These dainty, unassuming purple flowers can appear charming and innocent when they bloom in Spring and early Summer, but give them an inch and they will take over your lawn. They are the ultimate wolf in sheep's clothing. Wild violets, not to be confused with African violets - which are house plants, are an aggressive weed with an unusual flowering quirk that results in thick mats of leaves that can choke out your lawn before you even realize what is happening.

In the Spring, wild violets produce their well-known purple flowers (or sometimes yellow or white flowers). These purple flowers are easy to mow off, and forget about. But come Summer, these violets will produce a different type of self-pollinating flower that grows low to the ground -  or even underground - which will drop seeds all across your lawn. These low-growing flowers can not be caught with the lawn mower, which allows them to reproduce in huge numbers, and quickly spread across your turf grass.  They also spread from their underground stems, and eventually create dense colonies from which it can be nearly impossible to regain control.

So...What can be done if you have little purple flowers cropping up across your lawn?

1. Prevention - cultivating and maintaining a dense, healthy turf grass will help prevent wild violets from taking root in your lawn. But if they've already appeared, you'll need to employ another strategy.
2. Herbicides - there are two types of herbicides that can be effective against wild violets, but note it can be an involved process, that will require multiple applications to be successful
   1. Selective Broadleaf Herbicides (Chickweed Clover& Oxalis Killer is an option) - if choosing this type, the label must notate that it is effective against wild violets. Because this weed's root system is widespread, repeated treatment will be required to gain control.
   2. Non-selective Herbicides (Round-up, organic herbicides) - Non-selective herbicides will also kill any plant they contact, including grass, so protect surrounding areas with a shield of cardboard or use a brush to apply only to the violets.  

1. Pre-emergent - once you've successfully killed the existing wild violets in your lawn, it will be important to put down a weed pre-emergent in the Fall and again next Spring to make sure that any violet seeds that have dropped will not take root again in your lawn.

Would you like help establishing or maintaining a healthy, dense turf grass yard, that discourages weed growth and leaves your neighbors marvelling? Weed Pro’s team of professionals is here to help you through every step of the lawncare process! Here is the link to our packages page to learn more about what we offer or you can get a FREE estimate now! Just click below to get your FREE estimate today!