Want to control this weed? I call this the weed from 'heck'. Established plants are nearly impossible to pull......they break off no matter how I use the weeding tool. The plant forms a mat over the existing lawn. I was not able to kill it with Roundup; the bag of corn gluten didn't affect it. I finally discovered Celsius, a herbicide that will kill it without harming the St. Augustine. Expensive, but I mix it 1/4 tsp per 2 cups water so it will last a lifetime or two. I now walk the lawn once or twice a week with the squirt bottle in hand looking for new starts or runners. No, I'm not associated with the product......just wanted to share in case you are as frustrated to control this weed as I was.

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Diodia virginiana is a low-growing and spreading weed found throughout Florida and other areas of the U.S. This native perennial has leaves of approximately 1 to 2 1/2 inches in length with a narrow, elliptical shape. The small, white, star-shaped flowers are 1/4 inch wide and are borne solitary or in pairs from the upper leaf attachment. This plant can be a noxious weed in lawns and turfgrasses of the southeast, forming extensive dense mats in moist or periodically saturated open areas. Buttonweed grows in habitats of moist soils, along marsh edges, pond margins, and wet roadsides and ditches.

Virginia Buttonweed is attractive to a variety of small butterflies.

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