Grassy weed - Texas St. Augustine lawn: need ID
javiwa
8 years ago
last modified: 8 years ago
Well, this is what happens when one spends too much time indoors dealing with an unintended kitchen reno for 18 months (and counting!): what appears to be an expanse of green in our lawn is weeds. :/
(Will also x-post in Texas Gardening.)
Can anyone ID this? The weeds are thin and grassy at the top, and are poking up through the St. Augustine:
They're all interconnected by a network of pinkish/peach colored rhizomes (is that the correct term?); the thinner 'roots' buried slightly deeper beneath the soil line are a darker maroon.
4 hours of successful pulling yesterday left lots of bare spots, but at least the St.Aug has room to fill in now. Thanks for any help w/ ID'ing -- would pre-emergent herbicides of any type help with this?
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javiwa
8 years agoRelated Discussions
I need help with St Augustine lawn in Dallas!
Comments (2)Answers 1a.Excessive irrigation can cause a N deficiency which can cause yellowing. The obvious solution is fertilizing. It may be Fe but my money is on a Mg deficiency. To find out, grab some Epsom salts at the grocery store, mix up in a hose end sprayer and apply to a section of the turf. You may be amazed at the change. Nearly overnight it seems. 1b. I always liked Lesco 32-0-10. Unless you run a soil test and get a known P deficiency, you souldn't be adding more. It also contains 5% Fe I think. 2a. First pic is Live Oak seedlings. The acorns fall on the sidewalk, get pushed to edge, drop in the soil and germinate. 2b a weed tree seedling. 2c Grassy weed of some sort but the picture is really bad. 2d Broad leaf weed. A good pre-emergent like Simazine will go a long way to reduce you weed problem. You can use 2,4-D on SA as long as it has no other additives. I understand your frustration with the weed control company but I suggest you find a reputable one that knows how to take care of SA. Without certain pieces of equipment like a sprayer, it is nearly impossible to do a uniform chemical application. 3. Residual Brown Patch from last year. Use PCNB or any fungicide containing Propiconazole in late summer or early fall this year. 4 Bare spots are the result of inadequate sunlight and root competition from the tree for moisture. Mostly lack of light. If you can't grow weeds, grass surely will not grow. Expand/ new landscapecreate...See MoreFirst time homeowner needs help with St. Augustine & grassy weeds
Comments (7)When you say 24-D, you must have meant 2-4-D, which is a broadleaf herbicide, not a fertilizer. From the pics, I see a couple of nutsedge (a weed) and a lot of Bermuda grass. You can get rid of the nutsedge w/ an herbicidde like Sledgehammer. Getting rid of the Bermuda though is gonna be tough. You could mow your St. Augstine at the highest setting and that will shade out and slow the spread of the Bermuda. I'm not aware of any herbicide that will kill Bermuda w/o killing everything else in your yard. If you could take a picture that showed a wider shot of the lawn, that might be more helpful to get a sense of what you're up against....See MoreUnknown weed in St.Augustine lawn
Comments (3)No, not a portulaca. We have a wild one here, but that isn't it. I am in Texas and have this same weed in my yard and don't know what it is, either. The wild portulaca has little purple flowers right now, and doesn't grow in the St. Augustine, but in cracks in the pavement and other dry areas....See MoreGrassy weed - TX St. Aug lawn: need ID (x-post Name That Plant)
Comments (10)Thanks, dchall -- I try really hard never to allow any weeds to go to flower (not always successful, but I try). Given how widespread this got, I'm not detecting any budding/flowering at all -- is that even possible? Some of the 'older' patches had actually started to yellow/brown and go dry -- no flowers. We live in SW Houston. During the summertime, DH mows at the highest level (so, 3"?). We had so much beneficial rain once a week last spring, the sprinklers never went on. During summertime, we've got the zones set to 60 minutes twice a week -- starting 4 a.m. It's not as though we've had much of a winter this year -- I think we woke up to less than a handful of mornings when there was visible frost on the neighbor's rooftops. But the grass has definitely slowed to a point where DH is mowing only a couple of times a month -- I don't think he's lowered his mower....See Morejaviwa
8 years ago
ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5
8 years agoEmbothrium
8 years agojaviwa
7 years ago
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ken_adrian Adrian MI cold Z5