How to Identify Lawn Weeds in Virginia

According to Mike Goatley, a turf specialist from the Virginia Cooperative Extension, weeds ruin the clean looking aesthetics of yards by their varying size, color and texture. There are three types of weeds that grow: grassy, broadleaf and sedge weeds. These weeds start to pop up either in spring or in fall. In order to reduce the amount of weeds in your Virginia yard, avoid fertilizing before the grass has had time to green up.

Chalk

Shovel

Soil pH test

Walk through your yard and inspect your lawn weeds. Because Virginia is within the U.S.Department of Agriculture Plant Hardiness zones of 5 to 8, you can find both cool and warm season grass. Therefore, it is important to check your lawn throughout the year for lawn weeds. Sprinkle colored chalk around the vegetation that looks different from your grass.

Examine the possible weeds. If the weeds have a prominent mid-vein with circular edges, they may be grassy weeds. Look to see if any of the turf has grown over from your neighbor's yard.

Check to see if the stems are triangular, which would indicate that they are sedges. Sedges are commonly confused with grassy weeds because their texture is roughly the same.

Hold the stem and look to see if there are any blossoms budding or leaves that do not run parallel to the mid-vein, which indicates a broadleaf weed.

Dig a 6-inch hole next to the weed in question to take a soil pH test. By conducting a soil pH test, you can find out if the pH range needs to adjusted in the rest of the lawn. An incorrect pH could be one of the reasons you have weeds. Also, you may narrow down the list of potential weeds in the yard because every weed has its own specific pH range. Follow the directions according to the pH soil test. Compare the results to common weeds that grow in Virginia such as milkweed, poison ivy and itchgrass.