Nothing gets in the way of a beautiful and healthy garden more than weeds. Controlling weeds is vital for the health of your plants, so it’s no surprise that those weeds in your garden have to go.
The first step in any garden care plan is to identify what you’re dealing with. If you don’t recognize the weeds correctly, it will lead to wrong treatment methods, costing you time and money.
While weeding takes a bit of work, we’ve created this blog to help ease this process for you by telling you exactly how to identify and control the most common garden weeds found in Perth.
How To Identify And Get Rid Of The Most Common Garden Weeds Found In Perth.
1. Clover
Clover is a type of broadleaf weed that grows low on the ground during hot weather.
The most common garden clover that you may deal with is white clover. It grows in patches and can get up to 8 inches tall.
Other common garden clover species include Red Clover, which has narrow leaves and can grow up to 20 inches, and Sweet Clover has yellow or white flowers.
If you know what to look for, clovers are extremely easy to identify.
It has leaves with three small teardrop-shaped leaflets with a white stripe that runs from one side to the other.
One patch can produce multiple flower heads, and each of them can grow to be 0.5 to 1.5 inches in diameter.
You can manually uproot clover when it’s still small by gently loosening the soil around the base with your fingers and plucking it.
For large clusters of clover, you can use broadleaf herbicides to do the job.
You can also use A.D.I.O.S., a non-toxic, odorless, and organic weed killer that is safe to use around kids and pets.
2. Bindii
Bindii is a troublesome garden weed that is mainly found in the Perth metropolitan area.
It first emerges during the winter rains, typically in May, and produces seed capsules that are protected by sharp needle-like spikes. These seed capsules prick your feet if you walk barefoot and can be painful for you and your pets.
The best way to control this garden weed is to tackle it with appropriate herbicide while it is growing. Effective herbicides contain bromoxynil plus MCPA.
If you plan to manually remove this weed (in case of small infestations), make sure that you dig up the root to prevent regrowth.
3. Stinging Nettle
Stinging Nettle is one of the most uncomfortable garden weeds to deal with.
It has small fine needle hair that feels like tiny syringes that irritate and blister even when brushed lightly on bare skin. Nettles are not tough to identify, especially because most people have been stung by them at least once.
It thrives on nutrient-rich soil, so one good thing about finding them is that it indicates that your garden soil is relatively high in nutrients, especially phosphorus.
Stinging Nettle is green, oval-shaped with teeth lining the edge. It has square stems with tiny hairs and can grow up to 2 meters tall.
We recommend using gloves, fully covered clothing, and a spade when you handle them. Simply loosen the soil around the plant with a spade and grab the plant’s base and pull.
4. Soursob
While you can identify bright yellow soursob flowers quite effortlessly, they are challenging to do away with.
Soursob is an almost hairless garden weed that begins its annual invasion during the winter season and grows from May to September.
Unlike the other garden weeds discussed above, Sournob can withstand the herbicide. While it is challenging to get rid of this plant, you can get it under control just before the weed starts to flower.
Simply weaken the roots by mowing over the plant and then pull them out manually.
Bulbils are bulb-like attachments to the roots that detach from the primary plant and produce a new soursob. It would be best if you did this before they flower because that is when it produces ‘bulbils,’ which leads to more weeds.
5. Dandelion
Dandelions are one of the easiest weeds to identify with a large rosette and a long stout taproot. Dandelions are bright yellow fluffy flowers that turn to white puffball of seeds when it’s ready to reproduce.
They grow between 2 to 18 inches tall, and their taproot ranges from 6 to 18 inches in length.
They are notoriously difficult to remove because their roots are long and can extend deep underground. If you don’t remove them the right way, they’ll grow right back and steal nutrients, water, and sunlight from your plants and can also harbor pests or diseases.
Dandelions have a hollow stem and produce milky fluid when you break the stem.
The leaves grow in a rosette arrangement, with the leaf edges pointing inwards. While multiple stalks can grow from a single plant, only one flowering head is on a single stalk.
While you can try to yank them out, it is not an effective long-term solution.
The best way to treat dandelion weeds is with herbicide.
If you’re concerned about the neighboring plants, you can try spraying the weeds with vinegar.
Removing weeds can be a tedious process, but we hope the description and images help you identify and get rid of these common garden weeds in your lawn.
If you need assistance in correctly identifying and controlling your garden weed, get in touch with us, and we’ll help you build a weed-free garden.
Weeds are annoying and controlling their growth and spread in your lawns and gardens can be frustrating. But, at Perth Gardening Experts, we believe in killing weeds naturally using natural or low-tox alternatives when it comes to weed control for our clients.
How to Get Rid of Weeds Naturally
Keeping our soils free from chemicals is better for us, our families, our food and our planet – so here are our favourite ways to get rid of weeds naturally in your lawns and gardens – rather than filling them with toxic chemicals. Next time you spot those pesky weeds in your garden, try some of our natural weed killing and prevention tips first.
1. Use Ground Covers to Prevent Weed Growth in the First Place
When it comes to killing weeds naturally, prevention is better than cure!
If you have empty or unplanted areas of your gardens – weeds are always happy to fill in those spaces for you, so instead, fill them with beautiful and green ground covers to make the areas look lovely while preventing weeds.
Planting ground covers, such as natives, flowering plants, succulents, or even herbs, is a great way to prevent weeds from growing while creating lush, beautiful gardens. These can also be great for planting between pavers and other gaps that usually fill with weeds – use ground covers to make sure you get there first.
