Doveweed – gentle name, aggressive weed!

Weeds have a way of slowly squirming themselves into your landscape.  A small patch of weeds today soon becomes a large patch of weeds in a month and then it often becomes a bigger problem.   I remember soon after Hurricane Charley in 2004  a new unfamiliar weed took hold in my yard.  At first I thought that is was some new type of grass and it sort of looked good.  And then I saw the telltale purple flowers -  I had an infestation of the dreaded doveweed!

At first doveweed looks like a fine-bladed grass eventually almost looking like St. Augustine.  As such, it can go unnoticed for some time.  Preferring moist conditions, doveweed is actually a sedge-like weed with shiny leaves  attached to creeping stems that spread over the ground.  As these stems spread they can root down at the nodes.  A mower can chop doveweed into pieces and these segments can propagate themselves vegetatively all over the place.   Doveweed is actually a summer annual, so it also produces flowers and  seeds.  The seeds are also moved about by lawnmowers, birds and water.  These seeds can survive in the soil for years, so complete management is an on-going process. 

Once doveweed is identified in your lawn, what is the next step?  As this weed loves moist areas, see what you can do to improve drainage and/or reduce overwatering.  Also, be careful about your mowing height.  Mowing too short (scalping) is a bad practice and allows the doveweed to out-compete the grass.  If the infestation is small, you can eradicate it by spot treating with a non-selective herbicide such as glyphosate to “surgically” remove these offensive weeds.  Another herbicide strategy would be a properly timed pre-emergent such as atrazine in the case of St. Augustine lawns (not Bahia grass) on February 1^st .  Using atrazine as a post-emergent herbicide would also work, but not when the temperatures exceed eight-five degrees F.   As with any pesticide you use, read the label, the label is the law.

It will take more than a year to get rid of a serious doveweed infestation.  Using cultural controls hand-in-hand with chemical options should help suppress this weed.  Once under control, keep your turf in vigorous and healthy condition and monitor for future small infestations as needed.  For more information on all types of weed management information, please call our Master Gardener volunteers on the Plant Lifeline on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays from 1 to 4 pm at 764-4340 for gardening help and insight into their role as an Extension volunteer.  Don't forget to visit our other County Plant Clinics in the area.  Please check this link for a complete list of site locations, dates and times - http://charlotte.ifas.ufl.edu/horticulture/Plant%20Clinics%20Schedule.pdf.

Resources:

Leon, R. G. & Unruh, B. (2015) Doveweed (Murdannia nudiflora) Control in Warm-Season Turgrass Species.  The University of Florida Extension Service, IFAS.

Jordi, R. Weeds (2015) Doveweed. The University of Florida Extension Service, IFAS – Nassau County.

Futch, S.  H. & Hall,  D. W. Identification of Sedge and Sedge-Like Weeds in Florida Citrus.  The University of Florida Extension Service, IFAS.

Trenholm, L. E.,  Cisar J. L. & Unruh,  J. B. St. (2014) Augustinegrass for Florida Lawns. The University of Florida Extension Service, IFAS.