Little White Flowers on Your Lawn: Identification and Control

Finding little white flowers popping up on your lawn can be frustrating. While some small white blooms like daisies can be beautiful, most are considered unwelcome weeds. White flowering lawn weeds tend to spread aggressively, disrupting the uniformity of lush green grass.

Identifying the type of white lawn weed is the first step toward getting rid of it. This article provides descriptions and pictures of common little white flowers that can invade turfgrass You’ll also learn organic methods to eradicate them and prevent future infestations.

Why Identify White Lawn Weeds

It’s important to identify white flowering weeds for a few reasons

• Different treatments are required for different weeds. Knowing what you’re dealing with allows you to choose the right organic control methods.

• Some white lawn flowers are more aggressive spreaders than others. Identifying them helps you prioritize which to remove first.

• A few white lawn blooms, like clover, can benefit your yard if left alone. Proper ID prevents removing potentially helpful plants.

• Some white flowers are easier to control if treated early before established. Identification helps you find and remove them promptly.

Common White Lawn Weeds

Below are details on five common little white flowering weeds found in lawns:

1. White Clover

White clover is a perennial weed with leaves made up of three oval leaflets and dense rounded flower heads containing many tiny individual white blooms. It creeps along the ground onhorizontal stems that root at nodes.

Though often considered a weed, clover can help lawn health by fixing nitrogen. It thrives in low nitrogen soil and indicates a need for fertilizer application. Clover spreads aggressively through its creeping stems and is difficult to eradicate.

2. Chickweed

Chickweed is a fast growing annual weed. It has small white star-shaped flowers with five petals. The smooth, succulent stems root at nodes as they creep along the ground. Leaves are oval with pointed tips.

Chickweed forms thick mats that can take over thin or stressed areas of lawn. It flourishes in cool weather and shade but tolerates full sun. Chickweed spreads rapidly through creeping stems and prolific seed production.

3. Pearlwort

Pearlwort is a low-growing annual weed. Tiny creamy white flowers bloom at the tips of wiry branching stems. Leaves are small, slender, and clustered.

Pearlwort forms patchy clumps and only grows about 2 inches tall. It thrives in cool, moist environments like those found in dense shade or overwatered lawns. Pearlwort spreads aggressively via above ground runners and mats that root down.

4. Daisy

Daisies have classic white petals radiating from a yellow center. Leaves are oblong with rounded tips forming a basal rosette. Daisies flower spring through fall and spread through rhizomes and self-seeding.

Wild daisies are perennials that can form dense colonies. They grow 3 to 6 inches tall and thrive in full sun. Though they make attractive lawn flowers, daisy patches crowd out grass and create bare spots.

5. Wild Carrot

Also called Queen Anne’s lace, wild carrot blooms are comprised of tiny individual white flowers clustered into flat umbels 2 to 4 inches wide. First year plants have a basal rosette of lacy, fern-like leaves. Mature plants can reach 2 to 4 feet tall on hairy stems.

Wild carrot is a biennial weed that flowers in its second season. It propagates from seed and develops long taproots, making manual removal difficult. Wild carrot thrives in dry soils.

Getting Rid of White Lawn Weeds

Controlling white flowering weeds without chemicals requires diligence, but it’s doable. Here are some effective organic methods:

• Hand pull – For small infestations, carefully dig out the entire root system of weeds. Be sure to remove all root fragments which can resprout.

• Mow high – Raise mower height to 3.5-4 inches. This shades out low growing weeds while keeping grass healthy.

• Overseed bare spots -Promptly reseed any bare patches to prevent weeds from invading. Use compost as a topdressing.

• Apply corn gluten – Corn gluten prevents seeds from germinating and emerging. Use as an organic pre-emergent in spring and fall.

• Improve lawn health – Dense, vigorous turfgrass outcompetes weeds. Aerate, fertilize, and water appropriately to strengthen your lawn.

• Replant heavily infested areas – Strip out sections overtaken by white blooming weeds and resod or reseed with turfgrass mixes appropriate for your climate.

Preventing White Flowering Weeds

An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure when it comes to lawn weeds. Here are some tips for stopping them before they start:

• Learn to identify white lawn weeds while young and easier to eliminate.

• Scout for newly sprouted weeds at least weekly and remove immediately.

• Pull undesired plants growing in beds and sidewalk cracks before they go to seed.

• Maintain grass height between 3-4 inches to shade out low growing white blooms.

• Fertilize at least twice yearly to keep turfgrass lush and thick.

• Fix soil compaction and drainage issues to prevent environment favorable to weeds.

With proper identification and control methods, you can keep pesky little white flowering weeds at bay and enjoy a lush, beautiful lawn. A bit of persistence and weed prevention will lead to a yard free of unwanted white blooms.