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Lawn - what weed is this and how can I treat it?

p.ingersp.ingers Posts: 3
in Problem solving
Hi,

I treated my lawn last year twice with different weed killers to cover different types of weed (weedol and resolva)- no problems, all good. I then spread an evergreen autumn feed which seemed to boost the green appearance well in October/Nov. However, before that last treatment  a particular ‘weed’ started to appear and has since spread and is now throughout most of the lawn. What is this, and can anyone recommend a specific treatment?
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Posts

  • Papi JoPapi Jo Posts: 4,254
    Looks like Ficaria verna, commonly known as lesser celandine (in the buttercup family). Advice : uproot by hand. I personally do not use any sort of weed-killer. All done by hand.

  • ObelixxObelixx Posts: 30,090
    edited February 2021
    Looks like ground ivy to me, a perennial plant that spreads easily when happy.   Just mowing it will keep it trimmed or you could apply a spring weed and feed treatment to your grass in April, making sure to follow the instructions about dosage and spread very carefully.

    Don't be tempted to cut your grass short to control it as this will weaken the grass roots and vigour.  keep it 2"/5cms long in winter and never less than 1"/2.5cms in summer and longer in dry spells.
    Vendée - 20kms from Atlantic coast.
    "The price good men (and women) pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men (and women)."
    Plato
  • Papi JoPapi Jo Posts: 4,254
    @Obelixx you're probably right. Of course it would help if we could see flowers on those plants.
  • DovefromaboveDovefromabove Posts: 88,147
    edited February 2021
    If the leaves have a glossy surface then they're Lesser Celandines ... if they're soft and slightly fuzzy and have a bit of a creeping habit then, as @Obelixx says, it's Glechoma hederacea ... commonly known as Ground Ivy, a pretty soft blue flower a bit like a tiny lamium ... a wildflower of the woodlands I played in as a child.
     

    Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.





  • p.ingersp.ingers Posts: 3
    edited February 2021
    Thanks very much for all your comments 👍. The leaves are glossy rather than fluffy. There do not appear to have been any flowers (yet), but looking at images online I’m pretty sure it’s Ficaria verna - Lesser Celandines. The amount in the lawn would mean taking out by hand would be impractical. It seems they can be tricky to eradicate form a lawn but now I know what it is I can look up a selective treatment - any experience of the best / most effective one is welcome. Thanks!
  • Papi JoPapi Jo Posts: 4,254
    edited February 2021
    What is the total area of your lawn (in square metres)?
  • ObelixxObelixx Posts: 30,090
    I rather think celandines disappear and hide after flowering so I'd just do the spring weed and feed and not worry.
    Vendée - 20kms from Atlantic coast.
    "The price good men (and women) pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men (and women)."
    Plato
  • BiljeBilje Posts: 811
    I have lesser celandine "occupying" a border. They pop up flower and disappear. Almost impossible to eradicate as they grow from tiny bulbils. I've learnt to live with them.
  • p.ingersp.ingers Posts: 3
    @Papi Jo The area effected is approx 150 sqm 
  • Papi JoPapi Jo Posts: 4,254
    p.ingers said:
    @Papi Jo The area effected is approx 150 sqm 
    Mine is approx. the same size and I weed it by hand. But I don't have this type of weed in it.
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