A weed is a plant that has mastered every survival skill except for learning how to grow in rows.
Here at Rasmussen Landscapes, we define a weed simply as a plant growing in an unintended place or in an undesirous way. Under that definition, just about any plant can be defined as a weed if it's not playing by the rules. And that, our friends, means that weeding can occupy a tremendous amount of time to keep things looking beautiful and fresh.
How to Weed
As straightforward as weeding sounds, it takes skill and know-how to remove the right plants and to remove them in the most effective way. Our team is trained every day on how to identify and properly remove weeds. Our #1 goal for weeding is not only to make the area look perfect, but to remove the weed from its root so it never grows back.
The root of any plant is engineered, and uses great strength, to attach to the soil in order to extract nutrients and to ensure it stays anchored to the ground. To get the weed out by the root, the soil it is attached to needs to be loosened. Otherwise, the plant root will remain in the hard soil and will ensure the weed regrows. And the harder the soil, the harder it is to loosen and get the root to release. This is another reason we recommend Soil Amendments to create a loose soil and make it easier to work in. If the weed is growing in a sidewalk crack or a gravel strip on the side of a garage it may be close to impossible to pull the root out. In these cases, an herbicide is recommended.
How Often to Weed
Perfect looking plant beds are everyone's dream! So, how long can a plant bed go between weeding and still look fantastic? The short answer is - No longer than every two weeks. Even if weeds are properly removed by the root, new ones are always emerging. Weed seeds are everywhere in the soil germinating, being tracked in by animals and foot traffic, and being blown in from the surrounding area. Some weeds, like Morning Glory, have extensive root systems that have been found 150 feet into the ground! Keeping yards weed-free requires dedicated maintenance and an eye for detail.
Why Weed?
There are obvious aesthetic benefits to weeding your yard and having plant beds looking great, but weeds also cause problems for other plants in their vicinity as they rob water and nutrients from nearby plants. Keeping your yard weed free not only adds to the aesthetic of your yard, but helps the overall health of all your outdoor plants.
Where to Weed
Weeds can grow everywhere and in the most unlikely of places. Weeds growing in plant beds are easy to spot and to remove, but weeds growing on the border of your yard may require more work, especially if they're large or have deep roots. And some weeds put their roots down in the most unlikely of places. Plus, they're resilient and persistent. But rest assured that we know how to get rid of them no matter where they live.
What is a Weed?
We spend many hours in training our teams on how to identify and properly eliminate weeds. Weeds have some common elements that make them more easy to identify: 1) They can be prickly or have thorns. 2) they typically have smaller leaves with smaller flowers. 3) most weeds have a single main stem with single root system. 4) And some of them can smell pretty terrible.
Knowing the characteristics of common weeds, our teams can properly identify the plants that don't belong in your yard and can properly remove them. Here are some of the common weeds that can be found in most Utah yards:
Suckers- Also a Weed
Another common type of weed are tree suckers. These can look like little tree starts that grow out of the base of a tree, from the ground immediately around a tree, or on a tree where a branch has been cut or removed. These tree suckers feed from the root system of the mother tree and not only look terrible, but as they grow and consume more nutrients, they eventually compromise the health of the mother tree. Since tree suckers don't have their own root system, but share their root with the mother tree, they will continue to grow back after being cut. Keeping them consistently cut back is the only way to keep them out of sight and from damaging the mother tree.
Not Just for Looks
Aside from the gorgeous presentation that a properly weeded garden or bed gives, there are many benefits to properly maintaining your desired plantings. Weeding gives good plants room to grow, leaves nutrients in the soil, and lends to the best display of your best plants.
It Doesn't Take Long
For most of the growing season, we recommend that weeding be done every two weeks. Weeds can grow incredibly fast! After two weeks, they will quickly invade and the weeding task becomes even more time-consuming! And then imagine if another two weeks goes by without weeding. We all know, too well, what a mess a yard can look like when weeds are growing everywhere.
This is why we insist that weeding be done so often- so that yards look great every day of the week for the entire spring, summer, and fall!
Explore More
-
![]()
Shaping & Pruning
Button -
![]()
-
![]()
