Do you see those colourful yellowish tiny flower beds occupying your lawn at a log and exponential phase? If you are able to identify any of the below-stated plants, they are weeds! Do take the measures immediately because it’s unhealthy for your lawn to survive and your other main sheet will be a deficit of resources. Swipe down to take a check.
- About weeds
- All about the most common weeds: Dandelion and Oxalis
- Lesser found weeds: Yellow clover, yellow salsify, and lesser celandine
Before we go into it, let’s see what exactly are weeds.
WHAT EXACTLY ARE WEEDS?
Weeds are the most common unwanted plant found growing on every lawn. Even the best-tended lawn is not invincible to weed. But before fighting with weed in your lawn you need to see which type of weed it is. Is it harmful to your lawn or are there some benefits of this weed in your lawn?
There are lots of different types of weeds with different specifications but in this article, we are going to talk in detail about YELLOW flower weeds.
Most common: Dandelion weed & Oxalis weed.
Less common: Yellow trefoil, Black medic, Yellow sweet clover, yellow salsify, lesser celandine.
Dandelion weed and Oxalis weed are the most common yellow flower weeds found in every lawn. These weeds grow very quickly in the lawn and prefer a thin and unhealthy lawn. Other yellow flower weed types that are less common in lawns are Yellow trefoil, Black medic, yellow sweet clover, yellow salsify, and lesser celandine.
Let’s talk about the most common weeds first:
1) DANDELIONS (Taraxacum officinale and Teracacum erythrospermum)
About Dandelions :
- Dandelion is a wildflower weed that is a very common weed on the lawn.
- Dandelion is a perennial plant that has long and deep roots which makes it difficult for a lawn owner to remove it.
- Its long and deep roots help the plant to come back year after year which is the core strength of the plant.
- This is the plant which when you were younger would blow and make a wish.
Appearance:
- Dandelions appear on the lawn in late spring and fall and thrive in the lawn which is not healthy or has thin grass in them.
- This weed has green leaves with edged teeth with deep notches.
- Dandelions grow flat to the ground and have bright yellow flowers which look like a puffball.
Minor methods:
-You can pull out dandelions by hand to remove them.
– The other thing you can do to kill dandelions is to pour vinegar on them which burns them down.
Advantage:
Edibility: One good thing about dandelions is that this plant is edible and very delicious and you can include it in your diet by mixing it in your salad or any other thing.
Specification:
- Broadleaf with perennial in type
- 10 – 12 inches tall and 6 – 16 inches wide
- It grows in lawns and gardens with or without proper sunlight
How To Treat Dandelion Weeds?
- By hand
- Using herbicide
Method 1: PULL OUT BY HAND PICKING
The first method is to pull the weed out with the roots by hand and then do mulching in that area and do the reseeding of the area to block any weed growth.
Method 2: Use a post-emergent herbicide
The second method is to use post-emergent herbicide to eradicate and burn all the weeds in your lawn and then reseed that area.
How To Prevent Growing Dandelions In Your Fields?
The answer is by taking precise care of your lawn. How?
There will be no dandelions on your lawn if your lawn is healthy and thick with grass. You need to mow the grass higher to block any sunlight to get into the soil to block seed germination. Do infrequent and proper watering of your lawn to promote deep roots.
2) BLACK MEDIC
About Black medic:
- Black medic weed is an annual plant but can be perennial and live for several years in some hot areas.
- This weed thrives in poor lawns with dry and compacted soil.
- Black medic needs sunlight to thrive on your lawn.
Specification:
- It has teardrop-shaped leaves which look like clover but isn’t and unlike clover, it has yellow flowers.
- It can be annual or perennial in hot conditions with broadleaf
- The weed grows between 12 to 24 inches tall and 10 to 12 inches wide
How To Treat Black Medics?
- Hand-picking
- Spraying Herbicide
Method 1 – Pull it out by hand
Black medic grows in compacted soil, that’s why you see it growing roadside in heavy traffic areas. So aerating your lawn first and then pulling out the black medic weed by hand can be a good idea as removing it from the soil with roots is easy and takes little effort and once you have removed it from your lawn there is little chance that it will come back.
Method 2 – Use a post-emergent herbicide
If you don’t want to put any work and let chemicals do the work then you can use a post-emergent herbicide in your lawn which will kill all the black medic weed but remember that selective herbicide for black medic can also kill other plants as well so don’t apply it in the whole lawn.
Tip to keep black medic out of the lawn:
As black medic needs compacted and dry soil, keep your lawn well aerated. If you see that the soil is becoming compacted then do aeration in your lawn with the use of an aerator. Another to check is the moisture in your soil, keep your lawn well moist to avoid black medic as it thrives in the dry lawn.
Now, Let’s talk about not so much common yellow weeds…but they still harm your lawn!
- Yellow sweet clover
- Yellow salsify
- Lesser celandine
1) YELLOW SWEET CLOVER
Appearance:
- Yellow sweet clover is an annual plant that lives for a short period
- It produces yellow flowers between spring to fall which have seeds in them, and that is how this plant carries on its legacy in the lawn.
- Sweet clover is a drought-tolerant plant that needs lots of direct sunlight.
Specification:
- The shape of this weed is broadleaf.
