Common Chickweed (Stellaria media)
Common chickweed is a cool-season annual (sometimes perennial in cool, moist settings) that reproduces by seeds. This weed may persist through summer in sites protected from heat and drought. Common chickweed is low-growing and can form large, dense patches. The hairy, creeping stems root at nodes and produce shallow, fibrous roots. Leaves of common chickweed are bright green, opposite, simple, broadly oval, and usually less than 1 inch long. The margins are entire. The small, white flowers of common chickweed 1/2 inch in diameter, and star shaped with five petals. Flowering occurs during the spring.
Occurrence
Common chickweed occurs in cool, moist, shady, often compacted, fertile sites in spring and autumn.
Non-Chemical Control
To control common chickweed without chemicals, maintain turf density and health using proper culture, allow turf to dry between waterings, and mechanically remove.
Chemical Control
Apply postemergence herbicides in mid spring to early summer and/or mid to late autumn during active growth; apply preemergence herbicides before germination in late summer or early autumn.
