What Black Medic looks like
Low sprawling mats of clover-like leaves in groups of three with tiny bright-yellow flower clusters about the size of a pea — unlike white clover, the middle leaflet sits on its own short stalk and the leaves have no pale crescent marking.
Photo: Wikimedia Commons
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Best approach: Spray or dig
Young plants pull cleanly from moist soil, but mature ones have a deep taproot that snaps and regrows from the crown. Spot-spray established patches rather than blanket-treating the whole lawn.
Best products for Black Medic
Formulated to kill black medic without wiping out your grass — see the timing and chemistry below.
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BioAdvanced All-In-One Weed & Feed (22-0-4)
✓ Kills black medicBeginner friendly
Ortho WeedClear Lawn Weed Killer Concentrate (Northern)
✓ Kills black medicBeginner friendlyBest value broadleaf herbicide that ALSO kills crabgrass. 250+ weeds controlled. Great beginner option.
Ortho WeedClear Ready-to-Spray Hose-End (Northern)
✓ Kills black medicBeginner friendlyNo mixing, no pump sprayer needed. Hose-end applicator makes this the easiest weed killer to use. Perfect for beginners.
How much do you need?
Herbicide is dosed by lawn size. Pick your yard size for a quick estimate:
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When to treat Black Medic
Spray in spring or fall when temperatures are 60–80°F and the weed is actively growing. Avoid summer heat — stressed grass takes collateral damage.
Chemical treatment
Black medic is a legume, and dicamba is the ingredient that actually kills it (mecoprop/MCPP is weak on this weed), so reach for a three-way product that pairs dicamba with 2,4-D and MCPP, applied in late spring or early fall while the plant is actively growing and the soil is moist. If your lawn is St. Augustine or centipede, use the reduced rate printed on the label and don't spray when it will top 85F that day, because 2,4-D and dicamba burn those two grasses at full strength. Triclopyr is a good alternative on cool-season lawns only (tall fescue, Kentucky bluegrass, perennial ryegrass, fine fescue) — it injures bermuda, zoysia, St. Augustine, centipede, and bahia. Quinclorac also works, but only on tall fescue, Kentucky bluegrass, perennial ryegrass, bermuda, and zoysia — do NOT put it on fine fescue, bahia, St. Augustine, or centipede.
Non-chemical management
Feed the lawn and raise the mower to 3 inches or higher — black medic moves into underfed, thin, drought-stressed turf and cannot compete with dense grass. Pull young plants after rain, before the taproot toughens.
How to stop Black Medic coming back
Keep nitrogen levels up and mow high — black medic colonizes hungry, compacted, dry lawns.
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What does Black Medic look like?
Low sprawling mats of clover-like leaves in groups of three with tiny bright-yellow flower clusters about the size of a pea — unlike white clover, the middle leaflet sits on its own short stalk and the leaves have no pale crescent marking.
What's the best way to kill Black Medic?
Spray or dig. Young plants pull cleanly from moist soil, but mature ones have a deep taproot that snaps and regrows from the crown. Spot-spray established patches rather than blanket-treating the whole lawn.
Is Black Medic hard to get rid of?
Black Medic is rated moderate to control. Consistent treatment over a season usually does the job.
How do I stop Black Medic coming back?
Keep nitrogen levels up and mow high — black medic colonizes hungry, compacted, dry lawns.
Other broadleaf weeds
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