Nothing spoils a gorgeous landscape like weeds. Boldly growing exactly where you don’t want them to, they ruin an otherwise beautifully planted flower bed.
Even though common landscape weeds make up just a teeny-tiny fraction of the thousands and thousands of plant varieties, they can quickly become a big nuisance. See, common weeds are survivors and thrivers. They grow anywhere and everywhere—left on their own, they can dominate the landscape, leaving it looking sloppy and unkempt, and crowding out plants you may actually want to grow!
Check out this guide to some common landscape weeds you may spy in your yard.

Clover
WHAT CLOVER LOOKS LIKE: Green, low-growing plant with 3-part leaves and round white or pink flowers
WHERE CLOVER LIKES TO GROW: Moist and undernourished places
CLOVER'S GROWING STYLE: Coming back year after year
CLOVER'S SUPERPOWER: Feeding itself by producing its own nitrogen
CLOVER'S ENEMIES:
- Healthy soil
- Barrier cloth, landscape fabric, mulch
HOW TO GET RID OF CLOVER
- Maintain a thick lawn—feed it fertilizer 4 times a year.
- Raise your mowing height.
- Reapply Roundup® For Lawns1 Ready-to-Use each year to your lawn (clover can stay dormant in the soil for years).

Foxtail
WHAT FOXTAIL LOOKS LIKE: Grassy with tapered blades and bristly, spike-like tails
WHERE FOXTAIL LIKES TO GROW: Sunny spots
FOXTAIL'S GROWING STYLE: Growing fast and throwing (literal) shade on small landscape plants
FOXTAIL'S SUPERPOWER: Producing A chemical at its roots that can reduce nearby plant competition
FOXTAIL'S ENEMIES:
- Shade
- Proper growing conditions
HOW TO GET RID OF FOXTAIL
- Maintain a thick, lush lawn (feed it 4 times per year) and mow your grass at the right height for your grass type.
- Apply Roundup® For Lawns1 Ready-to-Use, following all label directions.

Goosegrass
WHAT GOOSEGRASS LOOKS LIKE: Smooth, flattened leaves with silver- or white-centered rosettes
WHERE GOOSEGRASS LIKES TO GROW: Any area with compacted soil
GOOSEGRASS’ GROWING STYLE: Full sun and poor drainage
GOOSEGRASS’ SUPERPOWER: Ability to grow up to 2’ high and spread up to 2’ wide
GOOSEGRASS’ ENEMIES:
- Hard frost
- A thick layer of mulch
HOW TO GET RID OF GOOSEGRASS:
- Feed your lawn 4 times per year, mow at the right height for your grass type, and water your lawn deeply but infrequently (an inch of water per week).
- Apply Roundup® Landscape Weed Preventer twice a year, following all label directions.

Henbit
WHAT HENBIT LOOKS LIKE: Square stems with rounded, scalloped-edge leaves, blue-purple spring flowers, and seeds that germinate in the fall
WHERE HENBIT LIKES TO GROW:Under trees and shrubs where other plants can’t take hold
HENBIT’S GROWING STYLE: Moist soil and in the shade
HENBIT'S SUPERPOWER: Self-pollination, allowing it to produce seeds on its own and spread them (aggressively)
HENBIT’S ENEMIES:
- Hot summer temps
- A generous mulch layer
HOW TO GET RID OF HENBIT:
- Get to it before it has a chance to flower, as it’s harder to remove it once it blooms.
- Use Roundup® For Lawns Products while henbit is young and actively growing—it kills weeds without harming your lawn when used as directed.
- Maintain a lawn in tip-top shape.
Lambsquarter
WHAT LAMBSQUARTER LOOKS LIKE: Young plants have alternate, oval-triangular leaves that are bluish-green on top and purplish-red underneath; older plants have green leaf tops and grayish-white under-leaves
WHERE LAMBSQUARTER LIKES TO GROW: Thrives almost everywhere, with seeds surviving in the soil 20, 30, even 40 years if left alone
LAMBSQUARTER’S GROWING STYLE: Productive—up to 100,000 seeds on a single plant
LAMBSQUARTER’S SUPERPOWER: Edible when young
LAMBSQUARTER’S ENEMIES:
- Tilling and uprooting
- Extreme heat
HOW TO GET RID OF LAMBSQUARTER:
- Keep your lawn strong by feeding it regularly and mowing at the right height.
- Spray Roundup® For Lawns Products products on problem areas when weeds are young and actively growing (use as directed).

Purslane
WHAT PURSLANE LOOKS LIKE: Fast-growing, edible annual with thick, light green- to maroon-colored, succulent stems and 5-petal green leaves.
WHERE PURSLANE LIKES TO GROW: Anywhere there’s full sun
PURSLANE’S GROWING STYLE: Heat and humidity
PURSLANE’S SUPERPOWER: Stores water in its leaves and re-roots from stem pieces
PURSLANE’S ENEMIES:
- Frost
- Pests like sawfly and leafminer weevil
WAYS TO STOP PURSLANE:
- Crowd it out of the lawn by maintaining thick, lush grass.
- Spray control on your lawn in summer, while it’s actively growing. Use Roundup® For Lawns3 Ready-To-Spray on Northern grasses and Roundup® For Lawns6 Ready-To-Spray on Southern grasses.
- Do NOT pull on it. Hand removal doesn’t work on purslane, because even the tiniest piece left behind can form a new plant.
Common landscape weeds can take root in even the most inhospitable conditions and once they do, they hang on with all they’ve got. So, the very best way to deal with them is to prevent them from emerging in the first place.
By applying Roundup® Landscape Weed Preventer or other recommended controls (as directed) around your landscape (prior to mulching), you can stop all 6 of these weeds—plus many, many more—before they’ve even had a chance to grow. It creates a weed barrier when applied, so instead of sprouting, the underground roots and shoots of weeds die before you even see them.
Take that, common landscape weeds!

We believe that responsible weed control is an art. So we've put together some fundamental info about those mean, green outdoor nuisances.

Controlling unruly weeds isn't just about making your landscape look pretty. It's also a great way to help out plants that are native to your ecosystem.

Weeds love to hang out in your flower and landscape beds.

If you’re ready to stop pulling weeds and start preventing them.