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Identifying Common Garden Weeds

October 27, 2017 By Scott Harper 51 Comments

"Know your enemy" – Sun Tzu.

There are a lot of resources for methods to get rid of weeds but for the best results you must first know which weeds you are trying to control.

Unless you are a student of botany, typical weed identification guides are fairly botanical and it may be difficult to follow the description in order to identify weeds. You also don't have to visit a herbarium as we have a better solution for you.

In this comprehensive guide brought to you by Weedicide, we'll help you identify common garden weeds in the United Kingdom with ease.

Different weeds commonly found in the United Kingdom are differentiated based on their structure and then identified using the type, size, availability, and appearance. A few quick tips on how to cope with different types of weeds are also provided.

First, we categorize weeds according to their leaf shape and size, so it is easier to identify:

Grassy Weeds

Aquilegia

purple-aquilegia-garden-weed

Type: Self-seeding

Size: 15cm

Recommended Weed Killer

Appearance: Blooms early before the actual plant starts to grow. Aquilegia is a colorful flower with quite strong roots that makes it difficult to pull out.


Yarrow

yarrow-weed

Type: Perennial

Size: Up to 1 meter

Found in: Commonest types of grass available in UK

Recommended Weed Killer

Appearance: Similar to fern like structure. Can survive in the doughtiest conditions.


Doves-foot cranesbill

Doves-foot-cranesbill-UK-GARDEN-WEED-IDENTIFICATION

Type: Annual plant

Size: Up to 30 cm in height

Found in: Commonest in lawns in UK

Recommended Weed Killer

Appearance: Pretty pink flowers – seen in late springs and summers. It grows on dry soil and prefer dry environment.


Cotinus Coggygria

flame-cotinus-min

Type: Deciduous shrub

Size: Up to 4.5 metres

Found across southern Europe

Recommended Weed Killer

Appearance: Red/purple coloured flowers.


Germander Speedwell

Germander-Speedwell-weed

Type: Perennial weed

Size: 12 cm on average

Found in: Can survive in all kinds of weather conditions – most common in damper conditions.

Recommended Weed Killer

Appearance: Kidney-shaped flowers with prominent veins. Mostly seen between mid to late June.


Mouse-ear Chickweed

mouse-ear-chickweed-identification-uk

Type: Perennial weed

Size: 5-20cm

Found in: All UK gardens

Recommended Weed Killer

Appearance: Small flowers with hairy dark green leaves. Visible white flowers bloom from late spring to autumn.

Tips: Since these Mouse-ear chickweeds can easily skip a mowing session, you can look for controlled and selective herbicides to get rid of these weeds.


Selfheal

selfheal-weed-garden

Type: Perennial weed – generally grown by creeping runners aka rhizomes.

Size: 30cm

Found in: Most lawns throughout the UK

Recommended Weed Killer

Appearance: Evident purple ting– easy to find in closely mown areas. Blooms during June to October.


Broadleaf Weeds

Chickweed

chickweed-europe

Type: Cool-season annual plant, widespread, hardy annual

Size: Small

Found in: Native to Europe, found in moist, fertile garden soil

Recommended Weed Killer

Appearance: Fine hairs on only one side of the stem in a single band.

Tips: Control chickweed by pulling with the help of an old table fork. Mulching over vacant garden space in winter will reduce chickweed problems.


Scarlet Pimpernel

Scarlet-Pimpernel-uk

Type: Annual growth pattern, season starts around June, extends until September

Size: small, branches easily and quickly

Found in: Lawns

Recommended Weed Killer

Appearance: This annual weed does not last for more than one year. Not common in properly maintained gardens. Sometimes misinterpreted as the Common Chickweed weed but the Pimpernel has bigger, more square-shaped stems. The name comes from big, intensely orange or red-colored flowers.

Tips: Ensure your garden is clean. The Scarlet weed finds it very difficult to thrive in well-maintained, periodically groomed lawns.


Ribwort Plantain

Ribwort-Plantain-Narrow-Leaf

Also known as Narrow Leaf Plantain

Type: One of UK’s commonest weeds. It can grow throughout the year. Noticeable because of its longer and thinner leaves.

Size: Medium with slightly longer leaves

Found in: Wet and dry areas, can resurface easily after removal, grows in most seasons

Recommended Weed Killer

Tips: This is one of the most tolerant weeds. Though easy to remove, comprehensive eradication is often difficult. Repeated hand weeding might work in some cases. Known to cause big patches that can easily destroy your garden’s beauty. Not easily eradicated by generalized herbicides. Better handled with selected herbicides that are known to kill the Ribwort.


Creeping Cinquefoil

Creeping-Cinquefoil-weed

Type: It is one of the commonest perennial weeds found in the UK lawns and turfs. It is specifically found in ill-maintained lawns or gardens with neglected services.

Size: 2 cm in diameter

Found in: UK lawns and turfs. Visible from June to October.

Recommended Weed Killer

Appearance: The leaves of this kind of weeds are easy to identify with five different segments and toothed edges. The yellow flowers and fleshy petals also contribute in easy recognition.


