Crabgrass
Crabgrass is a grassy weed that often becomes problematic in lawns and gardens, particularly in lawns that are not well cared for. They are annual plants, and one plant is capable of producing 150,000 seeds per season. The seeds germinate in the late spring and early summer and drive out the desired plants—domesticated lawn grasses, vegetable plants, etc.—and expand outward in a circle up to 12 inches in diameter. In the fall, when the plants die, they leave large voids in the lawn, which become prime areas for crabgrass seeds to germinate the following season. Crabgrass, because its color and texture differ from those of the usual grass in landscapes, also interrupts the uniformity of a lawn. Crabgrass can be controlled with pre-emergent herbicides.

Dallisgrass
Dallisgrass is a perennial grass. Its rapid growth and profuse seed production enable it to quickly invade garden or orchard areas. The mature plant forms loose bunches that are 1 to 4 feet tall. The flower head consists of 3 to 6 spikes that arise apart on the stem and often droop. The leaf sheath is flattened; at the base, it is hairy, often tinged red, and usually inflated. The underground shoots are fairly short with areas that appear as concentric rings. The only product that can control this weed is MSMA, which has been taken off the market.

Dandelion:
Dandelions are tap-rooted perennial plants, and are moderately tough to control because of their deep roots. The leaves are 5-25 cm long; as the leaves grow outward they push down the surrounding vegetation, such as grasses, killing the vegetation by cutting off the sunlight. A bright yellow flower, 2 to 5 cm in diameter, is borne singly on a hollow stem (scape) which rises 4-30 cm above the leaves and exudes a milky sap (latex) when broken. Each plant may produce several flowering stems at a time. Dandelions produce a seed head with brown seedlings possessing a parachute of hairs which serve to make the seedlings airborne.

Nutsedge
Nutsedges, also called nut grasses, are very aggressive and persistent grassy weeds that commonly infest lawns, vegetable and flower gardens, and home landscapes. They can be very difficult to eradicate and their control is likely to be a long process. Its leaves are flat or slightly corrugated, with purple to reddish brown seedheads, which form at the end of triangular stems. They reproduce mainly by tubers. Purple nutsedge tubers are oblong, hairy, and are bitter to the taste. Yellow nutsedge tubers are round, hairless, and are sweet to the taste. Nutsedge's leaves will die in the fall, but the tubers survive the winter underground, and will re-sprout in spring and early summer. Yellow nutsedge is more common than purple nutsedge, due to its higher cold tolerance, but purple nutsedge is more vigorous than yellow once established.

Fireweed or American Burnweed
Fireweed has leave of 2 to 8 inches in length, with sharp points and irregularly serrated edges. The plants may be anywhere between 1 and 10 feet in height. The stems sprout small (3-10 mm) , pale flowers. They appear in the spring, usually after heavy rain. These weeds cannot be controlled by pre-emergents because they grow on the thatch (the layer of decomposing plant material tightly interwoven with living tissue between the soil surface and green vegetation). The more thatch your lawn has, the more fireweeds you will see.

Chickweed
Chickweed is one of the most common broadleaf weeds. It is a mat-forming annual with numerous branched stems. The leaves are smooth and oval to broadly elliptic in shape. The flowers grow in small clusters; each has 5 deeply notched petals. It is sensitive to drought and is one of the first weeds to wilt in dry conditions; it grows best in cool, humid conditions. Chickweed reproduces throughout the year, even when covered by snow; each plant puts out an average of 2,450 seeds over their life span of 5-6 weeks. The seeds germinate year-round, but most frequently in spring and autumn. Chickweed seeds can remain viable for nearly 40 years, and will survive extreme temperatures.

Poa Annua (Annual Bluegrass)
Annual bluegrass is a short, cool-season annual grassy weed that dies early in the summer when the top layer of soil dries out. It can easily be distinguished from other grassy weeds by its atypical leaf tip, which is shaped like a boat's bow. The leaf blade is often crinkled at the midsection. The mature plant grows as dense, low-spreading tufts, 3 to 12 inches tall. The seedheads are whitish with little to no hair; they are arranged in small clusters. This plant reproduces by seed, and germinates in fall.

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