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What Kills Wild Violets In Your Lawn

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How To Get Rid Of Wild Violets In Your Lawn

How to Control Wild Violets in the Lawn
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  • Working Time: 1 – 2 hrs
  • Total Time: 2 – 3 wks
  • Skill Level: Intermediate
  • Estimated Cost: $20

Wild violets are a close relative of violas, pansies, and other garden flowers. While some people view this plant as a fine wildflower, others regard it as a stubborn perennial lawn weed. Wild violets can be removed by hand, especially if you regularly inspect your lawn to control the plant before it spreads. But sometimes this weed calls for the use of chemical herbicides for complete eradication.

How To Get Rid Of Wild Violets In A Lawn

by Chelsea Fitzgerald / in Home

Wild violets are an attractive flower that grows wild in shady, moist areas of your lawn. Typically, they are purple but can also be light blue and other colours. This is a plant that is difficult to kill. It can range in height from 2 to 12 inches. It has a dense, fibrous root system that makes it difficult to pull from your lawn area. The plant is a perennial and the leaves have a waxy coating. Although they thrive in moist conditions, they are drought tolerant, thus making it harder to eliminate them from lawns.

  • Wild violets are an attractive flower that grows wild in shady, moist areas of your lawn.
  • This is a plant that is difficult to kill.

Treat the wild violets in the autumn months around mid-September to the middle of October. This gives you the best chance of eliminating or controlling them.

Spray a product containing glyphosate, dicamba or triclopyr to get rid of the wild violets. Be aware that it will also kill any other green vegetation that it touches.

Use a post-emergent broadleaved herbicide and follow the directions on the container. Make sure it specifically lists wild violets on its label as something it controls. You may have to apply this every year for it to effectively control the growth of wild violets, although it may not get rid of them permanently.

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Allyn HaneNews

Help I Have Violets And Ground Ivy In My Lawn Info & Tips For Killing Tough Weeds

Ground ivy and violets in the lawn can be the cause of a major headache. It might seem as though every year you have more and more of these persistent weeds and no matter what you try, you cant seem to get rid of them.

Youre not just imagining it. The truth is, the aggressive nature of both ground ivy and violets makes these weeds two of the toughest to get rid of. Your fight against them can almost feel futile as they seem to fight back harder. When it comes to getting rid of ground ivy and violets, youll want to take the mentality of losing the battle but winning the war to heart. Its going to be a long road, but the right treatment approach by a professional can get you there.

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What Are Native Wild Violets

Wild violet is a annual weed-like flower found in the northern parts of the united states. It blossoms in spring, and you will start to see them in the cool, humid areas of your lawn.

Dealing with native violets in your lawn can be one of the most traumatic tasks any lawn owner can ever encounter.

These pretty flowers will take over your lawn in a matter of seasons, and once in control, nothing is more tenacious like the violet flower. Eliminating wild violets in your lawn can take years so be sure to have a long-term strategy!

Are you in such a situation? You have done everything, but no matter what you do, they keep coming back? And you are left wondering, is there any form of treatment that one can use to kill these invasive flowers?

Not a very good scenario to find yourself in! Dont worry, there are a couple of things you can use to kill violets on your lawn. The next few paragraphs will have some insightful information on how to deal with these pesky flowers!

How To Kill Wild Violets

How to Kill Wild Violets Growing in the Yard Without ...

Finding yourself plucking at wild violets for hours? With a commercial lawn, it can feel like an impossible task to kill wild violets growing in the yard, but with the right methods, you can make some headway.

Neither hand-pulling violets, nor granular products, will work well to remove violets. Getting a violet fully out is tough due to its strong roots, and many solutions wont coat the leaves with enough product. So, whats the answer?

When it comes to killing wild violets, we recommend:

  • A professional-grade herbicide
  • A long-term strategy, spraying multiple times a year
  • A focused lawn care program for a thick, healthy lawn.

Wondering what herbicide kills wild violet weeds? For this, we recommend a professional-grade broadleaf liquid herbicide. This will be able to stick to leaves and kill the wild violets. Keep in mind, wild violets have a strong herbicide resistance. This means non-selective herbicides arent super effective in ridding your lawn of this pesky weed.

However, herbicide alone wont work. You not only need to spray multiple times a year to ensure you keep wild violets at bay but maintain the health of your grass as wild violets typically pop up in the more sparse areas of your lawn. To keep your lawn healthy, incorporate a solid routine of fertilization, aeration, and overseeding in the fall season.

With this method, youll help keep wild violets from overtaking your property, alleviating the headache of fast-growing weeds.

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How To Control Wild Violets

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A few wild violets can add a charming splash of color to your garden or lawn, but these weeds can spread quickly and dramatically when left unchecked. You can control violets using both chemical and organic measures, but you should know that both methods will require time and dedication.

