During my daily walks, I have taken a closer look at the landscaping that surrounds me. I have gained an appreciation for those who make sure it is pristine and weed-free. It occurred to me that people are often like plants. Some are weeds, choking the life out of everything around them. They may be colorful to attract attention, but they are toxic to relationships. Some require more tender care than others. They must be watered and pruned more often i.e., they may require alcohol, or their egos must be stroked in order to survive.
Others can only grow in certain surroundings and in certain weather. They may require a large, beautiful home, latest model car or trips to the coast to be happy. Still others seem to thrive on next to nothing, blooming no matter where they are planted. These are the people who have learned to adapt, to make the most of their circumstances. Everyone knows people that seem happy regardless of their surroundings, station in life, situation, etc. These are the people to emulate during this time of quarantine. They are the ones who have learned the secret of survival.
Which one are you? Does your presence in a relationship enhance its beauty or make it ugly? What are you contributing?
I hope you are not like the common weed. According to North Texas Lawns, here are seven of the worst weeds in North Texas:
Harmful Henbits
These little rascals are easily recognized by their little purple flowers. They tend to germinate in the winter and grow in the spring. Their purple flowers are a dead giveaway when you're identifying these weeds, but if you're not 100% sure they are henbits, look at the stems. If the stems are square, then they’re henbits.
The best way to defeat the harmful henbits is to kill them before they ever bloom. You want to take care of the weeds before they get a chance to finish germinating. Apply a pre-emergent herbicide in the fall. Once the weeds start sprouting, the herbicide will destroy them.
If it's too late and the weeds have already begun growing, you can use a post-emergent herbicide. It's not a great long-term strategy, but it's better than nothing. You can use it to kill as much of the weeds as you can, then make sure you use the pre-emergent herbicide next winter.
Deadly Dandelions
The Deadly Dandelions are particularly annoying because they love to multiply. Not only that, they’re tough to remove because their taproots can be up to three feet deep in the soil, making it pretty hard to yank them out by hand.
In addition, their seeds travel through the air, meaning that they can take root in other areas of your yard — and even your neighbor's yard.
Fortunately, they're not too hard to deal with. Apply some weed and feed fertilizer twice a year. This practice will lessen the chances that the dandelion seeds will be able to grow.
Grotesque Goosegrass
It looks like grass. It may even smell like grass. But it's not grass. It's a weed. An ugly and annoying weed. In North Texas, lawn care is made much more challenging because of weeds like this. Why? Because it looks like regular grass!
You can recognize goosegrass by the thick blades that are splayed out in a circular fashion. These blades resemble grass, hence the name goosegrass. This weed is known for its resiliency. It's hard to kill. What makes it worse is that this weed is hard to cut with your mower.
There are a few types of herbicides that can help you control goosegrass: pendimethalin, dithiopyr and prodiamine. These chemicals can help you keep these weeds from growing. You can use these chemicals by themselves or in a mixture with other chemicals. The type of formula you use depends on the kind of sod you have in your lawn. If the weeds have already grown, glyphosate can work as an effective post-emergent herbicide.
Brutal Bittercress
Bittercress is a green weed that has little white flowers. This weed starts to grow in the early spring, and it thrives in wet ground. So, you usually see this weed after a longer period of rain in North Texas.
When the weed is fully grown, its white flowers transform into pods. When these pods burst, it sends tiny seed pods into your lawn. These seeds will grow next year — unless you intervene.
As with most weeds, prevention is the best policy for dealing with bittercress. Like the dandelion, it has a long taproot, which makes it incredibly difficult to remove by hand.
However, if you mow the head of the plant often, you will destroy its ability to produce its seed pods. Destroying these pods will mean that you won't have to deal with the bittercress next year.
Malicious Mayweed
The malicious mayweed stinks. No really, it does. As a matter of fact, it's also known as the "stinking mayweed." Why? Because when you crush it, it releases a foul odor.
You can recognize the malicious mayweed by its flowerheads; they look like daisies. They also have orangish centers at the end of each stem. These weeds can grow to be two feet tall!
The best way to handle mayweed is to get it while it's young. The smaller it is, the easier it will be to kill. Some herbicides that work are bentazone, flumetsulam, thifensulfuron and clopyralid. The earlier you attack this weed, the better.
Lousy Lambsquarters
Lambsquarters is one of the most common weeds you will run into. It can be recognized by its oval and triangular leaves. It's green in color, and it usually has a white powdery coating. Like mayweed, it can grow pretty tall — up to 5 feet.
It is one of the few weeds that can actually be dangerous to the living. If you have horses or other grazing animals on your property, you want to keep them as far away from lambsquarters as possible. It's toxic.
The good news about lambsquarters is the fact that it has a short life, and it's easy to remove. Its taproots are pretty short, so removing it by hand isn't too difficult.
Remove it before it can make seeds. While the weed is short-lived, it can still leave seeds behind before it dies. Next year, these seeds will blossom into more weeds.
Another way to deal with lambsquarters is to make sure that you're mowing consistently. This practice keeps it from gaining a foothold in your lawn.
Nefarious Nutsedge
Nutsedge is another weed that looks like grass. It can be recognized by its thicker leaves that come from its base. These leaves usually grow in groups of three. The only way to destroy it is to remove the nut located at its base.
I'm going to be blunt. This plant is hard to kill.
Why? Because you have to remove every single group of nuts in the ground. Otherwise, they will resprout, and you'll have to do it all over again. If you see that there are new leaves growing, that means there are more nuts below the ground.
The best way to deal with nutsedge is to dig up the soil around each weed and get rid of it. Yes, you might be wasting soil, but you're also saving the rest of your yard from nutsedge.
In these trying times, try not to be like the weed, making life miserable for those around you. Instead, adapt to your surroundings like these plants:
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