Which weed- Soursobs or Clover?

How do you know which weed you have? During Autumn and Winter, many clover looking weeds can start to appear in your lawn. While lots of weeds can look like clover, it's important to identify them so that you can know how to control them effectively.

We often see customers getting confused between clover, soursob, and Medic. They look similar, expecially when they are immature and while Clover and Medic can be eradicated with a broadleaf herbicide, Sour Sob has a completely different management strategy, so it is important to identify which weeds you have. 

So... How do you tell the difference? I hear you say...

Clover:

Description: Clover is a spreading type of weed characterised by white or pink flowers. Clover has trifoliate leaves (3 leaflets) and stolons (runners similar to couch and kikuyu). You will find it difficult to pull out due to its mass of runners.

Control: Spray with a broadleaf herbicide such as Amgrow Bindie. Clover can be hard to kill, so be prepared to spray several times and always use a herbicide wetting agent such as Wetter and Spreader to get the best results.

Medic:

Description: Medic looks similar to Clover, except it is rooted into the ground with one single tap root instead of having a runner system like Clover. You can recognise this weed by its green, serrated edge leaves and stems that creep closely along the ground. It also has small yellow flowers. After flowering, the tiny green pods produce prickly burrs. These will eventually dry up and turn brown, spreading seeds everywhere.

Control: Spray with a broadleaf herbicide such as Amgrow Bindie. Clover can be hard to kill, so be prepared to spray several times and always use a herbicide wetting agent such as Wetter and Spreader to get the best results.  Make sure you get this weed early, before the burrs dry out and drop off into your lawn. 

Soursobs:

Description: Soursobs only appear during the cooler months of the year. They also have a trifoliate leaf, similar in size to clover and medic however, if you look closely, you can see small, black dots on their leaves, as pictured below. Soursobs have yellow flowers, but they appear on top of a tall stem. When immature, they look remarkably like clover however, if you pull one out, you'll notice a long, white tap root. This is the easiest way to tell if it's a sour sob or not. 

Control: It's complicated! Have a read of my Soursob blog to get some ideas on how to get in front of these little blighters.

As you can see from the photos above, all of these weeds can look very similar from above however, when you pull them out and have a look at the root type, the flower type and colour, and the leaf shape, you can start to notice the differences. Knowing what you're dealing with will help you control them, especially when it comes to sour sobs. 

If you need any help or advice, give me a call at 08 8298 0555 or email me at stefan@paulmunnsinstantlawn.com.au