- Yellow clover grows between 15 to 45 inches tall and 12 to 18 inches wide.
- It usually grows in disturbed areas like roadsides, pastures, and river banks.
- It blooms from late spring to early fall and usually lasts for 2 to 3 months.
How To Treat Yellow Clover Weeds?
Method 1 – PULLING OUT BY HAND
You can pull out a year-old yellow sweet clover by hand very easily and best to do it in late summer when you can see it very easily between your grass. Remember to remove it fully from your lawn or it can grow back from the parts remaining in the soil.
Method 2 – CUT IT OUT
If you have very dense sweet clover plants in your lawn then you can’t remove it from the soil by hand, so the best way here would be to cut it out with a saw blade or any other power cutter. You need to check that all of the plants are cut and removed and try to catch it before it falls to the ground so the seeds don’t fall out from the plant or they will germinate and cause the same problem as before.
Method 3 – BURN IT OUT
A few years ago when I had to face a yellow sweet clover in my lawn, I chose to burn it down because of the quantity and density of the plant and I found it very effective. If you have sweet clover in large quantities on your lawn then you can go with this option as it will save you a lot of time and effort.
Method 4 – USING HERBICIDE
Using herbicide to kill sweet clover weed is very easy and effective but you need to do it properly to get the desired result. Read the product label properly on how to apply it and in what quantity. Keep in mind that any herbicide in excess quantity is bad for your lawn and can ruin your lawn by burning all of the grass.
2) YELLOW SALSIFY (Tragopogon Dubius)
Appearance :
- Yellow Salsify weed also known as goatsbeard is a biennial plant that loves to grow in disturbed and dry soil.
- It propagates itself by seeds produced by the yellow flower blooming in it.
- The origin of yellow salsify has been reported from Kashmir(India). Its yellow flower blooms in late spring to early summer.
- Yellow salsify also loves to grow in disturbed lawns and garden landscape
Specifications:
- There are two types of salsify weed, one is biennial and the other is perennial which lives for a short period.
- This plant has grey-green leaves which look like grass with yellow flowers
- This weed plant establishes a large taproot and is very difficult to remove fully
- Yellow salsify grows 2 to 3 feet tall and 18 to 24 inches wide
How To Treat Yellow Salsify?
Method 1 – HAND PICKING
Yellow salsify reproduces itself by seeds so pulling out younger plants before the flowers appear is a good idea but if the plant is older it will be really difficult for you to remove it by hand as it has a very deep taproot.
Method 2 – USING HERBICIDE
If you have established yellow salsify in your lawn then the best way to get rid of it is to apply herbicide. Herbicide is the better way here because of its taproot which is not possible to remove fully with hands. Using pre-emergent after the elimination of the plant will make sure that new seeds will not germinate in your lawn.
3) LESSER CELANDINE
Appearance :
- Lesser celandine also known as pilewort is a small plant that grows low to the ground.
- You can detect lesser celandine in your lawn very easily because of its glossy, dark green, and heart-shaped leaves.
- It also has a star-like yellow flower which blooms from January to April. –
Advantage:
One of the good things about this weed is that its flower is a very good source of nectar for bees and other insects but on the other side it blocks all the other plants to grow in your lawn by spreading itself sideways and making a cover.
Specifications:
- Lesser celandine is perennial in nature and comes from the buttercup family
- It grows 10 to 12 inches tall and around 8 to 12 inches wide
- It has kidney-shaped leaves that are 1 to 4 inches wide
- This plant loves moist soil and is usually found on river banks and damp woodland paths
How To Treat Lesser Celandine?
Method 1 – MANUAL PULLING
Lesser celandine grows itself by seed, underground tubers, and bulblets. So any type of manual removal should be done with a lot of care. You need to remove all of the plants and its root to eradicate them from your lawn and keep in mind that the removed parts should be put in the garbage bin and not in the compost. After this process, you need to check regularly for new plants in your lawn to make sure your lawn is free from this weed.
Method 2 – HERBICIDE TREATMENT
Herbicides which contain glyphosate are effective when trying to control lesser celandine in your lawn, but keep in mind that glyphosate can also harm other desirable plants which are growing near the weed so try to only apply this herbicide only on the weed. It will take 7-10 days before you see the result.
WHAT IS THE YELLOW FLOWER WEED CALLED?
The most common names of yellow flower weeds are Dandelion, Oxalis, Yellow Trefoil, Black Medic, Yellow Sweet Clover, Yellow Salsify, and Lesser Celandine. Dandelion and Oxalis are most common in household lawns than the other yellow flower weeds.
WHAT LAWN WEED HAS LITTLE YELLOW FLOWERS?
The lawn weed that has the smallest yellow flower among all is the Dandelion weed. Dandelion weeds that grow flat in the ground have little yellow flowers which are bright in colour and look like a puffball.
WHAT IS THE TALL WEED WITH YELLOW FLOWERS?
Yellow sweet clover is the tallest weed that grows between 15 to 45 inches tall and 12 to 18 inches wide. Yellow Sweet Clover is an annual plant that lives for a short period of time and produces flowers between spring to fall.
WE REALLY HOPE OUR ARTICLE HELPED YOU TREAT YOUR YELLOW WEEDS AND MADE YOUR LAWN HAPPY 🙂