Some great, fast-growing ground covers for Perth soils for preventing weed growth are:
Prostrate grevilleas
Mondo grass
Creeping boobialla
Thyme
Pig Face – this is especially invasive so best not to plant if it’s an area you don’t want it to take over!
Australian Harebell (Isotoma)
Australian violet
Make sure to stay on top of any weed growth while the ground cover plants grow and establish to reduce their competition for space and nutrients. That way they can spread out and grow thick and lush as soon as possible – then you won’t need to weed much, if at all!
2. Mulch to Prevent Weeds and Create Healthier Gardens
Another method of preventing weeds in the first place is to use mulch. Mulch is an ideal way to fill gaps if you want a more spaced-out plating style to feature your favourite plants. Mulching prevents weeds from seeding, as well as preventing them from accessing the sunlight they need to thrive and grow.
One way of naturally killing weeds is to mulch right over them and smother them while preventing new weeds from growing. This is great for a fast, easy garden makeover. The best way to do this is by using a layer of cardboard or newspaper over the weeds and gardens, then adding a thick layer of mulch on top (we recommend using 50 to 100mm).
This also creates healthy soils and increases water retention for a more water-wise garden. You will still get a few weeds, but these will be much quicker and easier to remove as their roots can’t grip into mulch as they do in soil (providing that you use a chunky mulch and none of those useless fine black mulch)
3. Use Natural Weed Killer Sprays
As much as possible, we recommend you avoid using even natural weed-killing sprays in your gardens, as any product that is acidic or has high amounts of dissolved salts will, in time adversely affect your soil’s microbiology, and any acids, such as vinegar, can burn and damage plants and your lawn.
However, for those annoying weeds that spring up between pavers which are hard to pull out, using a natural weed-killing alternative is better than chemicals. Just keep in mind that a spray is more often a temporary solution as it’s less likely to kill the roots – so hand-pulling, mulching or using a ground cover or filler between your pavers (such as gravel) are still the best chemical-free, long-term solutions.
Lawn weeds are especially annoying as they usually cover such a large area – so it’s even more important to know the best methods for weeding lawns. Some of these do include identifying the specific weed and finding a weed killer that is formulated specifically for killing that weed and not your lawn. While this might sometimes be your only option, remember that all pesticides, herbicides, and insecticides are toxic on some level – so always take the precautions described on the label!
4. Use Solarisation
What is that you might ask? It’s a fancy way of saying use the power of the sun to kill those weeds! Solarisation is when you cover weed-infested areas with a material like clear plastic sheeting to trap heat from the sun – and prevent the weeds from using the sun for growth. By covering the areas, it raises the soil temperature, killing weed seeds and young weeds. Leave the plastic in place for several weeks during hot weather to maximise effectiveness.
If you don’t want to us plastic, instead you can use sheets of cardboard or other material which will prevent the weeds from being able to reach the sun – best used in conjunction with mulching as you’ve read in tip 2 above.
5. Remove Weeds by Hand
Yes – that old fashioned method can be time consuming but is one of the best ways to reduce overall weed growth in the long term! Removing weeds by the roots, make sure it’s before they have a chance to flower or go to seed, is one of the best weed control methods for small areas. Use tools to help break up the soil around the weed for the best chance of removing the entire root system.
Get into the habit of wandering outside next time you are on the phone, either to a friend or on hold with the bank, and pull out some weeds. It’s not just good for weed control, but more time is the garden is always beneficial to the gardener!
And if you don’t want to do this yourself, give us a call to book a weeding service so we can do the biggest initial weed removal for you so then you can stay on top of it – our weeding is always done by hand or tool, never using chemical sprays.
6. Boiling Water
This isn’t 100% effective but if you have weeds growing in your hardscaping, it can be a good one to try – as it won’t have the risk of scalding your lawn or plants… and might even clean the area around the weeds too. This is best poured directly on the weed to scald and kill it – doing this while the area is in full sun can add a bit of extra burning power too. Use this on hardscape areas for weeds that are growing in gaps between bricks or cracks in paving and be careful not to accidentally pour on any plants or flowers you care about!
7. Book Regular Garden Maintenance
Nothing beats a regular, consistent approach to weed control – and that is where booking a regular garden maintenance service can make all the difference. Don’t wait until everything is totally out of control and have to pay a lot all in one go for a huge garden cleanup, and have to put up with living in a messy property in the meantime. Having professional gardeners visit regularly but for a short time keeps your weeds under control, your garden looking tidy year-round and ensures you always have a lovely outdoor space to enjoy.
Weed control is just one of the ways we can help with your garden care. We can also keep an eye on your garden’s health in every season and make suggestions like the best time to mulch, and then supply and install it for you! We can even trim and train your shrubs and climbing plants to grow how you like them, and so much more! If you are garden proud, we’ll make sure you have a garden to be proud of!
Use these tips to kill weeds naturally in your garden
While weeds are annoying and weeding is seen as a boring chore, any garden-proud homeowner wants to have a weed-free landscape. So before you resort to covering your lawns and gardens with toxic chemicals, consider if one of our suggested methods for killing weeds naturally with a chemical-free option would be the better solution for the health of your home and gardens.
The dreaded W-word… A constant thorn in the side (and eyes) of gardeners everywhere.
Ironically, a lot of our common weeds today were introduced by early settlers in Perth as garden plants! However, they took to our fair country much too well and are now prevalent enough to cause problems that are more than just their appearance. So really, a weed can be defined as any plant growing where it’s not wanted!
