may work in flower beds and gardens, different methods are needed to remove doveweed from a lawn. To prevent doveweed from growing in the first place, follow the right lawn care strategies and keep your lawn green and healthy. If you already have doveweed, on the other hand, you may have to resort to chemical methods to remove it.
Following the right lawn care strategies
It can be difficult to get rid of doveweed after it appears, so it's best to be proactive and take steps to prevent it. To do this, you need to take care of your lawn in a general sense, but the first specific thing to note is that doveweed grows best in lawns that have a lot of moisture. Irrigate the lawn well and don't water it too often. Ensure it has time to dry. It's also helpful to aerate your lawn as well. Proper aeration helps the soil become looser and will make it less likely that weeds will grow.
Also, mowing your lawn too short can lead to cutting doveweed stolons, which can cause the weed to spread, making your problems worse. Using a lawnmower incorrectly causes the doveweed to spread and grow thicker. Also, use fertilizer on your lawn. Fertilizing the lawn will help keep it healthy and ensure it has all the necessary nutrients, helping increase its defense against doveweed.
Eliminating doveweed with herbicides
Although taking great care of your lawn helps prevent doveweed, you may need to take more drastic measures if the weed is already out of control in your yard. Getting rid of doveweed is best done with the help of pre-emergent and post-emergent herbicides. A pre-emergent herbicide such as Specticle G includes indaziflam and can help prevent doveweed. This herbicide should be applied during the late spring before doveweed germinates.
A post-emergence herbicide can be applied to any doveweed that has already grown on your lawn. Celsius WG is a great post-emergent herbicide to consider for this purpose. If using it once doesn't eliminate the problem, you can reapply again after around two to four weeks have passed. Keep in mind that eliminating doveweed completely is a long process. It may take as long as two or three years for doveweed to be eliminated, particularly if you have a severe case.