Wherever lawns are planted in compacted, nitrogen-poor soil, broadleaf plantain is not far away. With its strong taproots, the weeds spread vehemently in the lawn and mercilessly suppress the shallow-rooted, weak-competitive noble grasses. With the right strategy, there is a good chance of permanently removing plantain. Read how to do it here.
How can you control broadleaf plantain in the lawn?
To combat broad plantain effectively, remove the plant including the taproot with a weed cutter or by intensive scarifying if the infestation is large. Fertilization and liming promote the growth of lawn grasses and thus prevent them from spreading again.
Remove broad plantain manually – plucking alone is not enough
As the broad plantain profile shows, the plant drives a taproot up to 80 cm long into the ground. In order to permanently remove weeds, it is not enough to simply pluck out the leaves and flower spikes. Digging with a hand shovel or spade leaves unsightly holes in the lawn. It is better if you use a weed cutter for effective weeding (€8.00 on Amazon). This is how it works:
- The best time is immediately after a rain shower, when the ground is soft
- Drive the weed cutter so deep into the ground that the taproot is completely covered
- Pull the broad plantain out of the ground by moving the device back and forth
By the way, the palm-sized leaves are far too good to be disposed of in the compost. Since the foliage of Plantago major is edible, you can prepare a crisp salad from the tender leaves.
How to remove broadleaf plantain with mechanical assistance
If the weeds have already spread over a large area in the lawn, the weed cutter will prove to be ineffective. Instead, an intensive lawn treatment solves the problem. To do this, mow the grass as short as possible in order to scarify it lengthwise and crosswise. Subsequent fertilization with a special lawn fertilizer completes the care program.
If a pH test shows a result of less than 5.5, that is good for broadleaf plantain and bad for your lawn. With the help of lime you can bring the soil acidity back into balance so that the noble grasses gain the upper hand over the weeds.
Tip
Regular mowing the lawn has a preventive effect against broadleaf plantain in the lawn. The weeds are not given the opportunity to spread further via seeds. As a result, the lawn must not be mowed too short. With a perfect cutting height of 4 to 5 mm, the weeds lie in the permanent shadow of the lawn grass and die due to a lack of light.
