You might be standing on your lawn looking at a growing bunch of small white flowers, wondering what they are. They kind of look like daisies, but there’s definitely something different about them.
Well, there are many weeds with small daisy-like flowers, and knowing exactly what plant you have growing in your lawn is important if you want to tackle it the right way. Let’s go over some weeds that look like daisies so that you can tell them apart and get rid of them for good.
Most Common Weeds that Look Like Daisies (The Short Answer)
There are many flowering weeds that look like daisies which you will find in lawns across the United States. While they have similar qualities, if you look closely, they have differing characteristics. Here are 5 examples of weeds with small daisy-like flowers:
- Chickweed
- Chamomile
- Fleabane
- Capeweed
- Aster
A Closer Look at Lawn Weeds that Look Like Daisies
You’ve probably seen a daisy before. It’s a small flower made up of many tiny white or yellow petals surrounding a yellow, round middle. But as it turns out, there are a lot of weeds that have small daisy-like flowers.
So, how can you tell if the flowering weed in your yard is a daisy or something else? Let’s dive in and go over the characteristics of similar plants so you can tell them apart.
Chickweed – Stellaria media
You’ll find Chickweed mainly in the northern states and along the west coast on beaches and even mountains. So, you might see chickweed if you live in California, but less likely on a lawn down in Florida. Here’s how you can identify Chickweed.
What Chickweed Looks Like
Chickweeds are weeds that look like mini daisies. You’ll probably see this annual weed flowering in the spring months. Like daisies, chickweeds have small white petals surrounding a round center. While daisies have up to 30 petals, chickweeds only have 5 petals. The petals are lobed, making it seem like there are twice as many.
Unlike daisies, chickweeds have a star-shaped sepal, a green base you can see beneath the petals. Now, you’ll also know it’s chickweed if you see waxy oval-shaped leaves that sprout opposite one another along the stem.
This plant grows close to the ground, up to about 8 inches.
What Chickweed Does
Now, chickweeds may look small and harmless, but they do a lot of damage to your yard. If you don’t keep your eye on them, they’ll quickly spread around the lawn. Once it flowers, it spreads hundreds of seeds, making future removal a real headache. A chickweed invasion in your yard will drain the soil of nutrients and water and starve out your lawn.
How to Get Rid of Chickweed
Common chickweed is an annual plant that likes compact and moist soil. To stop it from making a home on your lawn, you’ll have to get rid of the additional moisture and pull the plant out. If you catch it early on, you can pull it out with your hand pretty easily.
You can also use a broadleaf targeted weed killer. If you want to prevent its growth, mulch the beds and apply a pre-emergent weed killer to keep it from germinating.
Chamomile – chamomilla
If you come across wild grass anywhere in the United States, you’ll probably see some Chamomile. This plant grows in pastures, parkland, farmers’ crop fields, and along highways. So, I’m pretty sure you have come across Chamomile while out walking your dog and maybe even on your lawn. Here’s how to spot a Chamomile next time you’re out and about.
What Chamomile Looks Like
Yes, this is the same stuff you drink in your tea. Chamomile, like daisies, has white flowers with a yellow middle. You can tell it apart from daisies by its single layer of white, thin petals that grow downwards, making its yellow center stand out.
If you’ve got chamomile growing in your yard, then you’ll see it flowering from late spring through the summer. Chamomile plants can grow up to 3 feet.
What Chamomile Does
Like most weeds, chamomile quickly spreads and becomes invasive. So if you see it, attack it immediately. Before you know it, this flowering weed will spread thousands of seeds and completely take over your yard. As the chamomile grows, it will suffocate the yard and plants around it.
How to Get Rid of Chamomile
This is one tough weed to get rid of. If you let it get out of hand, it will spread thousands of seeds around the yard, and each seed has the ability to live up to 11 years. So, tackling it as soon as possible is key here.
If you have a small amount of the plant growing in your yard, then you can easily pull it out by hand or dig it out. But if it’s gotten out of control, then you’ll have to use a herbicide.
Fleabane – Pulicaria dysenterica
There are many species of Fleabane found all across North America. You’ll probably see Fleabane’s daisy-like flowers popping up in flower beds, parking lots, next to the bleachers at the ballpark, and of course, in your front yard. Let’s take a look at what to look for when trying to spot a Fleabane on your lawn.