What Are Wild Violets

Wild violets are a close relative to annual violas and pansies, Shipman says. They are a persistent, low-growing, broadleaf perennial that thrives in shady spots with moist soil, and they flower prolifically in the early spring. The plants grow between four and six inches tall, forming thick clumps with flowers that attract many pollinators.

These aggressive plants spread via rhizomes a creeping horizontal root that can produce new shoots or seeds. If you look closely, you can often see small, unopened flowers underneath the foliage, Shipman says. These can self-pollinate and produce seeds, a fascinating adaptation that ensures the next generation of plants, even if the opened flowers havent been pollinated by insects. The botanical term for this is cleistogamy.

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How To Get Rid Of Violets In Your Lawn

Before we discuss how to remove them, its important to understand what makes them so tough. The answer is two-fold. Firstly, theres the waxy substance on their leaves. As we mentioned earlier, violet leaves are unique among their perennial broadleaf friends. This makes it harder but not impossible to use herbicides. Secondly, they spread through complex rhizomes systems beneath the soil. As such, you can manually remove them, but it takes more digging than you might think. Youll need to be careful which spot treatments you choose, as they may not be powerful enough to kill the violets, but they very well may kill the grass.

How To Kill Wild Violets In Lawns

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The violet, blue or white blossoms of the wild violet , also known as the common violet, sand violet and Viola papilionacea, spread across the lawn, marring the expanse of green perfection. Removing wild violets from lawns in U.S. Department of Agriculture plant hardiness zones 3 through 9 is difficult. The plants rapidly resprout from the roots after herbicide treatments killing wild violets is a process that requires persistence by the homeowner.

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Controlling Wild Violet Weeds In The Lawn

One of the most difficult weeds to control in the lawn is wild violet. This native plant may look cute and dainty, especially in the spring when it produces pretty purple flowers. But in reality it is an aggressive weed with an unusual flowering quirk that results in thick mats of leaves that can choke out your lawn.

Wild violets are very tough plants that tolerate drought. But the ideal condition for them is moist soil, which this years above average rainfall has provided. This has resulted in vigorous growth and spreading of this weed.

In spring, wild violets produce their well-known purple flowers, which are often mowed off. But in summer violets can produce a different type of self-pollinating flower that stays below the leaves and produces seeds that are dropped in the surrounding area. These flowers will not be mowed off, allowing for a large amount of seeds to be spread. They also spread by underground stems. Using these two methods, they can eventually create dense colonies.

Wild violets can be controlled, but it does take some effort and repeat treatment. Fall is the ideal time to control wild violets as they will more readily move herbicides into the root system as they prepare for winter.

Selective broadleaf weed herbicides must list wild violet on the label to be effective. Bonide Chickweed Clover& Oxalis Killer is an option, or a product containing dicamba and triclopyr, but again it may take several applications to completely eradicate established plants.

Make Sure Your Lawn Is Healthy

Many homeowners dont take as good of care of their lawn as they should. Feed your grass with fertilizer anywhere from two to four times each year to encourage root growth and a healthy lawn. Fertilizing yourself will only take about a half hour with the right equipment. A thick, healthy lawn will prevent wild violets from growing.

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Controlling Violets In Beds And Borders

Roundup If the violets are in a spot set apart from perennials and other plants, you can use Roundup . Granted, I prefer not to use garden chemicals, but Roundup is one of the least dangerous for the wenvironment. Its a so-called non-selective weed killer: It doesnt select what plants it kills or damages. So be careful. Use it carefully on a still day when it wont blow and damage nearby plants. And Roundup is not magic. Use it on a sunny, warmer, dry day when it works best. And follow label directions, reapply every few days three or more times as needed.

Hand Weeding Hand pulling or weeding is laborious, but its the best way to control violets. You have to be persistent and do multiple weedings through the spring and summer, when violets are growing fastest. Its also a little tricky since violets have long, thin, spreading roots that are difficult to get all of. And if you leave one little bit in the soil, the violets come back. Unless the soil is very moist and soft, just pulling the violets wont work. Too much of the root will be left in the soil. Use a hoe or weeding tool to hack out most of the violet and then pull and pick any remaining bits by hand from the soil.

Mulching

Create An Environment That Is Best For Your Lawn

The Pain of Wild Violets

Take a soil test for your lawn and add the necessary treatments to correct soil pH and other deficiencies. Youll often find violets growing in soil with very low soil pH, which grass doesnt do so hot in. After you get a good handle on the violet populations, core aerate your lawn. This will relieve soil compaction and improve drainage which your grass plants will prefer.

