Georgia Weeds
The following is a visual guide to indigenous weed species in the state of Georgia provided by the lawn and garden professionals at Simply Green Lawn Care Plus. This guide provides names and descriptions of the weed species as well as ways to prevent and treat them.
Though many of these weeds can be prevented by maintaining healthy turf through various lawn maintenance best practices, they may need to be controlled using professional weed control and fertilization services depending on their severity.
Type: Annual Grass
Description: Light green, clump-forming grass. The silver to white seed head makes it very noticeable in a lawn.
Control: Poa Annua likes wet soil, so it is best to avoid over-watering your lawn. For maximum control, a pre-emergent application applied in the fall will prevent the seed from germinating.
Type: Perennial Grass
Description: Light green, grassy weed that will form dense patches in the lawn during late fall and winter. As temperatures increase, Poa Trivialis will die out and leave unsightly brown patches in the lawn.
Control: Poa Trivialis likes wet soil, so it is best to avoid over-watering your lawn. For maximum control, a pre-emergent application applied in the fall will prevent the seed from germinating.
Type: Annual Broadleaf
Description: Upright weed, greenish to purplish stems with purple flowers.
Control: A dense, healthy lawn offers a great defense to reduce henbit from growing in your lawn. A pre-emergent application applied in the fall will offer the best control of henbit growing in unwanted places. A post-emergent applied while Henbit is active will offer control as well.
CLOVER
Type: Perennial Broadleaf
Description: Leaves are green and grow in leaflets of three. Flowers are white with green centers
Control: A healthy, fertilized lawn will deter clover from growing in lawns. A pre-emergent application applied in the fall will offer the best control of clover growing in unwanted places. A post-emergent weed treatment applied while clover is actively growing in the lawn will offer control as well.
CHICKWEED
Type: Annual Broadleaf
Description: Spreading, low growing weed, the egg-shaped leaves and stem are green. White flowers are star shaped.
Control: Chickweed thrives in moist lawns that are mowed at a low height. In the fall, do not over irrigate and raise mower height. A pre-emergent application applied in the fall will offer the best control of common chickweed growing in unwanted places. A post-emergent applied while chickweed is active will offer control as well.
DANDELION
Type: Perennial Broadleaf
Description: Stems are hollow. Leaves form in a circle at the base of the stem. Yellow flowers are followed by white, puffy seed heads.
Control: Dandelions are suppressed by a pre-emergent application but best control is with a post-emergent weed control that will kill the entire plant, taproot and all.
BITTERCRESS
Type: Annual Broadleaf
Description: Clump-growing weed with leaves at the base. White, cross-shaped flowers grow up in clusters at the top of the stem.
Control: A dense lawn will compete with and prevent weed establishment. A pre-emergent application applied in the fall will offer the best control of bittercress growing in unwanted places. A post-emergent applied while the weed is active will offer control as well.
WILD ONIONS
Type: Perennial Grass
Description: Wild Onions emerge in fall from underground bulbs and have thin, waxy green leaves that grow in an upright form.
Control: There is no pre-emergent weed control to prevent wild onions from growing in the lawn, they must be treated persistently with a post-emergent weed control.
PLANTAIN
Type: Perennial Broadleaf
Description: Low-growing weed. Green leaves are wide and grow in a circle arrangement. Leafless stalks grow upright from base with seeds on the end.
Control: Plantain thrives in compacted soil so it is best to Core Aerate your lawn each year to reduce compaction. A post-emergent weed control applied while the weed is growing will offer control.
OXALIS
Type: Perennial Broadleaf
Description: Upright form with erect stems and heart-shaped leaves. Oxalis produces yellow flowers.
Control: A dense, healthy lawn will compete with and prevent weed establishment. Proper mowing practices will also control the spread of oxalis. A post-emergent weed control applied while the weed is growing will offer control.
Type: Perennial Broadleaf
Description: Thick, green leaves with spreading branches. Flowers are white with star-shaped petals.
Control: Avoid over-irrigating turf areas, and Core Aerate your lawn each year to reduce compaction. A post-emergent weed control applied while the weed is growing will offer control.
LESPEDEZA
Type: Annual Broadleaf
Description: Dense, mat-forming weed with green leaves and pink to purple flowers.
Control: Lespedeza thrives in compacted soil so it is recommended to Core Aerate your lawn each year. A post-emergent weed control applied while the weed is growing will offer control.
SPURGE
Type: Annual Broadleaf
Description: Low-growing weed that will form a dense mat as it spreads. When broken, a milky sap will ooze from the stem.
Control: To prevent spurge from growing in unwanted places, it is important to practice mowing and watering recommendations based on your grass type. A post-emergent weed control applied while the weed is growing will offer control of the weed.
