Utah weed identification
Twelve weeds that show up in Utah County and Salt Lake County yards: how to recognize each one, when it grows, and the way to get it out by hand.
At a glance
| Weed | Type | Peak season | Main problem |
|---|---|---|---|
| Field Bindweed | Perennial vine | May – September | Twines up plants and fences; roots can reach several feet down. |
| Canada Thistle | Perennial | June – August | Spiny stems and creeping roots that form dense patches. |
| Goathead (Puncturevine) | Summer annual | July – October | Spiked burrs puncture tires, shoes, and paws. |
| Dandelion | Perennial | March – June | Deep taproot regrows from any piece left behind. |
| Kochia | Summer annual | June – September | Explosive summer growth that tumbles seed everywhere. |
| Cheatgrass | Winter annual grass | April – June | Dries into highly flammable fuel; sharp seeds hurt pets. |
| Common Mallow | Annual to short-lived biennial | April – September | Thick taproot and fast, bushy growth in beds and rock mulch. |
| Purslane | Summer annual succulent | June – October | Succulent mats that re-root from broken stems. |
| Crabgrass | Summer annual grass | June – September | Seeds heavily at the edges of lawns and hardscape. |
| Quackgrass | Perennial grass | April – September | Underground runners that weave through beds and gardens. |
| Russian Thistle | Summer annual | May – October | Spiny skeletons that blow across yards and fences. |
| Spotted Spurge | Summer annual | June – October | Low mats in cracks, pavers, and rock mulch. |
Weed profiles
Each guide covers how to identify it, why it thrives here and how to remove it by hand.
“morning glory”
The Wasatch Front’s most stubborn weed. Vines strangle flowers, fences, and shrubs, and the roots run deep. Repeated hand pulling starves the plant over time — spraying just burns the leaves.
Peak: May – SeptemberHow to remove field bindweed →“creeping thistle”
Prickly, fast-spreading, and impossible to ignore in a flower bed. It spreads by creeping roots, so we pull consistently before it can colonize your whole yard.
Peak: June – AugustHow to remove canada thistle →“sticker weed”
Low flat mats that produce spiked burrs strong enough to flatten bike tires and ruin bare feet. Pulling them before they set seed is the only real fix.
Peak: July – OctoberHow to remove goathead (puncturevine) →The classic taproot weed. Pulled by hand with the whole root, it’s gone; mowed or sprayed, it comes right back. We get the taproot every time.
Peak: March – JuneHow to remove dandelion →“burning bush” or “summer cypress”
Grows several feet in a single summer, loves rock beds and vacant ground, and then breaks off and tumbles — spreading seed across the neighborhood.
Peak: June – SeptemberHow to remove kochia →“downy brome”
Greens up early, then dries to a fine, flammable carpet by early summer. On foothill lots, pulling it is as much about fire safety as appearance.
Peak: April – JuneHow to remove cheatgrass →“cheeseweed”
Round, scalloped leaves and a thick taproot. It loves rock mulch and flower beds and gets large fast if left alone.
Peak: April – SeptemberHow to remove common mallow →A fleshy summer mat that sprawls through rock beds and sidewalk cracks. Broken pieces can re-root, so it has to be pulled whole — which is exactly what hand pulling does.
Peak: June – OctoberHow to remove purslane →Spreads in thin lawn spots and along the edges of driveways and beds. We pull it before it seeds so it doesn’t return bigger next year.
Peak: June – SeptemberHow to remove crabgrass →Creeping underground stems let it hide inside flower beds and gardens. Hand pulling lets us follow the rhizomes out instead of just snapping the blades.
Peak: April – SeptemberHow to remove quackgrass →“tumbleweed”
Seedlings are soft and easy to pull in spring and brutally spiny by fall. We take them out young, before they turn into a yard full of tumbleweeds.
Peak: May – OctoberHow to remove russian thistle →A flat green mat with milky sap that thrives in hot rock beds, pavers, and cracks. It’s hard to spray without harming nearby plants — easy to pull by hand.
Peak: June – OctoberHow to remove spotted spurge →Weeds with deep or creeping roots (bindweed, thistle, quackgrass, dandelion) come back from any piece left in the soil, so cutting or mowing only trims them. Annuals such as goatheads, kochia, purslane and spurge are easiest to stop by pulling them young and before they make seed. Pulling every week does both: it keeps annuals from seeding and keeps perennials from storing up energy.
That is the whole idea behind weekly weed pulling: a weeder visits once a week and pulls what is growing, so nothing gets big enough to seed. See the Utah weed guide for longer how-to articles.
Weekly weed pulling from $322/month, one or two hours of hand weeding every week.
Sign up & schedule
Pick one hour or two hours a week and tell us where you live. You’ll see exactly which day your weeder is in your neighborhood, and a person from our team will reach out to confirm your first visit and collect payment.
