Lawn Weed Identification

The first step to controlling the unwanted plants in your garden is lawn weed identification. If your problem is vast and varied, a number of books are on the market to help homeowners pin down the pesky plant species. You can also ask your local garden professional for help. For simple identification, there are a few easy to following guidelines to make the process quick and painless.

Weeds are plants which grow in an unwanted place, so any type of vegetable life is a possible weed (although many people would never class things like roses or tulips as weeds) Typically, lawn weeds can be classified as monocot or dicot. Monocots are plants which have a single leaf for every seed. An example of this is crabgrass. Most other weeds in this category are also grasses. Dicots, on the other hand, are plants with multiple leaves. Examples include dandelions and clover.

Weeds are also classified by life cycle: annual, biennial, or perennial. Annual weeds die in cold weather, so they will not be back the following spring. Biennials are similar-they will sprout again after the first winter, but die during their second growing season. The most troublesome weeds are perennials. These weeds build up strength during the spring and summer to last out the winter. They appear year after year and can be quite problematic to homeowners.

If you don't want to go to the trouble and expense of hiring a professional or buying lawn weed identification books, this is an easy process to do on your own. The most valuable asset available is the Internet, which hosts numerous sites devoted to controlling weeds and has pictorial guides for easy identification. Once you know what type of weeds you are dealing with, many herbicides are available at your local lawn care store for quick and easy removable. Lawn weed identification is the beginning of a greener and more uniform yard and garden.