Wireweed

Wireweed is a low growing, creeping weed with a purple colour, it’s stems are very tough and wire like, hence it’s name. It can grow up to 1 metre in width with dark green to bluish coloured leaves and small white flowers in clusters of 5 to 6. The root is a long tap root which gets larger and deeper as the plant matures.

Wireweed is a problem for homeowners in many regions of Australia, the weed can seed all year round, and while it’s an Annual, it can sometimes over-winter and re-emerge in the following Spring. Lawn mowing has no effect in the control of this path and lawn weed as it grows and seeds below mowing height.

Removal and Eradication of Wireweed

The weed should be removed or treated at the earliest opportunity, the longer it is left to mature, the more difficult it becomes to treat with poison or to remove.

Hand pulling is the first option, ensuring to remove the tap root. Alternatively, if Wireweed is found in a lawn, many selective broadleaf weed killers will resolve the problem, or Glyphosate used when the weed is found in pathways or garden beds.