How To Separate The Good Weeds From The Bad

In your fight against weeds you've probably come across any number of different types. There is also a pretty good chance that you went straight for the herbicide, or started pulling them up as soon as you saw them. But believe it or not, some things that look like weeds can actually help be helpful to keeping your lawn green and healthy. Then again, there are also things that look like flowers and add color to your lawn could be hurting it.

The good

Clover is a plant that most lawn owners immediately think of as a weed that needs to be killed. Before you start digging up or spraying your clover patches, you first need to consider the fact that it may be helping your lawn. Contrary to most other weeds, clovers can actually add nutrients to your lawn, and even help to keep other weeds at bay. By taking up space on your lawn that could otherwise be occupied by malicious weeds, clover can promote a healthy yard. It even has the added bonus of looking nice. When you see clover on your lawn, before you start pulling it up, it would be a good idea to think about its benefits to your lawn first.

The bad

To most people, dandelions are a nice looking plant. They add a bit of color to the lawn, and can even be eaten. But they are actually a weed, and a bad one at that. The presence of dandelions in your lawn means that it has a problem, either with the soil or the grass itself. You should remove dandelions as soon as you see them, because they are deep rooted and take up a lot of space that should be used by your grasses roots. They take up more than a fair share of nutrients and water as well, making it harder for nearby grass to grow the way it should. Be sure to check the soil and maybe add some fertilizer to it to ensure your neighboring grasses grow in strong after you pulled or killed the dandelions.

The ugly

When different species of grass start growing on the same lawn the effect can be unattractive even if it's not technically a weed. Just imagine a whole lawn of perfect Bermuda grass, with spots of wild growing meadow grass. This will only throw off the whole look of your yard. Killing the intruding grass with herbicides is too risky because it can kill your existing lawn as well. What you need to do is make sure that you get the whole root pulled up or the grass can easily grow back. Make sure your soil has the appropriate nutrients and plant the type of grass that is in the rest of your lawn when you are able to get the other grass out. Be sure to keep an eye out for intruding grass, because you may not consider it as a weed.

When it comes to weeds, not all of them are created equal. Others such as dandelions may be malicious but then again there are also those that actually help your lawn stay healthy like clover. There are others that are not really weeds but they can make your lawn look unattractive. Regardless of this, you need to sure to be constantly checking and maintaining your lawn and weeds won't sneak up on you.

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