Wild Garlic

What it looks like

Round, hollow leaves with a noticeable garlic smell when cut or mowed. It sends up flowers and also small bulblets on top of the stalk, which is how you tell it apart from wild onion. The bright green shoots really stand out against brown, dormant turf.

Often mistaken for: Wild onion (which has no bulblets on the stalk)

When it shows up in the Triangle

Shows up as bright green growth from fall through spring while the rest of the lawn is dormant. Fall, while it's actively growing, is the best time to deal with it.

Where you’ll see it

Can grow in any home lawn type, including bermuda, centipede, St. Augustine, zoysia, tall fescue, and Kentucky bluegrass.

What you can do

• Keep your lawn thick and healthy with regular mowing, fertilizing, and watering to help it compete
• Dig up bulbs where practical, since this weed spreads and regrows from underground bulbs
• Understand it's a multi-year project — don't expect it gone after one round of treatment
• Watch for it in fall and winter when it's easiest to spot and target