Chickweed

Chickweed is a cool-season annual weed that thrives in moist, shaded lawns and gardens. Known for its small white flowers and sprawling growth habit, chickweed can quickly form dense mats that crowd out desirable turfgrass. It’s one of the first weeds to emerge in late fall or early spring and can persist through mild winters.

How to Identify

Chickweed has smooth, bright green leaves that grow opposite each other along thin, creeping stems. The leaves are oval with pointed tips and have little to no hair on the upper surface. Tiny white, star-shaped flowers with five deeply lobed petals appear in clusters at the stem ends. The plant forms a dense mat that hugs the ground and can root at the nodes wherever the stem touches soil.

Lifecycle

Chickweed is a winter annual, meaning it germinates in the fall, grows through the cool months, and produces seed in spring before dying off in summer heat. In cooler regions, it can act as a short-lived perennial.

Prevention & Control

For best results, control chickweed with a pre-emergent herbicide applied in early fall before germination or a selective post-emergent herbicide during active growth. Maintaining a thick, healthy lawn through proper mowing and fertilization helps prevent chickweed from establishing.