What are the most common weeds in Minnesota?
This is a broad question so we will focus on the most common weeds in Minneapolis and surround suburbs.
There are two different types – Broad Leaf & Grass
Broad Leaf Weeds
Dandelions
These grow fast and spread like crazy during their seedhead stage. This is when everyone looks around the neighborhood to see which lawn is to blame.
Pre-emergent helps control seedlings from germination but getting post emergent down as the leafs form without the flower fully visible will contain it before it gets out of control.
Like with all weeds, cultural practices for prevention is the best investment for a weed free lawn.
Thistle
Wearing gloves and pulling out is the best way to take care of it when it’s fully matured. It requires the same post emergent herbicide we use on all broad leafs but it needs a heavy application. Since it needs more product to kill, we try to avoid the warmer months because it will stress the lawn around the weed.
Fall is the best time to spray this weed effectively to limit the negative effects of the healthy turf surrounding it.
White Clover
Looking out into a field of nothing but white clover can be a desired look but unfortunately when you have a healthy lawn and you see it, its an eye sore.
Our services will kill the plant but it tends to thrive on lawns lacking in nitrogen so a strong foundation of spring fertilizer will act as a prevention.
Creeping Charlie
Also known as ground ivy, spreads quick and the vines you see seem to never end.
Like thistle it needs a heavy treatment so to avoid over use of chemicals we advise pulling what you can followed by an aeration and seeding in the fall.
Easy way to help prevent creeping charlie is to allow areas more sunlight and proper mowing techniques.
Wild Violet
Common Blue Violet is another name it goes by. It tends to grow from shady areas that contain moisture so proper watering is a way to prevent growth.
Our applications would be applied in last summer when the plan reaches peak maturity.
Spurge
Pre-emergent in the spring will help control germination of this pesky weed.
Avoiding a thinning lawn will help prevent growth and spreading as the weed as well as avoiding drought. It can thrive on dry conditions.
If the pre-emergent doesn’t quite catch all the seedlings, we spray late spring when it’s still immature and manageable. When it’s fully mature, it’s best to pull the weed and top dress with seed. Otherwise we just turn to the approach of building turf density with aeration and seeding to fill in those prone areas.
Black Medic
This is another weed that likes inadequate levels of nitrogen so signing up for schedules fertilizer applications helps the strategy to prevent black medic.
The goal is to attack the smaller growth earlier in the season if pre-emergent isn’t applied.
Sedge
We treat sedge the same way as creeping charlie. It’s a tough weed to control as it can survive in moist conditions as well as dry.
Cultural practices that promote a thick healthy lawn is the best way to prevent sedge but we can spray post emergent applications to contain the spread.
Grass Weeds
Of all the common weeds in Minnesota, grass weeds are the most difficult for treating and just overall look. They just barely stick out from your healthy grass making it drive you insane visually and the only way to remove is to kill the good turf with it.
Crabgrass
Hearing your neighbors say “I have a weed problem” means that most likely it’s crabgrass, the most identifiable and pesky of the weeds in Minnesota.
Proper pre-emergent application, that includes amount of product and post application watering, can jump start your lawn to avoiding this peak summer weed.
Areas that dry out and thin become a great breading ground for crabgrass. Any edge of the lawn that is up against a surface that heats up from the sun will be another ideal home the weed.
In the early summer we will spot spray any that we see before they mature.
We focus on prevention because when they are fully mature, the amount of chemical needed will stress and brown those areas for almost a month. At this point we just recommend committing to aeration and seeding in the fall and start to think about the following spring services.
Quackgrass
Cool weather weed that will show it’s face early spring posing as a look-a-like to your healthy bluegrass. As it matures the blades widen making it easier to identify. The easiest way to tell is by picking a stem and noticing the leaf. You will see, what is called an auricle, wrapped around the stem; SHOWN HERE.
If you don’t see an auricle then it’s either Tall Fescue or Rough Bluegrass which both have the same method of treatment.
Unfortunately the only post emergent solution is glyphosate(Round-Up). We care about the safety of our customers, their kids and pets so we don’t recommend using this chemical yourself. Allow us to use cultural practices with mowing, proper watering, aeration, and fertilizer to prevent these weeds in the upcoming seasons.
Weeds found in Minnesota
They can’t thrive when you have a thick healthy lawn. Outside of granular pre-emergent, we don’t like to put chemicals down. We understand that sometimes it’s needed but over time it stresses the soil and it’s not in the interest of your lawns health to be exposed.
Let us do everything we know how to do based off experience and knowledge to limit post emergent chemicals and still get the best results possible.