Here in Western North Carolina, we’re fortunate to have a relatively mild climate, which means that we can grow beautiful lawns that can be enjoyed most of the year. Unfortunately, our lawns are not immune to weeds. As our weather begins to warm up for spring, you’ll probably notice these common weeds sprouting up and making themselves at home. Here are a few of the ones you'll find in our region, and what you can do to eliminate them. 

Dandelion – As fun as it is to blow dandelion seeds far and wide while making a wish, each and every one of those wishes will end up propagating in your lawn. In addition, the dandelion’s tap root can grow up to 10 inches long, and because of its fragility, it will usually break off rather than pull cleanly out of the ground; any part that remains will regenerate.

Wild Onions & Wild Garlic – While you may love the smell of onions and garlic in your stir fry, you might not be so thrilled to find these in your yard. Wild onions can be identified by their flat leaves and often grow in hard to mow areas such as flower beds. Wild garlic has round leaves and is commonly found growing in gardens. Because of this, herbicide can be tricky to use to eliminate them.

Common Plantain – Plantain is abundant in WNC, and although some people swear by its ability to take the itch out of a bug bite, no one likes to find this stubborn weed in their ornamental beds and gardens. These perennial weeds have a shallow, thick taproot that keeps them alive through winter, and lawnmowers can pick up their seeds and spread them throughout your lawn.

Indian Mock Strawberry – Your kids might get excited when they see these “strawberries” in the yard, but this noxious weed will drain the nutrients from surrounding plants, so it’s important that you kill it as soon as you discover it. It can develop dozens of shoot runners that are difficult to find and pull out.

Crabgrass – while other weeds may at least offer a flower or a pleasing scent, there’s really not anything good to say about this weed. You can read our previous blog post to learn more about crabgrass; it’s an annual that can produce up to 150,000 seeds, most of which will germinate for the following spring.

These are just some of the weeds you’ll find in WNC. To get rid of them, you’ll need to employ one of several methods. Some folks use boiling water, Borax or bleach on driveways or walkways to eliminate weeds growing in the cracks. Shower curtains or plastic garbage bags, spread out under mulch, can prevent weeds from sprouting. And of course, you can use herbicide to kill weeds. These methods are all effective, but can be time consuming and require great caution to ensure that you’re not killing surrounding grass and plants.

Spend more time doing what you enjoy this year, and let TPS take care of your mowing and weeding! Sign up for a full property maintenance package, and get the first visit free! (Cost of first visit will be prorated over 12 months.) Call us today at 828-684-8050 and let us create a residential maintenance package for you.