Will Be Most Visible Weed of Autumn

This is the way roadside aster looks now.

Roadside asters will soon become evident in under-maintained lawns. In fact, it is so dense that you can feel it underfoot as you walk across your lawn. Sometimes it’s about the only thing growing in more distant parts of your yard where it’s hard to get water and fertilizer.

Roadside aster forms mats of dense growth culminating in small, white daisy-like flowers. It germinates in spring and grows over the summer. As fall approaches the plants can get fairly large.

You want to treat it before it starts blooming and going to seed. A broadleafed weedkiller spray (containing 2,4-D) will eliminate it. I prefer to use a tank sprayer so I can spot-treat directly onto the weeds.

In future years your better approach will be to invest in fertilizer and regular irrigation to help your turfgrass crowd out the annual weed. I refer to it as a “weed of neglect.” It’s one of the first weeds to disappear when we mow and maintain our turfgrass on a regular basis.

As for whether you might just want to ignore it entirely, I’d suggest that you not do that. It’s extremely uncomfortable, even hazardous underfoot. I know that bees do like it, but there are plenty of other places where they can find it. It makes home lawns downright unsightly once it dies with the first freeze, plus it serves as a source for seeds for the neighborhood.