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Ray everett

ray.everettray.everett Posts: 4
in Plants
Hi all, I have this blue flowered weed or plant growing in my lawn. It is a shared lawn with the house next door. The whole lawn is covered in this plant. No other lawn in the immediate area is affected. Weed killers and weed and feed have been innefective. Hope the photograph is clear enough to help in identification and for advice on how to eradicate it. Thanks in advance. Regards Ray

Posts

  • JennyJJennyJ Posts: 8,786
    Speedwell, but I'm not sure which kind.  Here's the RHS advice https://www.rhs.org.uk/advice/profile?PID=326 Apparently it's resistant to most lawn weedkillers.  Very pretty though.
    Doncaster, South Yorkshire. Soil type: sandy, well-drained
  • ray.everettray.everett Posts: 4
    Hi Jenny, thanks for the speedy reply. Speedwell you say, I will follow that up. Thanks for the website info. My lawn is all patches now where I've scraped it all off. When it first appeared we thought it was pretty but now it's taken over. Going on hols soon so hope the new grass seed has taken by the time I get back. Thanks again.
  • Paul B3Paul B3 Posts: 3,054
    Ignoring the damage done by weedkillers to micro-organisms and other wildlife attempting to exist in your lawn , why would you want to eradicate the Speedwell at all???
    My lawn in the Spring/early Summer is a blaze of Daisies , Buttercups and an introduced Pratia pedunculata , plus other low-growing flowering perennials beneficial to pollinators .
    Why would anyone want a tedious monoculture of grass , and nothing else ?
    My own is just a green pathway used to access other parts of my garden .
  • madpenguinmadpenguin Posts: 2,497
    Looks like it could it be Pratia pedunculata (Blue Star Creeper).
    I am also one of those who gave up on a 'perfect' lawn and I am introducing all sorts of weeds to my bit of grass.
    Spent an hour cutting the lawn yesterday on my hands and knees and a pair of hand shears.I actually found it quite fascinating to see all the different plants growing there!
    “Every day is ordinary, until it isn't.” - Bernard Cornwell-Death of Kings
  • Silver surferSilver surfer Posts: 4,429
    edited September 2018
    Welcome to the forums.

    Agree Pratia pedunculata.
    Veronica...speedwell can be rules out as they only have 4 petals.

    http://www.harperleyhallfarmnurseries.co.uk/pratia-pedunculata-county-park
    Perthshire. SCOTLAND .
  • Paul B3Paul B3 Posts: 3,054
    My Pratia pedunculata was an 'escapee' from the rockery nearly thirty years ago ; gives a bit of interest to the lawn ! :)
  • ObelixxObelixx Posts: 29,099
    They're pretty and, unless you're into crown bowling, a perfect green lawn is almost impossible to maintain without loads of chemicals and constant, time-consuming fussing so I would embrace the diversity and thus allow a greater range of micro-organisms and insects to thrive.


    Vendée - 20kms from Atlantic coast.
    "We don't stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing." - George Bernard Shaw
  • ray.everettray.everett Posts: 4
    Thanks for all your replies. I like the smell of a freshly cut lawn so will carry on trying to eradicate the problem weed. 
  • Silver surferSilver surfer Posts: 4,429
    Pratia has really tiny leaves...it is extremely low growing with stems that creep ....when you mow the grass the mower will not harm it.
    Just learn to love it...it will be so much easier than trying to eradicate it.

    https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=Pratia+pedunculata.+leaves&rlz=1C1CHBF_enGB785GB785&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwit3Ybn-vjdAhVDZFAKHZScC54Q_AUIDigB&biw=1920&bih=938#imgrc=hTi4qK8rMUyi9M:
    Perthshire. SCOTLAND .
  • ray.everettray.everett Posts: 4
    Finally found out that Weedol sees off this pesky weed. Bought a bottle of it from Wilco, sprayed the patches of 'Speedwell?', and after a couple of weeks the weed was DEAD.
    Thanks again for the advice. 
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