Petty Spurge In Lawns And Gardens

Petty Spurge is an abundant but easily killed weed in home lawns and gardens in Australia. The weed has 1 – 4 stems of a reddish colour, and has pale green leaves and similar looking flowers which are often indistinguishable from the leaves. The stems can grow up to 10 cm in height from the base of the plant.

This lawn weed isn’t a very strong competitor and can only survive by being an opportunist, Petty Spurge could never establish in a well cared for lawn but will establish itself in bare areas of turf, open garden beds, paths and anywhere else it can plant itself where it doesn’t need to compete for space or resources with lawns or other plants.

Controlling Petty Spurge

Petty Spurge is a weak structured weed, with a very fine root system and the rest of the plant being easily broken. The weak structure of Petty Spurge makes the weed very easily controlled by pulling directly out of the ground by hand, being sure to take the base of the weed in the process.

Breaking Petty Spurge off at the stem will not usually kill the plant, if the base is left in place with it’s root system, Petty Spurge can regenerate, this is why removing the base (crown) is important – as long as the base is removed – the roots can stay in the ground to die on their own accord.

How To Kill Petty Spurge

Petty Spurge is easily killed in home lawns with the use of Broadleaf herbicides, and can be killed in garden beds by hand pulling or raking over the weed to dislodge it from the soil. Petty Spurge can be killed in paths by the use of a broad spectrum herbicide such as Glyphosate or by hand pulling if possible.