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When To Do Away With Wild Violets

Utilizing herbicide to eliminate wild violets is best undertaken at the autumn. At this moment, the herbicide will be hauled to the taproot since the plant shops nutrition for winter. Therefore, you get a fantastic prospect of this herbicide murdering the plant all the way down to floor level using a fall program. Should you use herbicide in the summer or spring, it may just temporarily kill the leaves, allowing the plant .

What You Will Need

Protective clothing and breathing mask

Pump-style garden sprayer

Directions

How to Eliminate Wild Violets by Hand

Young wild violets are rather simple to pull hand. For larger plants, request the support of a garden fork.2

Moisten Region

Wear thick gardening gloves to protect your hands as you pull on the violets. First, moisten the region thoroughly using a garden hose, and wait for a half-hour. The water will loosen the dirt and make it much easier to pull plants.

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What Are Wild Violets And How Do I Control Them

While wild violets may sound like delightful plants and their deep purple blooms are pretty theyre actually an aggressive weed that will happily invade your lawn if left unchecked. Typically found in northern regions of the U.S., wild violets flower in the spring and prefer the damp, shady parts of your yard. Whats more, these are perennial weeds, meaning they will come back to haunt you year after year. But dont despair. Weve got wild violet control tips that can help you conquer this invader.

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Clearing Out Pretty Weeds: Moss And Wild Violets

You may appreciate certain weeds, such as moss and wild violets. Some gardeners even cultivate moss plants as an alternative to grass lawns and consider wild violets as wildflowers.

But if you wish to kill the moss in your lawn, it helps to learn more about why it’s growing in your yard in the first place. It may be an indication of deeper soil problems, such as poor drainage and circulation, low soil fertility, and unbalanced levels of pH. Learn how to fix the problems and you’ll be able to kill these weeds permanently.

Though wild violets may appeal to some, you may want to eliminate these purple or white dots from your lawn. Spray the violets in autumn with a triclopyr-based herbicide.

Reasons To Keep Them On Your Lawn

Kill Wild Violets With A Backpack Sprayer

It undeniable that even though they can be somewhat invasive, violets are pretty flowers. The flowers bloom in the early months of spring and bloom rather oftenand as a result, not everyone sees them as weeds.

There are those homeowners that are known to choose to let them grow in their lawns and elsewhere on their property.

There are a few reasons why you might want to let violets grow on your lawn:

  • They offer the ability for low maintenance of lawns.
  • You will able to avoid the use of any type of chemical or herbicide to combat them.
  • They are a favorite amongst all types of pollinatorsincluding bees.
  • If there an area of your property that you are having a problem with growing grass, violets, with their love of shady, moist areas, can prove to make them an excellent ground cover.
  • They are considered a native species, and as such, they are beneficial additions to a natural landscape design.

Finally, many are not aware that the violet is officially classified as a weed safe for consumption. Both the flowers and the stems are safe to eat, and the leaves of the younger plants have a pleasant, somewhat nutty flavor. In addition, many individuals use parts of the flowers medicinally. The acid in the leaves is said to break down and eliminate corns and warts.

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Will Boiling Water Kill Wild Violets

yes, even though boiling water kills wild violets, but can you imagine using it on a large lawn. Its only feasible on a small scale, lets say your small backyard lawn.

While violet flowers may look beautiful on your lawn -with their mesmerizing purplish blooms, violets are invasive weeds that will vigorously invade your grass if left unchecked.

Furthermore, these are yearly weeds, which means if the issue is not solved, they will be back next year and the year after.

But dont worry, as explained above there are numerous methods you have learnt on how to kill violets In the Lawn.

How To Kill Wild Violets And Discourage Them From Coming Back

  • Kill wild violets and other pesky lawn weeds with fast-acting Ortho® WeedClear Lawn Weed Killer Ready-to-Use. It’s rainproof in just an hour and won’t harm the surrounding lawn, plus the Comfort Wand makes it extra comfortable to use.
  • To kill a widespread infestation of wild violet, go with Ortho® Weedclear Lawn Weed Killer Ready-To-Spray. A single bottle treats up to 5,000 square feet and the convenient hose attachment makes application as easy as watering your lawn.
  • Regular feedings for your lawn provide the nutrients your grass needs to grow thick and strong and help crowd out weeds like wild violet.
  • Mowing at a height best for your lawn allows the grass to grow thick and develop a deep root system. Grass clippings recycle plant nutrients back into the soil, so leave them where they fall if you use a mulching mower.
  • Your lawn will begin to wilt when water is needed. As much as possible, take advantage of nature’s sprinkler and rely on the rain to water your lawn. If you do use sprinklers, set them to water your lawn deeply and infrequently. Most lawns only need an inch of water per week.

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