What Fleabane Looks like
Fleabane is another small daisy-like flower weed. Unlike daisies, the fleabane flower looks more like a disk. It has thin petals that grow flat around a yellow center. Each flower head has between 40 to 100 ray florets or petals. You’ll see fleabane flowering in mid-summer to early fall.
This annual plant likes full sun and dry soil. It grows in clusters on straight, thin stems between 1 to 3 feet tall. You’ll notice that the base of the plant has long, thick green leaves that get smaller as they reach the top, growing about 2 to 6 inches tall and 1 to 3 inches wide.
What Fleabane Does
Fleabane is a tough plant that will out-compete native plants. Its seeds travel in the wind and can become a real problem because a single plant can produce over 100,000 seeds. That can quickly turn into a lot of fleabane plants growing in your yard if you don’t tackle it in time. Like most invasive weeds, fleabane will take all the moisture from the soil and really hurt your lawn.
How to Get Rid of Fleabane
If you catch it in its early stages, you can pull fleabane out with your hands. Like all these flowering plants, catching it early is key. When out of control, you’ll have to pull the weed out and apply pre-emergent and post-emergent herbicides to attack it at different stages of its growth cycle.
Capeweed – Arctotheca calendula
Capeweed actually gets its name from its native home. Not Cape Cod, not Cape Fear, and definitely not Cape Canaveral. It’s actually the Cape of Africa. Now that it’s here in the States, it’s worked its way into several invasive species lists across numerous states.
So, if you’re in an arid state like southern California, Texas, or Arizona, you’ll probably have to deal with Capeweed in your lawn. Here’s how to tell a Capeweed from a Daisy.
What Capeweed Looks Like
Capeweed has tiny daisy-like flowers that are bright yellow with a dark middle. You’ll know it’s a Capeweed because its stem is covered in white wooly hairs. Its leaves are low to the ground and have hairy white undersides. This small daisy-like flower weed blooms in the spring and dies off in the summer.
You can tell it apart from daisies because it grows outward along the ground, forming a blanket. If you live in coastal or arid areas, then you’re probably familiar with Capeweed as it likes growing in these tough conditions.
What Capeweed Does
Now, capeweed is usually used as a ground cover because it develops runners that grow outward like a spiderweb. It spreads very quickly and suffocates all the surrounding plants. If it gets out of control, it will completely cover the area and remove all the nutrients and moisture from the soil.
How to Get Rid of Capeweed
Staying ahead of Capeweed is the best way to control it. Removing it before it has time to flower and drop thousands of seeds around your yard is key to preventing it from germinating. If you only have a small cluster and pull it out by hand, make sure to cut the taproot below the soil.
If you’re battling a large growth of Capeweed, then you’ll have to tackle it with selective herbicides that won’t hurt your lawn. It’s best to attack this weed in the fall months while it’s actively growing.
Aster – Asteraceae
This little native flower is actually related to the daisy and can easily be mistaken. It’s also a relative of the much bigger sunflower. Not so easily mistaken with this relative. There are actually over 32,000 different species of the Asteraceae, including the New England Aster and the New York Aster, commonly found throughout North America.
So, if you have ever sat on the grass in Central Park, you probably sat on a New York Aster. Here are the characteristics to look for when identifying Aster in your yard.
What Aster Looks Like
Aster is another daisy-like weed, and it can bloom in different colors like white, pink, or blue. Like daisies, the central disk is yellow. Now, the stem is hard and smooth with a red tone and branches out towards the top.
If you’ve got a sunny spot in your yard with poor drainage, then this is where the aster will thrive. You won’t catch this flower for long, it’s an annual plant that blooms for a short period in late summer to early fall.
What Aster Does
Even though the aster plant produces pretty flowers, it can become a real problem very fast. Like most weeds, the aster produces a lot of seeds and can spread out quickly across your lawn. It will harm the native plants and your lawn by sucking up nutrients and water from the soil. An Aster plant will also block sunlight from reaching your lawn. As I said, pretty-but-deadly.
How to Get Rid of Aster
Aster can be pulled by hand when it is still young. I suggest you just wait until the soil is moist to make it easier. After weeding, keep an eye on the area and pull out any weeds that pop up before they have a chance to grow. You can keep it under control by spraying pre-emergent and post-emergent herbicides targeted for broadleaf weeds.
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