Weeds can dominate a garden if you let them. Keeping your garden looking its best takes some time and effort, but it is worth it.
You need to know a little about the different types of weeds and how to deal with them. This guide to common types of weeds and how to clear them from your garden should help. Follow these tips to stop your lawn from looking patchy and keep your veggies weed-free.
Dandelion, Dock, and Thistle
These weeds have a thick main root and stem for sucking up moisture from below the topsoil. Removing them is easy, but you must do more than pull them out.
Dandelions can be an attractive weed, and many people can be forgiven for wanting to leave them be. Like any weed, they can quickly spread, and before you know it, you have a lawn of dandelions and nothing else. Dock leaf and thistles are less pleasant to look at but just as prolific.
When weeding tap roots, you should dig down several inches with a garden knife or trowel. The roots will not extend further down than this, but the weed will regrow if you leave any behind.
Japanese Knotweed
Japanese knotweed can present significant problems for homeowners looking to sell their property. The plants roots or rhizomes can be up to 2m deep, however it spreads by sending out lateral rhizomes that could extend over 3m from the plant stem. Just a tiny portion of the plants stem or root system can be enough for a new plant to form, therefore treatment and removal can be extremely difficult. If the roots are not completely removed, the the knotweed will grow back. It causes issues for home-sellers because the presence of the invasive plant can impact the value of the property. Not only is it invasive, but it can contribute to structural damage of your property.
Homeowners wishing to sell their property will need to complete a TA6 form, and will be posed the question, ‘Is your property affected by Japanese Knotweed?’ It’s only plant referenced by name on the form, indicating the level of seriousness. If if the plant is present the buyer (and their solicitor) will want to know if a management plan is place to treat it, as otherwise dependent on the position and spread of the knotweed it might not possible to get a mortgage on the property.
To learn more about Japanese knotweed removal from a PCA accredited Japanese knotweed specialist, contact PBA Solutions. They specialise in helping homeowners to identify Japanese knotweed, and other invasive plants, before providing advice and implementing the best treatment/removal plan for you. This can help you retain the real value of your home, as you prepare for selling the property. Japanese Knotweed removal is a job best left to professionals, like PBA, who can offer a guarantee and provide the supporting document required.
Chickweed, Clover, And Couch Grass
This type of weed can ruin a lawn. They spread fast and can overwhelm the grasses we use on lawns. This causes unsightly problems that can be expensive to repair.
Changing how you mow your lawn can help beat the weeds back. Rake your lawn before you begin to mow to lift the stems of the creeping weeds. Then mow your lawn twice but from opposite directions. This will help your mower catch all the raised weeds and reduce their dominance over the lawn grass.
If you want a long-term solution that will finish the creepers off, then you should use a lawn friendly weed killer. It is impossible to clear patches of creeping weeds by hand, so you will need to resort to chemical warfare. Cutting them down with a mower, then treating them with weed killer. This is the perfect one-two combo to knock these weeds out of your garden.
Herb Robert And Bittercress
Weeds are like any flower or crop. They respond to the seasons and may even bloom in the spring and summer.
These annual weeds will diminish in the winter but return in the spring if they have not been dealt with. Herb Robert produces pink flowers in the summer, which is a sign that it is spreading. It produces seeds that literally explode and can cover a large area, helping it to take over a garden. Pull them out before they bloom, or use a weed killer if it has flowered.
Bittercress can be found anywhere, including in garden centres. It can be difficult to completely remove. Like Herb Robert, Bittercress has explosive seeds that can spread themselves a metre away from their parent plant. Pull this weed out by hand or use a garden fork. Do this before spring to prevent it from spreading seeds around your garden.
Nettles, Bindweed, and Silverweed
These are three weeds that blight gardens and vegetable patches across the country. Perennial means lasting or enduring, and these weeds work hard to earn the name.
Removing flowers, leaves, and seeds is not enough. You must also remove every shred of root if you want to rid yourself of these pests. Even the smallest sliver of root in the soil will allow them to grow back over time.
Clearing these weeds is time-consuming to do by hand, and the time and effort may be wasted if one piece of root gets past you. Perennial weed killers are the most efficient way to deal with them. This type of weed killer penetrates the soil and kills the weed from root to tip. Once they are gone, they will not come back.
Do not let weeds dominate your plants and take over your garden. Knowledge is power. This guide to common weeds should give you all knowledge you need to eradicate the weeds in your garden.
