Question
Hi Floyd, I hope that you can help me. I live in Detroit, Michigan. In April I put down some scotts weed and feed, and I still have a lot of weeds in my lawn. dandilions ,I am trying to figure out what happen , maybe I did not put down enough weed and feed? or maybe because my neighbors on both sides haave lawns full of dandilions. I also have notice that a vine like green plant with a purple flower is growing in my lawn. I think it is chickweed.Do you have any suggestions on how I can fix these problems. please help if you can. I have kentucky bluegrass

Marcia

Answer
Good Morning Marcia:
There are many different weed and feed products. Some do not control dandelions but other broad leaf weeds.
See the Scott's web site and see if you can remember what product you used and see what it is supposed to control: (Copy and paste this to your browser)
http://www.scotts.com/index.cfm/event/ProductGuide.category/category//Categories...

I believe the green vine with the purple flower is ground ivy also called creeping Charlie. It is very difficult to control..
Lawns in shaded areas and often with poorly drained fertile soil are typical sites for ground ivy to develop into a major problem. This plant may form patches as it creeps along the soil and can move into sun areas. Stems are square. Leaves are arranged opposite of each other along stems, and are somewhat kidney shaped with rounded, toothed margins. Crushed leaves have an odor of mint. Ground ivy has small funnel-shaped purplish-blue flowers appearing from April to June.
To keep ground ivy from invading your lawn, maintain a thick lawn by cutting to a height of two and a half to three inches (6.35 to 7.62cm) and removing no more than one third of the grass blade at each mowing. Grasses in shade areas are not as competitive against weeds as those in full sun. Reduce shade by pruning some of the tree branches so that the sun can penetrate into the lawn area.  
One control option, though labor intensive, is to dig out existing ground ivy. Pull up all the roots and stems or the plant will grow back.

Although control is difficult, existing ground ivy can be treated with postemergence broadleaf herbicides in the period from mid spring to early summer and/or mid to late fall. Regardless of the time, make sure the ground ivy is actively growing. For ground ivy, suggested herbicides contain dicamba. Three-way broadleaf herbicide combinations (one product containing all three herbicides) may provide the best control. They would include:
2,4-D (2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid)
Mecoprop or MCPP (2-(2-methyl-4-chlorophenoxy) propionic acid)
Dicamba (3,6-dichloro-o-anisic acid)
Several of these three-way herbicides are available (Trimec, Three Way Lawn Weed Killer, etc.); check product labels for these active ingredients. Read and follow all label directions. Herbicides containing 2,4-DP or triclopyr may also be effective.

It may be of interest to know that at one time people actually planted ground ivy in the shaded areas of their lawn as a ground cover.
I would suggest that you apply  2,4-D also known as "Weed -B- Gone" selectively on the dandelions. You can get this in a spray bottle so that you can hit each dandelion separately.
Make sure you read the label before application as this weed killer can also harm other broad leaf plants in the area if herbicide drift is a problem.
I suggest you mechanically rid yourself of the ground ivy by digging it up now before it spreads. Make sure you get all of the root or it will come back.

Have a good lawn:
Floyd McMahon