When most people think of weeds, they picture a pesky plant with broad leaves that is growing in the wrong place. However, there are two different types of weeds: grassy weeds and broadleaf weeds. While they may look similar to the untrained eye, they are actually quite different. Let's look at the unique features of each, and why they are classified as separate categories.
Grassy weeds are appropriately named, as these weeds masquerade as regular turfgrass on your lawn. They often share many characteristics with turfgrass, but they do not produce the same quality lawn that healthy turfgrasses produce. In fact, the invasive roots of grassy weeds often overtake healthy root systems in the soil, which will cause your lawn to be filled with harmful and undesirable weeds. If you see patches of sudden and quick grass growth that is taller than the surrounding grass, you likely have a grassy weed problem.
Common Grassy Weeds
These weeds are very resistant and can be difficult to manage once they appear in your yard. Broadleaf weeds can grow annually, biennially, or perennially, making their growth and control needs difficult to predict. Broadleaf weeds are known to multiply quickly, utilizing a mixture of both rhizomes and seeds to sprout new shoots. These weeds are easily identifiable by their wide, broad leaves, and they are often accompanied by a single flower or cluster of flowers.
Common Broadleaf Weeds
Grassy weeds and broadleaf weeds both have unique characteristics that allow us to distinguish between the two, which helps us have a better understanding of how to control the weeds in our lawns. Now that we've established a few basic characteristics of both weed types, let's take a closer look at what really makes these weeds different from one another.
The most significant difference between grassy and broadleaf weeds is their root system. Broadleaf weeds often have a deep taproot with a fibrous root system, while grassy weeds possess underground rhizomes (horizontal stems) or aboveground stolons that can spread quickly, making it difficult to remove all of the invading grassy weed.
The leaves of broadleaf weeds are known for their net-like veins and thin, wide blades that are often serrated or lobed. Grassy weeds, on the other hand, typically have long, tube-like leaves with veins that run parallel down their length.
Grassy weeds are just different types of grass, so they do not sprout flowers. Broadleaf weeds, however, will often produce a single flower or cluster of flowers, such as the flowers of a dandelion plant or white clover. These flowers make it very easy to differentiate broadleaf weeds from grassy weeds and the grass in your lawn, which is quite handy when trying to find weeds to remove!
Grassy weeds can reproduce both through rhizomes in their root systems and through seed dispersal. Broadleaf weeds can also reproduce by both rhizomes and seeds, but some broadleaf weeds spread by seed only. You can also easily identify the seedheads of many broadleaf weeds, such as the delicate and white puffball-like seedhead of a dandelion.
Grassy weeds and broadleaf weeds certainly have their own distinct physical features that helps us identify each, but there are also many similarities. After all, they are both just two different categories of harmful and invasive weeds, which automatically gives them more similarities than differences. No matter which type of weed you are dealing with, they all steal nutrients away from your desired grass and plants, which weakens them and makes them vulnerable to even more complications.
No matter what type of grass you have in your lawn, weeds will always find a way to get in there! While some grasses are more tolerant than others, all grass types are vulnerable to invasion by both broadleaf weeds and grassy weeds. Both grassy weeds and broadleaf weeds have the capability to spread quickly, depending on their reproductive method. Whether it's through rhizomes in the soil or dispersal of seeds into your lawn, an infestation will rapidly spread once weeds of any kind begin emerging.
Understanding what makes each type of weed unique is the key to controlling problems with either one, so be sure to familiarize yourself with the features of each category before attempting to apply any hazardous chemicals.
As always, call Heartland Turf & Landscape, or your local lawn care company, for more information on the weeds in your yard! We will leave you with these final tips for how to prevent weeds in your lawn:
Grassy Weeds
Setting your lawn mower an inch or two higher than normal mowing height is an easy and effective way to control grassy weeds because these types of weeds grow very low to the ground. Allowing your grass to be taller than the weeds in your lawn will suffocate the weeds and block out their access to sunlight.
Broadleaf Weeds
Hand-pulling is an effective method against certain broadleaf weeds with long taproots that can be completely removed. However, leaving even a fraction of root material behind could sprout new weeds, so you must make sure you remove the entire root system if you are going to pull broadleaf weeds.
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