Spring is a good time to see off unwelcome lawn weeds before they get a foothold spoiling the look and enjoyment of your lawn, and ultimately your garden.    

A weed is technically any plant growing in the wrong place. In the case of a lawn it can be any plant that isn’t grass, as well as some species of grass such as Yorkshire Fog (Holcus lanatus).

While some gardeners prefer to leave weeds in their lawn and call them wildflowers, the majority like me want to see at least some weed-free turf. 

Daisy (Bellis perennis) are particularly common in closely-mown turf.  Easy to control, particularly at the beginning of the season.

Weeds generally give a patchy appearance and can spoil the effect of an otherwise well tended lawn.  

If left uncontrolled, weeds such as daisies and clover quickly develop into clumps effectively shading out the grass completely.

With a low growing habit, lawn weeds avoid being mown down!   Most are perennial, returning year after year unless they are controlled.  There are a few exceptions, such as black medick and annual meadow grass.

When laying a new lawn, if the site is not properly prepared or the turf is of poor quality you can have weed problems from the start. 

However, correct management of all lawns is important to help protect against a serious invasion.  

I recommend using a suitable fertilizer regime at key times of the year. This enables the grass to compete against the weeds. It also increases the effectiveness of weedkillers, as the weeds are actively growing when you treat them.

By mid to end of April various weeds, such creeping buttercup, dandelion and plantains, will start to threaten the lawn.  The exception is black medick, which tends to appear late May. 

As with all garden weeds, it is advisable to control lawn weeds early - before they become a serious nuisance and return more seed to the ground.  The soil usually has a bank of weed seeds in it, so prepare yourself for an annual campaign. 

If you have recently had weed free turf laid, vigilance is the watchword! While individual weeds can be removed by hand or spot treated, in most lawns this is not practical.  

Plantains, such as Greater Plantain (Plantago major), are widespread in Norfolk lawns. Producing rosettes of leathery and prominently-ribbed leaves, plantains tend to flower May - September.

There are a number of selective broad-leaved lawn weedkillers.  As their name suggests, they kill plants with broad leaves while grass, which has a narrow leaf blade, isn’t affected. 

Controlling grass weeds is more difficult, you have to rely on hand weeding coupled with physical management techniques. 

Professional greenkeepers and turfcare specialists prefer to use modern liquid weedkillers, as opposed to granular products. 

While generally being more reliable, there is less risk of applying a liquid product to non-target areas. Also, granular products can be all too easily be inadvertently walked off onto borders with potentially disastrous results!

As you would expect, professional weedkillers (which must be applied by a qualified person with a spray certificate) tend to be the most effective. It is also worth bearing in mind that effectiveness is also influenced by how accurately the product is applied – this depends on having well maintained and correctly calibrated equipment – as well as the skill of the operator.

So if you’re don’t have the time, or are perhaps not sure how to go about it, and would rather leave it to an expert -

you can always employ the services of Great Grass - Norfolk's specialist lawn agronomy company who will identify the weeds and control them for you.