Question
I live in Detroit.  Althea (rose of sharon) seeds are sprouting by the THOUSANDS in our otherewise healthy lawn.  Husband is not happy.  Short of hand pulling all of them, is there any way to kill them?  

Answer
Hi Trish,

"Rose of Sharon" ('Mallows', 'Alathea' or Hibiscus specie) should not be able to survive one or two rounds of being mowed over in routine lawn mowing.  This plant is a more or less woody shrub-bush type of plant that needs lots of green leaves to prosper, so slashing the young plant back by mowing or by using a string trimmer should eventually kill it.  If this approach seems too slow or impractical for you, you may find sprayable chemicals at the lawn and garden center which target woody vines and tree-sapling type weedy plants to use.  Chemicals which target poison ivy should also be effective on the small Hibiscus seedlings. Ask for herbicides for these types of weedy plants to try.

Pick the spent flowers or seed-heads from the source plants this summer to avoid having a yardsy crop next year to contend with.

 __ Good Luck!
      JHG