HelpfulGardener.com

I have been battling these weeds in the lawn for a long time. Can anyone tell me what type of weed this is and how I can get rid of it without killing the surrounding grass? Attached is a photo. Thanks!

Are they weeds or runners? I can't tell. What kind of grass do you have? If it is runners, use a dethatching rake for a small lawn or a vertical lawnmower and only feed an established lawn once in the spring and again in the fall with 21-0-0 fertilizer. You don't need much phosphorus on established lawns. Aerate and top dress when you fertilize. It will give the roots a place to go. A healthy lawn can choke out a lot of weeds if you set the mower higher.

https://homeguides.sfgate.com/vertical-mowing-52337.html

I know I'm a bit late to the party, but...isn't this a photograph of Bermuda grass? And aren't those things (the long white and brown ones) in the middle Bermuda grass runners?

My job, all through high school in Tampa, Florida, was to rip up and/or cut the Bermuda grass runners in my father's yard. He wanted a FLAT Bermuda lawn. Yes, absolutely flat.

I'm not seeing any other plants in the photo...? sorry.

Cynthia H.
Sunset Zone 17, USDA Zone 9

I have had the same type of weed along the edge of our lawn (ours not bermuda though). At least I thought it was a weed. Hawaii did have a lot of Bermuda Grass. (miss living there, lucky you) I have a lot of other weeds too. I'm looking on here to find out about 'feeding' my grass, my neighbor uses 'weed n' feed' I think and his grass always looks great, green and weedless. I don't know how healthy that is, I will go read some more. (still new on here & with lawn care)

If you care about healthy, especially healthy for the environment, I wouldn't use weed n feed:

https://eartheasy.com/blog/2010/06/6-rea ... your-lawn/

from the article:

Marketed under many different brand names, these chemically-based herbicides are some of the most toxic substances which are still legal to buy. (In Canada, all weed ‘n feed pesticide and fertilizer combination products have recently been banned.)

Short-term effectiveness is gained at the expense of long-term lawn and soil health. The overpowered chemical fertilizers these products contain actually weaken turf—causing the kind of fast, weak, unnatural growth that’s susceptible to pests and disease.

Perhaps you need to re-think the notion that everyone needs to have golf-course quality lawns at home. I don't do anything to my lawn, certainly no chemicals and little of anything else. It has a lot of weeds in it. But kept mowed it all looks even and green. Some of the weeds are clover, which is a nitrogen fixer and the clover flowers are good for bees and other beneficial insects.

Yes, I do care about health and environment. I haven't opened it yet so will return it. We have a few cats that love to eat the grass.

I did notice after I cut it, it never looks so bad. Not as good as neighbors, but that's ok then. I'll have to pick out the worst ones by hand. They have something here commonly called 'goats head' or something, it's got horrible thorns that hurt, but the clover is fine.

I'll go read the article, thank you very much.