My A-Z of Weeds

This is more for my own reference really and so here is my A-Z of common weeds I come across, their characteristics and some pictures so you can recognise your enemy and how to deal with them.

Annual Meadow Grass – Poa annua

• Stem 15-20cm high
• Annual – produces up to 2,000 seeds from April and September
• Hand weed or hoe
• Often found in lawns and so cannot be controlled with weed killer

Chickweed – Stellaria media

• Low growing, spreads up to 30cm
• Ephemeral (several generations per year)
• Can germinate during winter and flowers in early spring.
• Seeds can remain dormant for up to 40 years
• Hand weed, hoe, mulch or weed-killer
• https://www.rhs.org.uk/advice/profile?PID=1011

Cleavers (goosegrass) – Galium aparine

• Likes moist soil and can climb up over 1m
• Annual – flowering between June and August – germinating in the autumn
• All parts hairy including seeds and so stick to anything moving
• Hand weed or weed killer
• Compost if not flowering otherwise Brown Bin

Couch grass – Elymus repens

• Well drained soil in sun
• Perennial – grows up 1m in small clumps
• Spreads primarily (and rapidly) by rhizomes and occasionally by seeds
• Hand weed or weed killer
• https://www.rhs.org.uk/advice/profile?pid=283

Creeping buttercup – Ranunculus repens

• Common in beds and lawns
• Perennial – height 15-30cm, spreads up to 1m per year
• Seeds (germinate from Mar-Nov) and stolons produced during flowering (May-Jun)
• Hand weed, hoe or weed-killer
• https://www.rhs.org.uk/advice/profile?PID=784

Dandelion – Taraxacum officinalis

• Persistent so best get to work as soon as you spot them
• Perennial
• Flowers March to October
• Spreads by seed and can regenerate from remnants of its tap root
• Hand weed or weed killer
• https://www.rhs.org.uk/Advice/Profile?PID=1012

Field bindweed – Convolvulus arvensis

• Coming soon!

Groundsel – Senecio vulgaris

• Up to 30cm
• Ephemeral (up to 3 cycles p/year)
• Wind spread (so far and wide!)
• Hand weed, hoe, mulch or weed killer

Ground elder – Aegopodium podagraria

• Clump forming
• Height up to 45cm, spread up to 1m
• Perennial
• Spreads by seeds and rhizomes
• Weed killer is best solution as roots are brittle

Hairy bittercress – Cardamine hirsute

• Height 15cm
• Flowers in March so must be removed before it can set seed.
• Seeds thrown up to 90cm away
• Ephemeral (so several generations per year)
• Seedlings can survive over winter
• Hand weed, hoe, mulch or weed-killer

Hedge bindweed – Calystegia sepium

• Large heart shaped leaves and white trumpet flowers
• Small sections of root can produce growth
• Produces seeds infrequently but viability is many years
• Barrier control, digging out, frequent hoeing or weed killer after training up closely placed canes

Ribwort plantain – Plantago lanceolate

• Often indicates compacted soil and tolerate dry conditions
• Perennial
• Rosette of leaves with stems up to 30cm. Shallow roots
• Seeds
• Flowers from Jun-Oct so needs dealing with in advance
• Hand weed or weed killer

Shepherd’s Purse – Capsella bursa-pastoris

• Height 45cm
• Ephemeral (several generations per year)
• Seeds can remain dormant for up to 30 years
• Hand weed, hoe, mulch or weed-killer

Speedwell – Veronica persica

• Low growing up to 30cm long
• Annual – flowers between April and September producing up to 2,000 seeds
• Can germinate all year round
• Hand weed, hoe, mulch or weed-killer

Stinging nettle – Urtica dioica

• Height up to 1m and spreads up to 1m per year
• Perennial
• Spreads by seeds and rhizomes
• Dig out or use weed killer
• Flowers between June and September so remove before then
• Seeds can remain dormant for several years

Yarrow – Achillea millefolium

• Very low growing
• Perennial
• Spreads by seeds and rhizomes and out-competes grass
• Loves drought conditions (so it was very prolific during the 2018 summer) or soil with little by way of nutrients
• Very difficult to remove once established in a lawn.
• Hand weed, hoe in beds or use a targeted weedkiller to treat a lawn