Tall Fescue vs. Crabgrass? (Greater Philadelphia, PA)
SlyG07
6 years ago
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SlyG07
6 years agoRelated Discussions
Just reseeded lawn--lots of clover coming up!
Comments (13)You surely have oxalis --- it will bloom yellow & it's about the biggest pest known here in the SF Bay. Unless you want to completely start over again you will probably just have to live with it this year. The only options for destroying it in lawns usually cannot be used on newly seeded lawns. Trust me when I say spraying an appropriate herbicide is your only hope. I have lived with oxalis for 30 years -- even in open ground it cannot be successfully pulled. There are a thousand little bulbs, some almost microscopic, that break off. Ortho 'Weed-B-Gon' now has a version for killing oxalis and crabgrass in established lawns. Be patient. It takes a while but it does a pretty good job over time. Mix it to the exact directions: too strong might damage the lawn and it also can "burn" the oxalis so you lose the systemic benefits of it killing the roots. It will take days if not a week or more for the oxalis to show signs of dying back, depending on the weather, but it WILL work. You will probably be dealing with this over several seasons. Patience pays off with oxalis. Oh -- if your neighbors have it, you will get it again. It's very invasive in the Bay Area. Your popularity in the neighborhood may plummet if you've just sprouted a whole front yard full of the stuff....See MoreCreating a microclimate for Redwoods?
Comments (54)Well, no point in getting in a pissing match about this...I'm sure you are honestly reporting what you saw. OTOH, I can assure you that in the 1994 winter, the 2 big trees on the campus of W&M had no visible damage after 0F. I was definitely looking for it; I even have pictures of the damage to the Trachys planted not far away. (some brown fans, but ones that caught insulating snow still being partly green) This was a period so cold the Potomac north of DC froze solid enough to walk from VA to MD. Even down in Williamsburg, the pot-smoking rebel in our dorm, on a dare, walked out about 25' on an icy coastal pond (brackish water!) without it cracking. Ornamental fountains at fancy hotels were frozen solid. So, very cold...as cold as anything the greater metropolitan PNW can muster. They were wind sheltered by large buildings, in a place that isn't terrible windy anyhow. That could have helped. As I've mentioned before, one has since been severely damaged by a hurricane, as they grew above the shelter of those buildings. (isn't terribly windy, except during hurricanes haha) Clearly the northernmost on the east coast, at the Barnes, has survived several winters that went well below 0F. BUT I've made no secret of my finding a book from the 1940s about Philly area gardens, that said 5 out of 6 tried in prominent public collections, had died by the time of publication. And even that tree is not still around; the Barnes tree is from much later. No way to know without hours of tedious and perhaps impossible primary source investigation, but I have a hunch the winter of 1934 might have been to blame...a candidate for the mid-Atlantic's coldest winter of the 20th century. Perhaps the droughty dust bowl summers of that period were also a problem. So I'm not by any means recommending any normal Joe or Jane Q Public, try to grow these on the east coast....See MoreShade Lawn Advice
Comments (39)I'll try to post pictures in a day or so (been home mostly morning or evening lately), but I'm about 1 week out and I'm getting fairly good germination. Sadly the heavy rain we had Wed of last week did push some stuff around on the non burlap covered areas. I guess I have several questions: 1. I know I have to pull the burlap up, but certain areas have sprouted more than others. Should I wait until I see green popping through everywhere, or pull it now that I see green in just some places. Basically do I walk (cringing as I say that) on the new grass sooner or later to pull it up? or do I risk leaving it down? 2. I have rough BG in my mix, which will take longer to sprout than the fescue. Do I stay on the frequent watering for a full 4-6 weeks, or do I take my cue from the fescue growth and cut back sooner? 3. When I do finally cut the grass for the first time, can I simply much it or do I need to bag it? I'd prefer to keep the mower as light as possible and not use the bag, but if I have to ok. 4. I'm going to have a TON of leaves start coming down over the next month. I get the lovely present of being at the top of the hill and having a nice gentle breeze blow nearly ALL the leaves up to my lawn from the trees behind. I know raking is essentially out, so should I be mulching, bagging, or blowing (to a more established section of the grass and bagging from there)?...See MoreSpring fertilization of cool season grass in transition zone
Comments (77)The mycorrhizae enable the plant to more efficiently use what's available. It's like root extensions: the plant can get it from more places than just what happens to be right by the root. Sure. The question is, what is the real life effect of that? The plant lasts 10% longer? 20%? You get 5 days instead of 4? And what does that amount to? It needs to be quantified. You save 2-3 waterings across the span of the entire summer, maybe? It doesn't pass muster to me as far as cost (no fungicide, risk of turf loss) vs benefit (skipping a couple of waterings)....See MoreSlyG07
6 years agoSlyG07
6 years agobeckyinrichmond
6 years agobeckyinrichmond
6 years ago
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