Your lawn can be home to stunning flowers and vibrant plants. But it can also be home to weeds. No matter how colourful they are, weeds remain an unwanted growth that take away nutrients from your other plants. Most weeds can spread rapidly, allowing them to smother your lawn and decrease your curb appeal quickly. Identifying weeds is crucial so you can immediately get professional help to remove them from your property correctly.
Some weeds can trick homeowners because they provide vibrant hues that seemingly improve their property’s aesthetics. These include creeping bellflower, wild caraway, yellow clematis, common teasel, blueweed, and common baby’s breath. Keep reading to find out more about these 6 weeds that are commonly found in Calgary, including their distinguishing features, so you can quickly take action to combat them.
1. Creeping Bellflower
The creeping bellflower is a hardy perennial plant that can be aggressive due to its extensive roots. Its flowers give off shades of purple with heart-shaped leaves that grow narrower at the end. Creeping bellflowers are easily identifiable with their bell-shaped flowers held by tall stems that grow up to 4 feet tall. Keep an eye out for these flowers from late spring to fall, as these are the seasons they start to flourish.
Creeping bellflowers are tough to control because of their extensive root system. It has rhizomes underneath that will trigger more growth when part of the root breaks from hand pulling. This is why we don’t recommend pulling them out by hand. Instead, we suggest calling professionals who can apply herbicides to eradicate them from your lawn.
2. Wild Caraway
If you happen to spot clusters of white flowers on your lawn that you do not remember planting, they may be wild caraway weeds. Wild caraway will thrive in wet areas with light shade. This weed can be resilient during cold months and survive a light frost. Their seemingly innocent look will fool most people as they propagate through seeds found in flowers. Frequent mowing can be futile because its flowers will keep reblooming, so we highly recommend you call professionals who can dispose of them properly.
3. Yellow Clematis
The yellow clematis can be easily noticed in lawns when they bloom in mid-summer to late fall. Its bell-shaped flowers have bright yellow petals on top of stems that can grow up to 4 metres. The petals of a yellow clematis flower can sometimes be hairy with a silky texture.
The propagation of yellow clematis can be challenging to control as they spread through wind-dispersed seeds. However, once it takes root on your lawn, this weed is not going anywhere. It will survive poor conditions and tolerate drought, freezing conditions, and even poorly fertilized soils.
4. Common Teasel
Common teasel is an unsightly weed that you would not want to ever see on your lawn. It has an oblong-shaped flower head with five spiny bracts emerging from the side. Tiny purple flowers are on the flower head, where approximately 3,000 seeds appear annually. Once the common teasel takes root on your lawn, managing and controlling this weed will be difficult. You now have to get rid of existing common teasels while trying to prevent more growth.
5. Blueweed
Blueweed is a noxious weed in Calgary, AB. Despite having attractive funnel-shaped blue flowers, this weed can easily outcompete other plants for essential nutrients. It has hairy stems that will spread and can reach a height of 80 centimetres. This short-lived perennial weed is aggressive and will quickly smother your lawn if it is not dealt with.
Blueweed contains alkaloids that can be toxic to livestock and humans, so be careful to avoid it.
6. Common Baby’s Breath
The common baby’s breath is a perennial weed that grows in bushes with numerous tiny flowers. It produces so many flowers that its silvery green leaves are often left unnoticed. The baby’s breath thrives in dry and rocky areas where it can receive full sunlight. With its countless flowers that grow in a mound, thousands of seeds will fall near the primary plant, causing more weeds to grow. Some seeds can also be dispersed by wind, making its growth prevention more difficult.
Removing baby’s breath from your landscape can be a demanding job because its long taproot is challenging to eliminate once the weed has established itself. There are several ways to control the growth of the baby’s breath in your yard. Hand-pulling these plants can take so much of your time, so we recommend having professionals apply herbicides that will specifically target the weed.
Give us a call today to sign up for our weed control service!
As long as weeds can find a spot on your lawn to establish themselves, they will undoubtedly do so. Luckily, our skilled crew at Prestige Outdoor Services knows how to eradicate them from your property. We offer weed control services to residential, commercial, and HOA clients in Calgary, Airdrie, Chestermere, AB and nearby areas. Call us today at (403) 800-0680 to schedule a consultation.
