Creeping Cinquefoil

Potentilla reptans

General - Creeping Cinquefoil is a perennial weed mainly confined to neglected lawns and longer areas of grass or turf.

It is not a problem on luxury lawns which are mown on a regular basis. It can sometimes be confused with Silverweed as the leaves are quite similar.

Leaves - The leaves consist of 5 leaflets which are toothed. They are very similar to strawberry leaves.

Flowers - The yellow flowers have 5 heart shaped petals. Creeping Cinquefoil flowers between June and September.


Habitat - Creeping Cinquefoil is often found in dry neglected areas.

Cultural Control - Raking the weed prior to mowing will severely weaken the weed and remove the creeping stems. This process should eventually eradicate the weed from the lawn.

Chemical Control - Creeping Cinquefoil is not a major problem on luxury lawns that are mown frequently. It is mainly confined to utility lawns that have been neglected. before reaching for the chemical bottle consider the cultural control methods.

If however you are intent on using chemicals use a product that contains (2,4-D and mecoprop-p) or (2,4-D and dicamba )or a mixture of (clopyralid, fluroxypyr and MCPA).

More than one application may be needed to control this weed. Selective weed killers are most effective during periods of strong growth usually between April and September.

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Weeds in the lawn

Definition of a lawn weed

A weed is a plant growing where it is not wanted.

Why do we get weeds 

During the spring and summer months, lawn weeds are one of the most common problems on the garden lawn.

Lawn weeds are more of a problem on new lawns and low maintenance lawns than on well maintained luxury lawns which contain better quality turf, better equipped to suppress any weed invasion.

Weeds are opportunistic and look for any weak or thin areas in lawns and turf. When these conditions occur this presents weeds with the perfect opportunity to invade and spread. Weeds seeds are present in the soil or can be carried in the wind or by birds.

Preventing weeds

Like many lawn care problems prevention is better than the cure. As we previously mentioned high quality lawns are better able to withstand weed problems than low maintenance lawns.

This is the because the grass it thicker with no bare areas for weeds to invade. Lawn weeds are opportunistic and look for weak areas in the lawn.
Some lawn weeds also thrive in certain conditions e.g Plantains favour compacted soils, Buttercups prefer wets soils.

Therefore, by correcting the underlying cause of the conditions that cause the weeds will help eradicate the weed in question.

The most effective way to prevent weeds in the lawn is the keep the lawn in a healthy conditions using good lawn care management practices.

A lawn that is thick and healthy gives weeds very little opportunity to invade and become a problem, those that do invade can easily be removed by hand or spot treated. Lawn care practices such as fertilising, aeration, scarification etc all add up to a healthy lawn that will be able to suppress lawn weeds.

Methods of controlling weeds

Once weeds have established and become widespread they will need removing. The two options of removing lawn weeds are by cultural methods or by chemical means using a selective weed killer.

Cultural weed removal - Quite simply this is removing the lawn weed by hand with a daisy grubber or small knife (be sure to wear protective gloves if necessary).

Certain lawn weeds like daises, plantains and can easily be removed by hand (be sure to remove all of the root), however other because of their growth habits are more difficult.

Chemical weed removal - At time the infestation may be very severe and chemicals have to be used in the form of selective herbicide's. If the weeds are few consider spot treating them. Chemicals should only be used as a last resort.

When to treat weeds

Selective weed killers should be applied between April and September, when the weeds are actively growing in the lawn. Many selective weed killers are now incorporated into a spring and summer feed & weed mixture.

These are ideal as the fertiliser in the mixture encourages grass growth for a better kill.
When using chemical wed killers it is important to follow the manufactures application and healthy & safety guidelines and recommendations.

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