Dandelion

dandelion-garden-weed-uk

Type: Perennial weed with a strong taproot, one of the most persistent types

Size: 50 cm or more (average)

Found in: Native to temperate areas of the globe

Recommended Weed Killer

Appearance: The leaves are simple and basal, forming a rosette above the central taproot. The flower heads are yellow to orange colored, and are open in the daytime but closed at night.

Tips: Brush scattered plants with a clove oil-based organic herbicide. Reduce reseeding by popping off the flowers before they develop seeds.


Cats Ear

cats-ear-weed-Hypochaeris-radicata

Type: Perennial weed. One of the strongest and persistent taproot types.

Size: Up to 8 inch leaves

Found in: Commonest weed types in lawns of UK.

Recommended Weed Killer

Appearance: Cats Ear looks like a stunted Dandelion. It is often found on drier soils.

Tips: Cats Ear is often ignored in rigorous mowing in a lawn. This is why, specific herbicides are sprinkled to reduce the growth of Cats Ear.


Creeping Buttercup

Creeping-Buttercup-weed

Type: Creeping Buttercup is most common perennial weed.

Size: Up to 50cm

Found in: Creeping Buttercup is one of the commonest yet low growing weed types in the lawns of UK. It blooms from mid spring to late summers.

Recommended Weed Killer

Appearance: Creeping Buttercup is best seen on wet heavy soils. This Creeping Buttercup particularly grows with its creeping stem and extends upwards on a regular basis. With fibrous roots, Creeping Buttercup is very difficult to remove permanently. It blooms yellow flowers with 6-9 petals each.

Tips: A continuous practice of years can be sufficient to weaken its root.


Birds-foot trefoil

Birds-foot-trefoil-weed

Type: Perennial weed. Birds-foot trefoil is one of the members of the Clover family.

Size: Knee-length

Found in: Birds-foot trefoil is widely found in lawns and gardens of UK. The Birds-foot trefoil can be found on any kind of soil; however the highest fertility is in acidic and drier soils.

Recommended Weed Killer

Appearance: Forms large patches and regulates through a deep root system. Birds-foot trefoil doesn’t need any particular pattern for growth – as can be grown by under-runners like stolons and rhizomes. It blooms bright yellow flowers – which easily resemble with Honeysuckle.


The Daisy

daisy-weed

Type: Daisy is one of the most commonly found perennial lawn and turf weeds in UK.

Found in: The Daisy can be seen in any soil condition – spread by short runners called Stolons.

Recommended Weed Killer

Appearance: The Daisy is quite easy to recognize for its fleshy round leaves. The Daisy can easily grow very close to the ground – even in close mown lawns too. The flowers bloom from spring to early autumn – featuring a yellowish center for easy distinction.


Woody and Vining Weeds

Bindweed- available

bindweed-identification

Type: Perennial vine

Size: Large vines, roots spread up to 30 feet

Found in: Found throughout Europe, North America

Recommended Weed Killer

Appearance: Green, arrow-shaped leaves and 1-inch-wide morning glory-type flowers that may be pale pink or white

Tips: Digging, cutting it back to reduce reseeding, or brushing it with a glyphosate herbicide


Morning Glory

morning-glory-weed-Convolvulaceae

Type: Popular, annual, flowering vine

Size: Small to mid-sized

Found in: Throughout the world

Recommended Weed Killer

Appearance: Most morning glory flowers unravel into full bloom in the early morning. The flowers usually start to fade a few hours before the “petals” start showing visible curling

Tips: Easy to pull or cultivate with a sharp hoe when young or you can spray them with an organic herbicide containing clove oil.


Campanula

Campanula-weed-identification

Type: Perennial

Size: Up to 2 meters

Found in: Commonly found in UK lawns and gardens.

Recommended Weed Killer

Appearance: Campanula has really attractive flowers –blue in color.


Annual weeds vs. perennial weeds

Based on their nature, weeds are divided into annual weeds and perennial weeds.

Annual Weeds

Broadleaf winter annual weeds:

  • Seeds germinate from late summer through fall
  • Weeds over winter and continue to grow in early spring

Broadleaf summer annual weeds:

  • Seeds begin to germinate as soils begin to warm up

Grassy winter annual weeds:

  • Seeds germinate in late summer to early September

Grassy summer annual weeds:

  • Seed germination begins in early to mid-spring
  • Seeds continue to germinate in the summer

Perennial Weeds

Broadleaf Perennial Weeds:

  • Perennials are persistent from year to year
  • Range from weeds that are easy to eliminate, to some of the most difficult to control

Grassy perennial weeds/Sedges:

  • Some of the most difficult weeds to control in a lawn
  • Total lawn renovation is usually necessary

Other classifications include common weed, easy to control weeds, difficult weeds, and Trees and Stumps.

Small standing trees and roots are also unwanted and categorized as weeds. The way to cope with them is to use an axe to cut then down (from November to March).

Control Measures

Various control measures to get rid of weeds include pulling weeds, digging weeds, mulching, cultivating, reducing, reseeding, crowding plants, glyphosate herbicide, organic herbicides, corn gluten herbicides, and flamers etc. Choose one that suits the plant and your budget, and keep your garden free from weeds.

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Filed Under: Weed Control Tagged With: noad-inarticle

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