What kind of grass/weeds are these? - Ask Extension
I have a zoysia lawn. This year, however, we have some type of grass or weed that is taking over around the edges. I'd like to know what it is and wha...
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What kind of grass/weeds are these? #467318
Asked July 03, 2018, 5:54 AM EDT
I have a zoysia lawn. This year, however, we have some type of grass or weed that is taking over around the edges. I'd like to know what it is and what I can do about it.
Thank you for your service.
Robin Berg
St. Louis MO
St. Louis County Missouri
Expert Response
Can you send some more pictures? It could possibly be crabgrass. Can you send a picture of it from a 5-8 foot distance? When did it first appear? Can you send a picture of the seed head?
Rodney,
Thank you for your response.
This is the first year for this type of grass and I'm seeing it everywhere in the neighborhood. So far I have not allowed it to seed but I can and could send you a pic of it then.
In the pics that I am sending, you can clearly see where the zoysia stops and the mystery grass starts....all around the edges of my lawn. We have some crabgrass in another area and I battle that regularly (hand pulling) but this grass doesn't show the long, spindly shoots that typically extend from the middle of crabgrass.....unless there are different kinds of crabgrass.
To tell you the truth, this is a thick, lush growth, and I don't really mind it. If it took over the entire lawn, I could live with it. We are constantly battling different types of weeds in our lawn, in our neighborhood, but the problem is that they always just grow around the edges of the lawn (except for the wild violets). I think the problem is when others in the neighborhood don't care for the lawn, seeds end up on everyone else's. Let me know if you need more pictures. In the meantime, I will allow a section to seed and send you some of those.
Thanks,
Robin
Thank you for your response.
This is the first year for this type of grass and I'm seeing it everywhere in the neighborhood. So far I have not allowed it to seed but I can and could send you a pic of it then.
In the pics that I am sending, you can clearly see where the zoysia stops and the mystery grass starts....all around the edges of my lawn. We have some crabgrass in another area and I battle that regularly (hand pulling) but this grass doesn't show the long, spindly shoots that typically extend from the middle of crabgrass.....unless there are different kinds of crabgrass.
To tell you the truth, this is a thick, lush growth, and I don't really mind it. If it took over the entire lawn, I could live with it. We are constantly battling different types of weeds in our lawn, in our neighborhood, but the problem is that they always just grow around the edges of the lawn (except for the wild violets). I think the problem is when others in the neighborhood don't care for the lawn, seeds end up on everyone else's. Let me know if you need more pictures. In the meantime, I will allow a section to seed and send you some of those.
Thanks,
Robin
Rodney,
I found a couple of seed heads and am sending the pics. What do you think? I googled crabgrass seedheads and they looked similar but not exact.
I found a couple of seed heads and am sending the pics. What do you think? I googled crabgrass seedheads and they looked similar but not exact.
yes. That looks like crabgrass. I imagine the zoysiagrass died next to the concrete from winter desiccation or even drought. And then, with the lack of zoysia the crabgrass germinated and filled in. Unfortunately the crabgrass is an annual grass. So it will die with the frost this fall. If that was my yard, I'd probably get some zoysia sod/plugs (2-4 inches deep and 3 or more inches in diameter) from the back yard or from the edge of one of my flower beds, and plug that area with fresh zoysia.
If you wanted to try and kill the crabgrass, you could use Weed-B-Gone Plus Crabgrass. This product has quinclorac in it. The stand-alone product that contains quinclorac that professionals use is called Drive XLR8. But this product can control crabgrass with a couple of applications. So you could spray the crabgrass and then maintain good watering and fertilizing to get the zoysia to fill back in. (But zoysia is slow, it would be faster to re-sod/plug it in.)
You can use pre-emergent herbicides next spring, like Barricade, Dimension, Scotts Step One Plus Halts, etc to prevent the crabgrass seed from germinating. That is what I usually recommend to prevent/reduce crabgrass problems next year. Which would be a judgement call for you...it sounds like you don't mind the crabgrass.
If it was me, I would spray it, then plug it with some good zoysia, keep those plugs well watered and then next year apply pre-emergent.
I hope this info helps.
Rod
If you wanted to try and kill the crabgrass, you could use Weed-B-Gone Plus Crabgrass. This product has quinclorac in it. The stand-alone product that contains quinclorac that professionals use is called Drive XLR8. But this product can control crabgrass with a couple of applications. So you could spray the crabgrass and then maintain good watering and fertilizing to get the zoysia to fill back in. (But zoysia is slow, it would be faster to re-sod/plug it in.)
You can use pre-emergent herbicides next spring, like Barricade, Dimension, Scotts Step One Plus Halts, etc to prevent the crabgrass seed from germinating. That is what I usually recommend to prevent/reduce crabgrass problems next year. Which would be a judgement call for you...it sounds like you don't mind the crabgrass.
If it was me, I would spray it, then plug it with some good zoysia, keep those plugs well watered and then next year apply pre-emergent.
I hope this info helps.
Rod
Thank you, Rodney. This info is very helpful. I intend to do exactly as you suggest. Thank you for taking the time to help..
Robin
Robin
You’re welcome. Anytime.
