Topic collection

Broadleaf Weeds

How do I kill weeds without killing my grass?

Dandelion, clover, chickweed, henbit, violet and plantain all respond to selective herbicides — but timing, temperature and your grass species decide whether the application works or scorches the lawn. These guides cover identification and safe removal.

8 guides in this collection ·All weed control

A dandelion lifted out of a lawn and laid on the grass beside the open hole it came from, its long pale taproot running most of the width of the frame, with the tip of a weeding blade entering from the right edge, and the words “How Much Root” set across the top

Weed Control

Best Weed Puller: How Much Root Did You Actually Get?

UC IPM: a dandelion taproot runs 6 to 18 inches and a 1-inch fragment regrows. The tool decides how much root you get — the weed decides if that is enough.

August 20, 2026

A patch of round bright green dollarweed leaves like miniature lily pads spreading through thin St. Augustine turf on visibly wet low ground, one leaf turned to show the stem joining at the centre rather than the edge, with the words “It Is the Water” set across the top of the frame

Weed Control

Dollarweed: The Weed That Tells You About Your Water

UF calls dollarweed a reliable indicator of wet environments. Clemson's first control step is not a herbicide — it is checking how often you irrigate.

August 20, 2026

Broadleaf plantain rosettes growing in a bare, worn strip running across a lawn, their broad oval leaves showing strong lengthwise parallel veins and slender flower spikes standing upright from the centre, with thicker green grass on either side of the compacted line, and the words “Plantain Means Compaction” set across the top

Weed Control

How to Kill Broadleaf Plantain: Read It First

Broadleaf plantain tells you something before you kill it — UMD lists dry, compacted soil and poor feeding as what favours it. Clemson's window is mid-autumn.

August 9, 2026

Two winter annual weeds growing side by side in thin, partly dormant turf: a low spreading mat of small paired oval leaves carrying tiny white flowers on the left, and upright square-stemmed plants with rounded scalloped leaves and pink-purple hooded flowers on the right, with straw-coloured grass and bare soil between them, and the words “Chickweed and Henbit” set across the top

Weed Control

Chickweed and Henbit: Spring Spraying Is Too Late

How to get rid of chickweed and henbit: Clemson puts optimum post-emergence timing at mid-autumn. By the time you see spring flowers, the seed is already made.

August 9, 2026

A clump of yellow woodsorrel growing through thin grass, its three heart-shaped leaflets clearly notched at the tips, several five-petalled yellow flowers open among them and slim upright seed capsules standing above the foliage, with the words “Oxalis, Not Clover” set across the top

Weed Control

How to Get Rid of Oxalis: It Comes Back Two Ways

Getting rid of oxalis in a lawn takes two fixes. Penn State: pre-emergents stop it from seed but have no effect on plants emerging from rhizomes.

August 9, 2026

White clover spreading at grass level through thin lawn turf, photographed low to the ground — three-leaflet leaves each showing the pale crescent watermark that identifies the species, with spherical white flower heads tinged pink at the base standing just above them

Weed Control

How to Get Rid of Clover in Lawn (Or Keep It On Purpose)

Clover spreads where nitrogen is short — it makes its own. Feed the turf and it recedes. If you still want it out, four actives work and one popular one is absent.

August 1, 2026

A mat of round scalloped creeping Charlie leaves spreading across thin lawn grass, with heart-shaped wild violet leaves and two purple violet flowers growing among them

Weed Control

How to Kill Creeping Charlie and Wild Violet

Creeping Charlie and wild violet shrug off standard three-way weed killer for two different reasons. Both answer to triclopyr — and to October, not spring.

July 30, 2026

Dandelion with seed head growing in a green residential lawn

Weed Control

Kill Dandelions Without Killing Grass — For Good

Killing dandelions without killing grass comes down to the taproot: the selective herbicides that reach it, and the month they actually work.

April 14, 2026

Related collections

Other weed control topics worth reading next.

Weed Identification

What weed is this, and which product family actually kills it?

Grassy Weeds & Sedges

Why won't my weed killer touch this grass-like weed?

Pre-Emergent Timing

When exactly should I apply pre-emergent where I live?

Total & Non-Selective Herbicides

What do I use where I want nothing growing at all — and why did it come back?

Pasture & Acreage

I have more than a lawn — what changes when animals graze it?

Lawn Health Newsletter

Seasonal lawn reminders, on time

Pre-emergent windows, disease alerts and fertilization schedules for your region — one short email, right when your lawn needs it.

Free forever. Unsubscribe anytime. US lawns only (for now). This season's companion: the printable summer checklist.