A Good Chemical Used to Kill Dollarweed in South Carolina

A Money Weed

• How ironic is it that both common names include monetary terms? Dollarweed, also called pennywort, resembles another weed, dichondra (Dichondra carolinensis). Both are perennial, warm-season weeds with small round leaves. Both spread on fine creeping stems that root everywhere they touch. Roots grow fast and deep on both. Both form mats and quickly take over southern lawns. The leaf margin on dollarweed is scalloped and the stem appears positioned in the leaf’s center. The leaf margin on dichondra is smooth and the stem’s position is closer to the edge creating an almost kidney-shape leaf.

Controlling Naturally

• Dollarweed indicates over-watering and an unhealthy, weak lawn. Typical suggestions for control prove difficult in humid South Carolina. Proper lawn maintenance is the first recommendation for managing dollarweed. Natural controls include using proper mowing heights for your specific lawn, changing your watering schedule, and monitoring for insects and diseases. Use caution to avoid stressing your lawn when reducing your watering schedule during hot South Carolina summers.

Hand Control

• Remove dollarweed by hand when it appears. This aggressive weed gets out of control fast. Pull them out with their roots while small; if they’ve begun to spread pulling one out might pull a chain of dollarweed, especially if the soil is wet. The warm-season growing period is lengthy and made complicated by intense heat, mosquitoes, and humidity – few homeowners are willing to hand remove this weed throughout the sticky growing season.

Last Choice Controls – Chemicals

• Dollarweed is resistant to many herbicides. Atrazine is a chemical that has proved effective for use in most southern grasses for controlling dollarweed. This selective herbicide can be applied while dollarweed is dormant or beginning to grow in late spring. Mixing instructions will vary depending on the product, but all recommend using a conventional compressed air garden sprayer with flat fan spray tips for spring treatment and spot treating during the summer. Don’t apply when temperatures are over 85 degrees or it will damage your lawn.

Cautions

• Cautions include keeping people and pets out of the area until fully dry. Read labels for specific precautions. This product is not suitable for all grasses. Do not apply on windy days and keep away from edible plants.

Through the Season

• Difficult weeds succeed because they have multiple survival strategies. Dollarweed quickly establishes roots. Stems spread rapidly laterally across soil surfaces. Flowers produce seeds that wait until germination conditions are ideal. This weed requires diligence if the goal is eradication from the lawn or garden, especially in South Carolina where the sky frequently waters yards, keeping soils wet through the growing season. Eradication will require a combination of natural controls, hand removal and chemicals.