Three Things You Need To Know About Carpetweed

According to experts, a well-landscaped yard—which includes an attractive, green lawn—can increase the value of your home by up to 15%. However, many weeds can interfere with your quest for an attractive lawn, including carpetweed. Here are three things you need to know about carpetweed.

What does carpetweed look like?

Carpetweed is an annual plant that grows in a circular mat. This mat grows quickly and can grow over the top of your lawn or other plants. The leaves are fairly small at one to three centimeters long, and each node has between three and eight leaves.

During the summer months, small white flowers will develop on the weeds, and these flowers will turn into egg-shaped orange-red seeds. These seeds will then be dropped into the soil, and more carpetweed plants will develop on your lawn. In no time at all, your lawn can be overrun by carpetweed.

How can you prevent carpetweed growth?

To prevent carpetweed from growing on your lawn, make sure to take steps to encourage the healthy growth of your lawn. It's important to mow your lawn to the proper height for your type of grass; if the grass is too short, then carpetweed seeds will get the sun they need to grow, and they will germinate. If you're not sure what type of grass you have on your lawn, ask a lawn care expert to identify it and recommend the ideal height for the grass.

It's also important to adequately fertilize your lawn. The fertilizer helps to keep your grass healthy, which helps it to outcompete any carpetweed that wants to grow in the soil. It's a good idea to have your soil tested to find out which nutrients are missing before you apply fertilizer. If you don't test the soil, you could add nutrients that your soil already has too much out or not add nutrients that it is desperately in need of.

How can you get rid of carpetweed?

If carpetweed takes over your lawn despite your best efforts to control it, don't worry, because you can get rid of it. First, hand pull all of the carpetweed plants before they get the chance to flower. Once you've removed all of the unwanted carpetweeds, treat the entire lawn with an appropriate herbicide. It's important to choose an herbicide that is labeled for post-emergent broadleaf weeds; an herbicide that is designed for other types of weeds may not kill the carpetweed.

To maintain a perfect, green lawn, you'll need to control any weeds that try to grow there, including carpetweed. If you're having trouble keeping carpetweed under control, contact a lawn care specialist like those found at Pattie Group, Inc right away.