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Years ago I noticed a small patch of grass in my back yard that turned tan over the winter. As time went on that patch got bigger and bigger, and it's really grown the past few years. I am also noticing a small patch on the edge of the front yard near the sidewalk and my neighbors property line.
Is there anything I can do to discourage the spreading? Is it possible to seed another type of grass over it? It turns brown as soon as it starts to get cold and takes forever to green up again in the spring. I hate it.
I am in CT, Zone 6
Last edited by WouldLoveTo; 12-22-2018 at 01:07 PM..
probably the previous owner saw the ad for the miracle zoysia grass and bought a couple of plugs to test out. My advice is to mark the yellow grass in the winter and once it greens back up, kill it off with some roundup/glysphosate type of weed killer. Wait a few weeks and spray it again for good measure then either pull it up and replant or just reseed.
in the south, every lawn turns yellow as soon as the night time temps fall below 50 so it's odd to see a lawn still green in the cold weather.
probably the previous owner saw the ad for the miracle zoysia grass and bought a couple of plugs to test out. My advice is to mark the yellow grass in the winter and once it greens back up, kill it off with some roundup/glysphosate type of weed killer. Wait a few weeks and spray it again for good measure then either pull it up and replant or just reseed.
in the south, every lawn turns yellow as soon as the night time temps fall below 50 so it's odd to see a lawn still green in the cold weather.
Do you consider VA to be north?
Lawns here are green all winter. Fescue lawns are the norm here.
Lawns here are green all winter. Fescue lawns are the norm here.
That may be true, but if you have a zoysia lawn in VA, it will turn an ugly shade of brown until late in springtime. Overseeding it won't work to eliminate it, as the zoysia is so dense. It has to be completely eliminated before a new lawn is installed in its place.
In SoCal, we have an invasive grass species called Kikuyu grass. It grows by runners above and underground. Most lawns are completely taken over by it. It reminds me of Bermuda grass. My lawn is primarily tall fescue, but the Kikuyu remnants from the previous lawn pop up in various spots throughout the summer. I used RoundUp on these spots for years, but it killed everything, including the bad grass. My lawn was pockmarked with dead spots, which I had to reseed every fall.
Then a friend told me about Turflon Ester. This stuff works like magic to kill the bad grass, but does not harm the good grass. It's expensive, but a little goes a long way and it's like kryptonite for the Kikuyu. I highly recommend it for your invasive grass.
That may be true, but if you have a zoysia lawn in VA, it will turn an ugly shade of brown until late in springtime. Overseeding it won't work to eliminate it, as the zoysia is so dense. It has to be completely eliminated before a new lawn is installed in its place.
Where did I mention Zoysia? Most people here have FESCUE.
Thanks everyone. So you think the only option is to spray it? Is there anything less toxic than Roundup? It was much darker than the rest of my grass in the summer and I think it grew quicker too - the lawnmower always chokes in that section if it's too long.
The spot in my front yard is maybe 5' x 2'. The backyard area is pretty big now
Are both zoysia and bermuda done with plugs? I've certainly never used plugs, nor have I put any seed in the spot in the front yard.
Our grass is pretty green all year even up here, though not *as* green as summer.
Pic attached (the white is snow). The leftmost tip is at the halfway point across the yard, but my spot is larger than my neighbors. For awhile I thought it was dog pee from walkers but I'm pretty sure it's this horrible grass now.
You know what else? That leftmost tip goes into a rectangle where we had a car parked last winter after getting the roof done. I'd cleaned all that out and reseeded in early summer - it was a perfect rectangle of new green grass. Now it's not.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Bruceski44
Then a friend told me about Turflon Ester. This stuff works like magic to kill the bad grass, but does not harm the good grass. It's expensive, but a little goes a long way and it's like kryptonite for the Kikuyu. I highly recommend it for your invasive grass.
Thanks! I just read Amazon reviews and it sounds like people use it to kill Bermuda grass in their zoysia grass! I'm going to read up on it though, there has to be something!
Last edited by WouldLoveTo; 12-24-2018 at 01:19 PM..
Lawns here are green all winter. Fescue lawns are the norm here.
In terms of lawns, yes VA may as well be the north. Most people in the (deep) South have centipede, St Augustine or Bermuda lawns that are brown during the winter, the summers are too hot for fescue here.
I have overseeded mine with perennial ryegrass to make it green during the winter, but it’s a pain because it grows so fast and clumps badly when it’s cut.
I'm in VA, I have fescue, it's the perfect grass for this climate.
A neighbor in our neighborhood had a lawn of this stuff last year (Bermuda). Would brown out easily. Looked out of place. He was second owner and wanted to get rid of it. Had the front lawn basically "scrapped" down a few inches to remove it. Then laid fescue sod. It looked good.....for about 60 days, then came the Bermuda again. The roots on Bermuda run DEEP! He had it scraped, but the roots remained and it started to come back again. Was extremely frustrated.
There is only one thing that I know of personally that will kill it. It's called "Tenacity" by a company called Syngenta. This is golf course quality stuff, pro level, won't find it in any major retailer store, will need to order it online or at a coop where the true farmers shop. Small bottle, costs about $100, but read the label of the link below - it's 1 teaspoon for 2 gallons of water - so extremely strong and goes a LONG way.. But if you're not comfortable with using this stuff, don't have a backpack sprayer, don't want to learn how to do it, then I would simply hire someone and tell them you want Tenacity sprayed on your lawn a few times over the next couple of months.
I use it on my lawn with a backpack sprayer. It...is...FANTASTIC!
So, I told my neighbor about this stuff. He called the landscaper guy to complain, and the landscaper himself said there is something they can use to kill off the Bermuda, but he needs to get it first. Neighbor didn't mention Tenacity to him, but sure enough, that's exactly what his landscaper was going with. He's had two applications of it, and the Bermuda is about 90% dead and not coming back. One more application should do the trick completely. You simply cannot remove this type of grass, you have to kill it where it sits with chemicals. The roots are too long, you'll never get them all via extraction method. Tenacity is the only thing I personally know of that works.
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