Weeds in North Carolina can absolutely ruin the look of your yard. Homeowners spend thousands of dollars each year to win the war on weeds but the war never ends. The best thing you can do is control weeds when they appear and prevent them with pre-emergent weed killers. But before you get rid of those weeds, take a closer look. Weeds can tell you a lot about the content of your soil including fertility and pH levels. By knowing what weeds are growing in your yard you can take corrective measures and changes to your lawn care habits.
Bindweed in NC
Bindweed is often confused for morning glories because of its delicate trumpeted flowers. Introduced in the late 1800s, bindweed is a climbing vine that can quickly get out of control. Like morning glories, they wrap themselves around anything they can get a hold of. They can completely cover your plants, choking them and depriving them of sunlight. This can result in stunted plants or even plant death. Bindweed thrives in dry soils which is why it can out compete your other plants. Keeping your gardens and flower beds properly watered can help keep bindweed from getting a foothold.
Clover in Your Lawn
Clover is a late spring weed that can ruin the uniformity of your lawn. This is a drought-tolerant plant that can easily take over stressed lawns. Compacted soil, acidic soils, and low nitrogen levels are also ideal environments for clover to spread.
Crabgrass Prevention
Homeowners love to fertilize their lawn but most don’t know how to fertilize their lawn properly. When you see crabgrass in your lawn it could be an indication that you are putting too much fertilizer on your lawn. Crabgrass loves nitrogen and there’s a lot in fertilizer. Crabgrass can be prevented with pre-emergent herbicides in the early spring before seeds germinate.
Creeping Charlie
Creeping Charlie is an herbaceous perennial plant that can propagate by seed or by creeping stolons that grow across the surface of the ground. Creeping Charlie’s perfect environment is moist, shady spots like under trees, shrubs, and the north side of buildings. The best way to prevent and reduce creeping Charlie is to trim trees and shrubs to eliminate shade and reduce moisture.
Dandelions
Dandelions are opportunist broadleaf weeds that will crowd out grass and other plants, as well as sapping water and nutrients. Controlling dandelions is tough due to their fluffy and far floating seeds that can sprout hundreds of new plants. Dandelions thrive in acidic soils with low calcium content and high in potassium. If your soil is too acidic you can add limestone to help reduce the acid levels and make your soil less habitable to dandelions.
Yellow Nutsedge
For many homeowners, yellow nutsedge is a menace to our yards. Yellow nutsedge resembles turfgrass but is actually in the sedge family. It has a triangular central stem and thick blades. The stem is hollow, erect and hairless. The plant grows tubers under the ground which can make it hard to remove. Nutsedge can spread quickly over our yards and can easily overtake our turfgrass. Nutsedge appears when you water too much or have poorly draining soil. Amend the soil with sand to help the water drain faster to reduce your chances of a nutsedge invasion.
Make Pine Valley Your Choice For Lawn Care
Spring will be here before you know it and before you know it, there will be weeds sprouting up all over your yard. Take the hard work off your back this year with lawn care from Pine Valley Turf. We have over 15 years of experience caring for the lawns in Charlotte and the surrounding areas. Our lawn care program is guaranteed to improve the health and look of your grass.
Call us at (704) 831-8917 or request a quote here.