23
The stealing nutrients narrative is, in the general case, true.
There are certain plant combinations which work well together, a classic example being "the 3 sisters" of corn, beans, and, squash. Similarly rotating crops can be beneficial as different crops add and remove different elements from the soil.
Another strand of evidence, I have a little ...
16
After a bit of research, I believe my suspicion was correct. It seems to me that you have Tall Blue Lettuce (Lactuca biennis).
Wikipedia article:
Lactuca biennis is a North American species of wild lettuce known by the common names tall blue lettuce and blue wood lettuce. It is widespread across much of the United States and Canada from Alaska and Yukon ...
15
That is Mock Strawberry, Duchesnea indica. The fruits are edible, but rather tasteless. This is a common weed in much of the United States. Look for small, strawberry-like plants in your lawn, with long stolons connecting the individual crowns. These plants have five petaled yellow flowers. See comparison photos:
14
Weed seeds in the soil won't be affected by a contact or systemic (such as glyphosate) weedkiller that acts on green leaves. Regular mowing will get rid of some of the taller weeds. Otherwise, wait until the lawn is established then treat with a selective turf weedkiller, ie something that kills broad-leaved weeds but not grass. Follow the instructions to ...
13
This is Purslane (Portulaca oleracea). Identifying characteristics are the ground-hugging branched stems that you mentioned, and in the photos, the paddle-shaped leaves in pairs along the stems, with the leaves clumped closer together at the ends of the stems.
It's an annual weed that grows extremely quickly once hot weather arrives. When the flowers ...
13
It's creeping buttercup, Ranunculus repens.
It's highly invasive and quite difficult to eradicate, especially in a lawn. I don't know what country you're in, but you need a lawn weedkiller treatment which acts on this particular weed. In the UK, that would be Verdone Extra; most combined lawn weed and feed treatments won't kill it, you need to use a ...
13
Bamboo is correct...Ranunculus. I have to add that there is a reason your buttercup is very happy. Too much water. I would start training my lawn by watering deeply and not watering again until the grass needs it...
The best way to know when to water is done by walking on the lawn. Stand back to look and if you can still see your foot prints perfectly ...
12
It really depends on what you're growing, how you're growing it, what you expect from your garden, how big the weeds are, how close they are to your plant, how many weeds there are, how fertile your soil is, how the specific weeds interact with your plants and each other, etc.
Plants can compete with each other, produce chemicals to inhibit other plants, and ...
10
It looks like a mint or a very closely related labitae. Even the flower spike looks like mint. Is the stem squarish?
In any case it is certainly not part of your bougainvillea.
10
With those long underground rhizomes (the thick white runners you see) and upright growth this appears to be quackgrass (Elymus repens).
Unfortunately, controlling it isn't much easier with that bit of knowledge. Quackgrass is a tough competitor. There are no selective herbicides that can kill it without killing the lawn grass, and as you've discovered ...
10
You have to wait 3 weeks or whatever is on the label to overseed. Exactly what did you use for herbicide? Obviously broadleaf weed killer. The only reason you even have that problem is because your lawn is not healthy, lots of bare ground to allow weed seeds to get plenty of sun, moisture and fertilizer to out compete your grass crop.
We need to help you ...
10
The small sprouts, and the grass like cereal plant (which I can't identify 100%, but which does resemble Carex, not something you particularly want), are weeds because they're growing somewhere you don't want them. Remove them, your bonsai tree needs all the root room it can get, it will not appreciate having to share that tiny amount of soil with any other ...
9
Your strawberry and veggie patches are almost done for the year where you live, so it seems to me it would be best to tackle them next spring. For now, I would cut down the weeds as close to the ground as possible, but not worry about getting rid of them altogether.
In the spring, when the strawberries (and weeds) start coming back, you'll be able to hand ...
9
This is a poppy - a Papaver. Note the four petals and in the center of the flowers the characteristic thick ovaries with the crown-shaped top. Later, the dried capsule will open at the crown and release the seeds. The leaf rosette on the ground and the hairy stems are also characteristic.
Depending on where you live, you may be more familiar with the common ...
