Virginia Buttom weed

Identification & Culture:
Primarily a problem in the South, Virginia buttonweed sprouts in early summer and grows until a frost. It is a low-growing perennial weed with long, pointed leaves that grow opposite one another along its stem. Its white flowers resemble a four-pointed star. This weed roots into the ground at nodes along its stem, and spreads through rhizomes, which are below-ground runners or stems. It produces hairy, oval-shaped seed-pods, each containing two seeds.

Control:
Virginia button weed is a very difficult weed to control. If any portion of its below ground stem remains after hand-pulling or herbicide application, it can produce another plant. Controlling Virginia buttonweed with herbicides usually requires more than one application in the same season.

The best herbicides to control this weed are not readily available to homeowners. Combinations of active ingredients like clopyralid + triclopyr (found in Confront®), 2,4,D + dicamba + fluroxypyr (found in Escalade™), and sulfosulfuron (found in Certainty®) provide good control. Your lawn care professional should apply these active ingredients in two applications about 14 days apart.

Herbicides more commonly available to homeowners, such as 2,4-D, MCPP, and dicamba (found in Trimec®) can provide some control if you apply them more than twice during the same season.

Organic Option:
Constant hand-pulling of Virginia buttonweed can starve the plant of its carbohydrate reserves, eventually killing it. But hand-pulling must be continual because of this weed’s rapid growth and ability to reproduce above ground via seeds and below ground via rhizomes. Fertilize your lawn regularly and water during hot periods to help your lawn prevent these and other weeds from germinating.