Invasive weed ground cover - Ask Extension
This weed/ground cover started growing in my yard and I can’t keep up with it. I tried to plant grass to choke it out but it’s not working. I fear...
Knowledgebase
Invasive weed ground cover #651531
Asked June 15, 2020, 9:22 PM EDT
This weed/ground cover started growing in my yard and I can’t keep up with it. I tried to plant grass to choke it out but it’s not working. I fear my entire yard will be covered with it. It is tight, a rizome, and almost rubbery. It has a white flower. I would like to know what it is and how I might kill it naturally. I was thinking of buying zoysia to try to choke it out.
Montgomery County Maryland
Expert Response
This looks like mazus, which is a nice groundcover when it stays where it's supposed to.
Your strategy will depend upon how far it has spread.
This would work best in a relatively compact area, but you could do an entire yard if you had to:
Weed wack it down to bare soil. Cover the soil with 3-4 layers of newspapers topped with mulch, cardboard, a tarp, or whatever impenetrable thing works. Let it bake all summer and do not let it sneak even a single tendril out. It should be completely dead by late August-early September which is ideal time to seed a lawn.
You could also hire a professional lawn care company to do this, as they can use herbicides that homeowners cannot.
Ellen
Your strategy will depend upon how far it has spread.
This would work best in a relatively compact area, but you could do an entire yard if you had to:
Weed wack it down to bare soil. Cover the soil with 3-4 layers of newspapers topped with mulch, cardboard, a tarp, or whatever impenetrable thing works. Let it bake all summer and do not let it sneak even a single tendril out. It should be completely dead by late August-early September which is ideal time to seed a lawn.
You could also hire a professional lawn care company to do this, as they can use herbicides that homeowners cannot.
Ellen