9
That's weeds, it is some kind of grass. Seedlings of blueberries look more like this (first picture).
You can pull the weeds out of there, they compete with nutrients available in the soil.
8
Looks like an immature dandelion to me.
8
Some years ago I apparently eradicated bindweed from a small (15 x 7 feet) unenclosed front garden adjacent to the parking lot. I lived on an Estate where a number of small, bored children were always looking for something to do - so I offered a small bounty to the child who dug out the most convolvulus roots. The game was played every Sunday and roots had ...
8
Composting
Pros: germicide.
Cons: it take times, some clover seeds can germinate after composting and it is not suitable for large gardens.
Herbicides (Postemergent)
Pros: As per @J. Musser 's suggestion > quick; especially on rocky and hard soil.
Cons: all derivated from herbicide use and clovers may regrow.
Herbicides (Preemergent )
Pros: quick method ...
8
I would recommend just warning them and not treating the soil at all, unless they request a specific treatment when you ask, or unless they're in another state or you know your soil has particularly bad weeds, pests, pathogens or something.
You could pour boiling water on the soil to kill weeds and bugs, but it will also kill beneficial soil microbes, which ...
8
After some further research, and with the help of @Escoce's and @Bamboo's answers, I believe this is a Sweet Almond Bush.
Family: Verbenaceae
Genus: Aloysia
Species: Virgata
©Dave's Garden / http://pics.davesgarden.com/pics/2006/05/07/aprilwillis/bfe970.jpg
8
Based on the shape of the leaves, It looks like something in the Brassicaceae Family, more specifically probably the Genus Brassica. Although that is far from certain without knowing your location and also maybe not without seeing it bearing flowers.
The characteristic that identifies this as a Brassica to me is the lobes occurring on the leaf stem below ...
8
This is Equisetum arvense, the field horsetail or common horsetail. It is a herbaceous perennial plant, native throughout the arctic and temperate regions of the northern hemisphere. ~Wikipedia
Benefits: http://www.herbwisdom.com/herb-horsetail.html
Eradication: http://extension.psu.edu/plants/green-industry/news/2012/weed-of-the-month-field-horsetail-...
8
I planted some Oxalis deppei in the garden at my university last year and it looked just like your plant. It had little dark pink flowers and spread like crazy, from 15 bulbs planted in spring I got at least 50 bulbs in autumn, including smaller ones. This was on a rocky small area that somewhat contained them.
8
You cannot use plastic - it will waterlog after rain. Weed fabric allows water and air through, whereas plastic does not. You can buy heavier duty weed fabric, so you might consider that, but most weeds do not punch through the fabric from the soil beneath, only things like japanese knotweed or bamboo usually. However, weeds can and do root into the mulch on ...
8
It's an ornamental, Acanthus, or Acanthus mollis. Its fancy shaped leaves look so familiar because this plant is the prototype for the stylized "foliage" that you see in classical artwork & sculptures, like when the artists wanted to decorate column tops or other architecture or make a background for some kind of inscription. Be careful, though. Those ...
8
Looks like Lily of the Valley, Convallaria majalis. Bindweed has large flowers, grows as a vine, and smaller leaves than Lily of the Valley.
8
I used to live near a retired professional gardener who had worked in English "stately home" gardens where lawns (acres of them) were a key feature.
One of his pieces of advice was "There are two ways to make a lawn. Either you spend six months preparing the site before you sow the seed or lay the turf, or you spend six years trying to fix the ...
7
I bought a book, which talks about this, so here's an answer to my own question.
Persistent weeds like bindweed can grow in your compost bin, or sprout when you use the compost. One safe way to deal with bindweed roots, and other weeds, is to drown it in a bucket of water for a week or so until it begins to rot. At that point it is safe to add to the ...
7
The top image is of Carolina Mallow (Modiola caroliniana) and the bottom picture is of Cudweed (Gamochaeta americana).
7
I don't know what the rules are where you live, but in the UK, we're allowed to cut back and remove anything growing over our boundaries, but it is illegal to treat, damage or pull out any planting outside of our boundaries, so you might want to check where you stand, since your neighbour may well be the type to cause trouble if you're caught mucking about ...
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