Prunella/Clover weedkiller

Wondering if anyone can suggest a good lawn weedkill which kills off clover (purple). I have successfully got rid of the white variety using Weedol lawn weedkiller but it doesn't appear to touch the purpley stuff.

Help appreciated.

GG

 

It's strange you should ask this GG. I was checking my lawn today to see if I'd got rid of the same thing. Most of it has gone but it will need a second treatment. I use Verdone Extra, I find it better than Weedol.

 

Thanks Sheal, I was told by my local nurseryman that Verdone is now called Weedol, not sure if it is a company merge or just rebranding or what, he is generally a reliable sort. You cannot buy Verdone around here anymore, it is all Weedol. The one thing I'm not sure of is the meaning of the 'extra' bit in the name and if that has been carried over to Weedol. OOps realise I've led everyone up the garden path a bit ... sorry.


EDIT: Actually got down on my hands and knees and have discovered, I think, that it is not clover but Prunella (selfheal), I'm going on a proper ID search but feel confident I've made a mistake. Well I feel like a nitwit, but perhaps I have learned something in the process.

GG

 

It is supposed to kill that as well, but it does not. It is supposed to kill Black Medick (yellow clover), but it doesn't.

 

Have you tried scarifying the lawn first as this will bring up more foliage to apply the weed killer too? (I'm guessing).

 

I have found in the back of the shed some lawn feed and weed liquid (got it from Wilko) and its ingredients are the ones most websites advise is best for Prunella, ingredients are:

2-4D
Mecoprop-P
Dichlorprop-P

Quite different from Weedol/Verdone ingredients.

@Palustris - thanks for that input, have you found anything that is effective for selfheal?

This seems a decent website that lists the ingredients in the major brands:

http://www.lawnweeds.co.uk/selfheal.html

Thanks
GG

 

Yes tried the scarifying and trying to get the lawn healthy as a natural way to control it, but has not worked well this year. Previous years were not a big problem as it was just some patches here and there that I didn't mind. This year despite doing a lawn weed and feed in spring it has gone rampant.

I did give it an extra rake over to expose them and applied the wilko stuff a bit earlier on. Hopefully that may sort it.

Thanks

 

We have done the scarifying thing and now on the third application of Lawn Weed stuuf (think it is Weedol ) and despite them saying only one application is needed, the Prunella still grows. Nice plant in the right place, but it does spill over into the borders and chokes nicer plants.
Not really researched any other makes, too busy with other gardening tasks, but I must do it soon.
Thanks for the info and leads.

 

I've heard the Westlands Resolva range is good but I've not used it.

 

I will report back on my little experiment though afraid it will not help your purple (red) clover problem Sheal. Let us know if yours is sorted with the Verdone which is the suggested best one I think.
I must admit I am a bit torn on the lawn weed treatments as I prefer to use as little chemicals as possible and have a bit of mixture of grass/weeds, yet want a nice generally nice grassy lawn for which I think the second suggested follow up treatment is probably a good idea. Hence my very imperfect lawn. Decisions, decisions.

Thanks all,
GG

 

My lawns are far from weed free too, but there comes a point when they need to be controlled. I'm having a year in year out battle with creeping buttercup and dandelions. I think I'm winning......slowly.

I need to pick up some more weed killer but I'll let you know how it goes.

 

A little tip but to get best performance from a weed killer you need to spray while the plant is flowering if possible and apply a fertiliser a week or two before.
The fertiliser helps the uptake of the weed killer as the target plant is actively growing.
Some plants are resistant to chemicals so several treatments may be needed.
Conditions also effect the treatment. Try to spray on a calm dry day, not in direct sunlight.
Look for some of the more trade related weed and feed straight fertilisers that have a lower N than the more domestic stuff.
Straight fertilers will last for about 6 weeks if applied at max strength and its max that you need to be as they are a mixture of chemicals. Normal granular and liquid feeds can be adjusted through simple mathematic calculations so the NPK level can be adjusted but weed and feeds need to be applied at full rate for them to be effective.

 

@Palustris - I said I'd report back on effectiveness on the prunella. This is 9-10 days after the application. Effectiveness is a bit patchy by the looks of it, perhaps 90% seems to be yellowing/dying. Could be my uneven application or more subborn areas? But looks promising, will see how things develop over the next couple of months for a proper assessment.

Here are some random photos of treated areas, plus the ingredients shown on the stuff that seems to work.









HTH
GG

 

Thanks. Will see if our Wilko's have any.

 

Just a quick update. Can confirm it seems to have done a decent job on about 90%. Happy with having a bit in the lawn. Lawn has baldy bits but better. Will let it recover for a while and then scarify in the autumn. Will probably re-apply in spring and be a bit more diligent in future about letting weeds get out of hand and hopefully have a half decent bit of grass on the go.