What is Black Medic?

Black Medic, is a Summer Annual Weed. As a summer annual, it germinates sometime in the late spring, grows well during the heat of summer then dies off with the cold weather. Black Medic is sometimes referred to as “yellow clover” because it looks like clover but has a yellow flower.

Why do I have Black Medic?

A little Black Medic is normal. It is an annual and will fill in bare areas during the heat of summer. A lot of Black Medic indicates that either you’re mowing too short in the spring and summer; or that your lawn is just not thick enough or healthy enough to compete with it; or that your grass types might not be strong enough to compete with it.

What can I do about Black Medic?

Since Black Medic will die soon anyway, the bulk of your effort should go into improving your lawn to prevent it next year. But here are a few things you can do to eliminate it right away.  You can pick it!  You don’t need to worry about getting too much of the roots, just get the main part of the plant.  Another is to use a natural weed suppressent which will have some success but can also cause stress on the existing grasses so it should be used sparingly.  If you don’t want to worry about removing it right now, you can just focus your efforts on preventing it next year (keep reading).

Preventing Black Medic next year

Black Medic and other annual weeds will emerge where your lawn is not competing. It could be that you’re just mowing your lawn too short and keeping your lawn from competing.

It could also be that the grasses you have are weaker older grasses that just don’t fight that well. If you have older poor grasses, a total renovation might be the best choice. If you don’t want to go that far, simply Super Seeding what you already have may really help.

Contact us to learn more or to get our opinion on what would be best for your situation.