Common Chickweed (Stellaria media)

By Will Creed, owner of HorticulturalHelp.com

It's easy not to think much about the intelligence of insects. Tiny creatures with even tinier brains—how smart can they be?

Identify and Control 13 Common Chrysanthemum Pests

The Lime is a tall growing well shaped tree which is often grown along avenues and public places in the UK. The flowers have an exquisite fragrance.

A water loving tree that is comparatively short lived at about 150 years. It is fast growing and can often be found near river banks.

Many common weeds found in lawns and grass are appealing wild flowers. They look best in a meadow setting and not in a manicured lawn.

Larch trees are common in forestry plantations and high ground in the UK. Larch are fast growing and loose there leaves in winter. The wood from Common Larch trees is still used for a range of purposes.

Bellis or Daisy is recognised by it’s flat rosettes of oval leaves and small white yellow eyed flowers. They tend to form colonies that hug the ground to smother out nearby grass. From the boots of the ‘My old mans a dustman’ song, ‘it takes such a job to pull them up that he calls them daisy roots’ the best treatment is a selective weed killer that may need a couple of applications. Alternatively each root can be dug out by hand.

Sometimes we don’t see the pest, but we definitely see their work.

Narrowleaf vetch (Vicia sativa) is a common winter annual weed in the legume family, and it fixes its own nitrogen from the atmosphere. This plant has been grown since Roman times for livestock fodder and as a cover crop.

Common cats-ear (Hypochaeris radicata) is a perennial weed. Its name comes from the dense hairs that cover the leaves. It looks very similar to dandelions, but its leaves are not as deeply notched. It also produces yellow flowers and puffball seed-heads very similar to dandelions. Common cats-ear flowers throughout the summer and most heavily in September. Common cats-ear is native to Europe and Northern Asia and can become quite a problem in thin, open areas. The first step in maintaining a thick, healthy lawn is ensuring that you have selected the best grass for your landscape. For more information on the characteristics of different turfgrasses, please see HGIC 1223, Turfgrasses for the Carolinas.

Common groundsel (Senecio vulgaris ) is an annual winter weed in the aster family. Luckily, it rarely becomes a problem in the lawn since it does not survive mowing. It can, however, quickly become a problem in vegetable gardens and landscape beds if ignored. Common groundsel can produce flowers within 45 days of germination and up to 25,000 seeds per plant. The seeds are easily spread by the wind due to their feathery bristles, called pappus, that function as a parachute. The seeds do not survive for long in the soil; therefore, diligent removal before flowering can help get infestations under control in a couple of seasons. After pulling, plants need to be disposed of, as open flowers can continue to produce seeds if left in the landscape.