CHAMBERBITTER
Type: Annual Broadleaf
Description: Chamberbitter is sometimes called little mimosa for its resemblance to the Mimosa tree. This weed grows upright with thin, oval shaped green leaves.
Control: The best defense against Chamberbitter is a well maintained lawn that receives proper fertilization throughout the year. A pre-emergent weed control will prevent the growth of Chamberbitter and a post-emergent weed treatment will offer control for mature Chamberbitter.
NUTSEDGE
Type: Perennial Sedge
Description: Nutsedge is a persistent weed that resembles a grass. It is easy to identify if you have a Nutsedge outbreak in your lawn as the weed will grow above your grass height and the green stems will be shiny.
Control: The best defense against Nutsedge is to allow your grass to have competitive advantage against the weed by practicing recommended mowing, watering, and fertilization requirements. A post-emergent weed treatment will offer control for mature Nutsedge.
DOVEWEED
Type: Annual Grass
Description: Doveweed is a low-growing spreading weed that resembles grass. The green leaves are smooth and purple flowers will grow in clusters.
Control: The best defense against Doveweed is to allow your grass to have competitive advantage against the weed by practicing recommended mowing, watering, and fertilization requirements. A post-emergent weed treatment will offer control for Doveweed.
Type: Annual Grass
Description: Crabgrass is a low-growing grassy weed that gets its name from the stems growing out resembling crab legs.
Control: Crabgrass will take advantage of any thin or bare areas in your lawn. The best defense is a healthy lawn. A pre-emergent treatment applied in early spring will offer excellent control of the weed. A post-emergent weed treatment is effective throughout the summer if a pre-emergent has not been applied.
Type: Perennial Grass
Description: Dallisgrass is a coarse-textured, clumping, grassy weed with smooth, grayish-green leaves. There is a distinguished vein that runs down the middle of each leaf.
Control: Dallisgrass is one of the most difficult weeds to control. Multiple post-emergent weed control applications are required to achieve control of the weed, applied over a two-year period.
Type: Annual Grass
Description: Goosegrass is a grassy weed that has very flat, green stems and a noticeably white color at the base and lower stems of the weed.
Control: Goosegrass thrives in compacted soil so it is recommended to Core Aerate your lawn each year. A post-emergent weed control application will offer best control of the weed in lawns, multiple applications may be necessary.
WILD VIOLETS
Type: Annual or Perennial Broadleaf
Description: Wild Violets grow in clumps and prefer shady areas in the lawn. The dark green, heart-shaped leaves make this weed easy to identify. Purple flowers will emerge in spring and summer.
Control: A post-emergent weed control treatment applied while Wild Violets are growing will offer best control of the weed.
GROUND IVY
Type: Perennial Broadleaf
Description: Ground Ivy is a creeping broadleaf weed with green, rounded leaves and lavender flowers. Stems are four-sided and fuzzy.
Control: The best way to prevent Ground Ivy from your lawn is to practice proper maintenance practices to give your turf an advantage over the weed. Post-emergent weed control will offer control of the weed.
Simply Green aims to provide the highest quality lawn care, mosquito control, and lawn pest control services to Georgia residents.
We are locally owned and operated which allows us to be accessible, attentive, and responsive for customers in Georgia.
Our well-trained team is easy to work with and determined to exceed expectations.
All our plant health care specialists are Georgia Department of Agriculture Certified and maintain their Category 24 applicators license.
Hello, I didn't catch my service techs name today, but wanted to let you know what a great job he did today, please pass this along. His service was wonderful and he was very polite, I truly appreciate it. Keep up the good work! And thank you!
V. Alber
I have been with these guys for one whole season. 99.9% of weeds are gone. The grass has never been so green. They have lived up to their name.
Y Cho
My lawn looks awesome and I have had neighbors walking their dogs tell me the same! Thanks Simply Green!
P. Cox
Simply Green always does an excellent job and are very customer oriented. The technicians are more knowledgeable than those of other companies I have tried.
J. Barnett
I have been with these guys for one whole season. 99.9% of weeds are gone. The grass has never been so green. They have lived up to their name.
Y. Cho
Please let your staff that serviced my lawn aeration and fertilization yesterday that they did an EXCELLENT JOB! My lawn is doing better than it ever has. And because of them and the rest of the techs that come out to my house, that I'll remain a loyal customer of Simply Green. Great job!
J. Williams
I just had another comment this morning on how good our fescue lawn looks, which happens several times a week. I walked out in our back yard this AM and couldn't believe it was the same yard as what I dealt with last year. We have a good lawn maintenance crew that takes care of mowing and edging, and we have a good company that takes care of weeding, feeding, and shrubbery & trees. I enjoy telling friends and neighbors about your service. Thank you and keep up the good work!
M. King
Happened to be home and Ben treating the yard. He took meticulous care in the treatment. Please convey my thanks to him.
M. Vincent
