Educators are invited to submit questions you are getting in your offices related to plant and pest problems or to share plant and pest news from your part of the state. I look forward to helping you share information. Both plants have pretty white flowers with the Star of Bethlehem having six petals while Spring Beauty has only five petals. Both plants are more common in shaded areas with thin turf. There are no effective controls for either plant, but some suggest that preemergence herbicide applications made very late in fall or early spring will work.
Some homeowners have success digging the plants out by hand.
This weed is most obvious during flowering, which may only last for a few weeks. It is probably best to simply tolerate this weed and instead of attempting control it, enjoy the color for the few weeks it will last. The annual bloom of dandelions is already here in Southern Indiana and just around the corner in most of the state. Though some find dandelions attractive and some may actually eat them in salads or wine, others consider dandelions as weeds and try to control them in a lawn. The optimum time to control dandelions and other broadleaf weeds is in the fall and the second most effective time is in late spring, at or shortly after the flush of flowers.