What Can Weeds Do To Your Lawn?

Written By Carli Holas

Weeds are typically invasive species of plants whose nature can be defined as having a negative or undesirable effect on the environment around them. They’re the pesky little plants that stick out at the edges of your lawn or are surrounded by brown grass. Odds are you’ve seen several different kinds of weeds sticking around your lawn and garden.

Some common ones you’ll see around your lawn are:

  • Cheatgrass
  • Brome
  • Bull Thistle
  • Crowfoot grass
  • Crabgrass
  • Dandelions.

There are far more weeds populating the lawns of Arizona, but that’s just to name a few. They do not all have a negative effect on the environment. The well-known dandelion has few adverse effects, enough that they’re always worth killing, so it’s better to remove them from your lawn.

WHAT DO WEEDS DO?

The worst of weeds tend to damage or even kill other plants around them. They do this through a litany of tactics that ensure they thrive, sometimes off of other plants. Some of the most common ways dangerous weeds damage your lawn are by:

  • Cutting off plants from their food supply. All plants need water to survive, but plants that naturally occupy the same environment have evolved not to steal from each other. Weeds haven’t done that. Weeds will take water from plants around them, which can lead to them drying up. While it may be difficult for weeds to kill off trees, and even bushes, they can weaken them. Eventually, they become less lively. Weeds, on the other hand, can kill off your grass and small plants by taking their water and nutrients.
  • Take up space so other plants can’t grow. Even if there’s enough water and nutrients for both plants, there isn’t always enough room. If your lawn is healthy, it’s full of grass, with plants, shrubs, and maybe the odd tree mixed in. When your lawn is full, a weed has to make room. Just by living in the same space, weeds can suffocate and kill off the plants around them. Ultimately, they can kill another plant in another manner that was instigated by this.
  • Parasitically attaching to other plants. Some weeds go farther than just taking too much from the same food source as other plants, but actually, attach their roots to the roots of other plants. They can then directly sap the nutrients from other plants, assuring their death for the weed’s survival. Large plants can survive with parasitic plants attached to them, but not if the number of weeds grows.
  • Affecting the water you give to your plants and drink yourself. Weeds can affect the water quality for your plants and yourself. The roots of weeds are persistent and destructive to their environment. It’s not unheard of for them to get into your water supply, attracted to it as a resource for themselves. Depending on the weed, it can negatively affect your health or at least that of your own plants.
  • Cause you skin irritation if you touch it. Whether you’re gardening without gloves or moving them yourself, the pollen of some weeds can irritate your skin. Most that irritate your skin will do so by triggering common weed allergies you or someone you know may not know you/they have.

CONTACT YOUR LOCAL PIONEER LANDSCAPING CENTER FOR SOLUTIONS

If you need help dealing with weeds or repairing your yard after all the damage they’ve caused, contact your local Pioneer Landscaping Center. We have representatives waiting to help you find the solutions for your problems. We’re experts in lawn care and maintenance.

Carli Holas