Defining Common Weeds

Weeds, by definition, are wild plants growing where they are not wanted, which means that any trees, shrubs or plants could be classed as common weeds in some people’s eyes, depending upon where they are growing. Weeds have been talked about for centuries and are even mentioned by Shakespeare in his sonnet ‘Those parts of thee that the world's eye doth view’ as shown below:

"To thy fair flower add the rank smell of weeds:
But why thy odour matcheth not thy show,
The soil is this, that thou dost common grow."

Here in the UK, there are many common weeds that grow in our gardens. These common weeds are unwanted for many reasons: they crowd out existing plants restricting the light they get, they drain the soil of valuable nutrients that your more desirable plants require to flourish and they can also spread or carry disease which can infect the rest of your garden. This is without mentioning the fact that some common weeds have the ability to sting, scratch and irritate the skin.

Common weeds can be split into three main categories:

Annual – these weeds only survive for one season and then spread their seed in the autumn. By killing common weeds of this type before they seed will prevent them coming back the following year.

Biennial – this type of weed takes time to mature and, after two seasons, will be old enough to produce seed and will then die leaving the seeds to grow.

Perennial – these common weeds form a root system and can live for many seasons if not tackled early. They can produce seeds like annual and biennial weeds which can be spread over wide areas by the wind and also by animals that may eat them, and also their roots can reproduce stems even if the original plant above the ground has been destroyed by grazing animals or even fire.

Some gardeners often like to keep an area in their garden containing these wild flowers to maintain biodiversity and encourage wildlife, but if you wish to tackle any of the weeds listed above, the most effective way is by using a tried and tested weed killer like Roundup – the world’s best-selling weed killer – that has been designed to kill weeds right down to the root. For a more detailed look at the common weeds you may encounter in your garden and pictures for easy identification check out our weed guide.