Weeding 101: What are perennial weeds?

The weed war is always being fought. Weeds are trying to invade your lawn, seeking out a spare spot on your greenery where they can invade and take root, and the best defense you have is a proper plan for lawn care and weed control.

Weeds can be temporary, or they can be insidious, coming back year after year. Knowing the kind of weed you’re fighting is a necessary tactic when determining your lawn maintenance plan.

Whether you need to only pull the weed once or continue to fight it over multiple years will help prepare you and your lawn care team for the fight that’s coming.

Annuals and Perennials

Annual weeds are plants that sprout from a seed, grow for only a year and then die off. Still, they can produce many seeds, which can germinate, spread and lead to more plants year after year.

Perennial weeds, meanwhile, live two years or longer. They can be there briefly, or they can stick around for the long haul. Perennial weeds establish strong root systems, which can allow them to regrow from deep underground below your lawn year after year.

Thus, it’s easier to fight annual weeds than perennial weeds, for the perennials will rise again.

How to control perennial weeds

This can be difficult. The plants spread by seeds and creeping roots. And if you don’t pull the entire root when you pull the weed, the plant can reproduce from every trace of leftover root that you leave in the ground. Similar problems can occur with perennial weeds that grow deep and hard-to-remove taproots.

As they say in Jurassic Park, life finds a way. But you’re not without hope in your weed control efforts.

The best defense against weeds is a healthy, well-maintained lawn.

Though these methods are effective with annual weeds, hoeing and tilling does not work well for removing perennial weeds because of the roots that can remain after you do the work. Hand weeding will work if you’re very diligent about removing the entire plant and its root system. If you can tolerate cold temperatures, perennial weeds are easiest to pull in early spring after the first thaw of the ground.

Occasionally, you have to call for stronger weapons, though. Herbicides can be the only solution for fighting tough perennials like brambles, ground ivy and poison ivy. Additionally, some poison weeds can attack your skin, aggravate allergies or otherwise cause you severe discomfort, so be careful when pulling weeds. Additionally, be careful when handling herbicides.

Consult a lawn care expert to determine the best way to control weeds on your lawn. It’s a fight that requires diligence, particularly when dealing with perennials, for it can feel like they just keep coming back year after year.

Identifying the invading weeds

Knowing the weeds that you’re combatting can help you determine how to conduct your weed control efforts. Some perennial weeds are dandelions, dock, ground ivy, bindweed, burdock, horsetail, ragweed, quackgrass, thistle, poison ivy, Japanese knotweed and plantain.

Consult photos and the Internet to determine the characteristics of the weeds in your green spaces. Study their leaves. Take photos. Ask your neighbors. And you can get a consultation with lawn care experts who can help you diagnose the problem in your grass.

LawnCare.net can help you find an area expert in lawn maintenance who specializes in weed control or other services. They can help you plan how to eradicate weeds and keep your lawn healthy year after year.

Knowing these distinctions will help you communicate the needs you have in your outdoor spaces. LawnCare.net can help you find lawn care experts and specialists who can help you determine the best services or lawn care plan.