Weeds are pesky plants that bring down your lawn's curb appeal and steal essential nutrients for themselves. Three winter weeds that you need to watch out for on your lawn in Texas are chickweed, bittercress, and henbit. These weeds germinate in the fall and continue to grow in the winter, potentially causing problems for your grass come springtime. Chickweed has teardrop-shaped leaves and white flowers, and it can produce hundreds of seeds that remain viable in the soil for years, while bittercress can be three to ten inches tall and grows quickly. Meanwhile, henbit has purple flowers and green-purplish stems.

1. Chickweed

Chickweed is an annual winter weed that commonly plagues lawns in Texas. This weed typically grows low to the ground and creates dense patches across your turf, with teardrop-shaped leaves growing opposite each other. It also has small, white flowers, each boasting five petals, though it can look like ten with a deep division down the center. This weed is problematic for lawns because it produces hundreds of seeds, which can remain viable in the soil for several years.

Chickweed thrives in cool, moist areas with a lot of shade and fertile soil, and the best way to control it is with weed control treatments. A pre-emergent weed control treatment will help keep chickweed from emerging on your lawn in the first place, while a post-emergent application will eliminate any existing growth.

2. Bittercress

Bittercress is an invasive winter annual weed that germinates in the fall and becomes apparent on your lawn in the spring. This weed can grow anywhere from three to ten inches tall, with small, circular leaves opposite each other along the stems. Bittercress also grows small, white flowers in the spring and spreads through seeds.

While hand-pulling during the early stages can be effective against bittercress, it grows quickly, making it easy to miss the window for this method. To ensure you don't see bittercress on your lawn, pre-emergent weed control treatments are crucial. These treatments work by creating a barrier that blocks this weed from sprouting and reaching the resources it needs to grow further, preventing it from causing problems in the first place. Meanwhile, you'll want to utilize post-emergents to tackle any existing ones on your lawn.

Bittercress is part of the mustard family and is edible, with a mild, peppery flavor.

3. Henbit

Henbit is the last winter weed to keep a look out for on your lawn in Texas. It's an annual weed that boasts unique, tubular, purple flowers. This weed can also be characterized by its green-purplish, square stems with heart-shaped leaves that have scalloped edges. Henbit takes advantage of thin, weak lawns and thrives in various soil conditions. Because of its persistent growth, this weed is tough to control. You'll want to stay one step ahead of it through pre-emergent weed control treatments, which will prevent it from sprouting on your lawn. If you already have henbit on your turf, post-emergent treatments are the way to go!

Call us today to enroll in our weed control service!

Here at CitiTurf, we help residential property owners in Plano, Allen, Frisco, McKinney, and throughout the surrounding communities in Texas keep their lawns weed-free with our weed control service. This service includes routine pre- and post-emergent weed control treatments throughout the year, with visits every 1-2 months to stay on top of weed growth and ensure your lawn stays in tip-top health. What's more, we only use high-quality products effective against all types of weeds, including chickweed, bittercress, and henbit, among others! Give us a call today at 972-516-0001 to enroll in our weed control service.