You may still be seeing brown areas in lawns that have greened up this spring. These are places where warm season grasses were dominant last year. The following is an article on the subject.
Cool season turfgrasses have greened up across the state. However, there will often be distinct areas of turf that remain brown or straw colored. These are areas where warm season weeds died out or went dormant last fall. It is important to take note of these areas and determine what control measures will be necessary this season. Crabgrass is the most common weed that winter kills leaving large browned out areas. Goosegrass could also be the culprit, especially in compact areas. Crabgrass and goosegrass are annual species that will come back from seed. Crabgrass is germinating in turf now, goosegrass will be germinating as we go into May. If you have missed the timing for crabgrass preemergence applications, dithiopyr (Dimension) is an option now as it has both preemergence and early postemergence activity on crabgrass. However, it is not safe for areas that have been or will be seeded this spring. For new seedings, quinclorac (Drive) would be the best option as a postemergence herbicide once all the crabgrass has germinated (May). Quinclorac will not control goosegrass.
Brown areas may be patches where perennial warm season grasses grew last year. These grasses will begin to regrow again in May. Bermudagrass (or wiregrass) is the most common warm season perennial grass weed that appears brown in dormancy throughout the state. Zoysiagrass is possible but usually restricted to areas near to where it was planted. Another possibility commonly found in Delaware is nimblewill which will appear as fuzzy looking patches. Both Bermudagrass and zoysiagrass spread by underground rhizomes whereas nimblewill does not. Control of these three perennial warm season grasses is difficult. Total renovation with several applications of glyphosate herbicide is often needed. Post emergence suppression of Bermudagrass can be accomplished with multiple applications of fenoxaprop (Acclaim Extra) in tall fescue turf.
Gordon Johnson, Extension Horticulture Agent, UD, Kent County
Showing posts with label zoysiagrass. Show all posts
Showing posts with label zoysiagrass. Show all posts
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
Wednesday, May 7, 2008
Turf - Reconsider Zoysiagrass
Zoysiagrass invokes strong emotions by homeowners, property managers, and turf professionals. Some like the texture, density, and color of the lush turf it produces. Others hate that it browns out all winter and how it invades areas. The following are some reasons to reconsider zoysias and what varieties are recommended.
Zoysiagrass is a warm season grass that can be very successfully grown as a lawn in Delaware. It produces a dense, attractive turf that is drought resistant and heat tolerant. As a warm season grass it greens up in May and goes dormant in October (turns straw colored). It is slower to fill in than Bermdagrass and less wear tolerant but is more cold hardy and shade tolerant . It requires a very sharp mower blade to cut properly. Originally, only vegetatively propagated varieties were available; however, excellent seed varieties are now on the market. Recommended varieties are Meyer (vegetative), Zenith and Compadre (both seeded types).
Newer promising vegetatively propagated (V) and seeded (S) zoysiagrass varieties include: Cavalier (V), Companion (S), Himeno (V), J-14 (S), J-36 (S), J-37 (S), Marquis (V), Sunburst (V), Zorro (V), ZEN-400 (S), and ZEN-500 (S).
Gordon Johnson, Extension Horticulture Agent, UD, Kent County
Zoysiagrass is a warm season grass that can be very successfully grown as a lawn in Delaware. It produces a dense, attractive turf that is drought resistant and heat tolerant. As a warm season grass it greens up in May and goes dormant in October (turns straw colored). It is slower to fill in than Bermdagrass and less wear tolerant but is more cold hardy and shade tolerant . It requires a very sharp mower blade to cut properly. Originally, only vegetatively propagated varieties were available; however, excellent seed varieties are now on the market. Recommended varieties are Meyer (vegetative), Zenith and Compadre (both seeded types).
Newer promising vegetatively propagated (V) and seeded (S) zoysiagrass varieties include: Cavalier (V), Companion (S), Himeno (V), J-14 (S), J-36 (S), J-37 (S), Marquis (V), Sunburst (V), Zorro (V), ZEN-400 (S), and ZEN-500 (S).
Gordon Johnson, Extension Horticulture Agent, UD, Kent County
Tuesday, February 26, 2008
Turf - Controlling Zoysiagrass in Cool Season Turf
I was recently asked about controlling Zoysiagrass in cool season turf. Here are some thoughts.
Zoysiagrass is a warm season grass that goes dormant from mid-fall through mid-spring. Although some homeowners like the grass because of its fine texture and ability to stay green in the middle of summer heat, others hate having the brown look for more than half the year.
Zoysiagrass spreads mainly by underground rhizomes and above ground stolons. This means it produces stems that run on the surface and just below the surface. As such, it can easily invade flower beds, landscape beds, and neighboring lawns. Although zoysiagrass can produce seed, many of the varieties that were planted in the past do not seed much, if at all. Seed should not be the major way that it invades but can be a secondary mechanism in some cases.
Keeping zoysiagrass from invading an area is difficult. Barriers to the underground rhizomes could help. Bury a 12" barrier such as thick plastic, fibergrass, or metal, slanting the barrier toward the area being invaded with another 6" out of the ground. This will keep the underground rhizomes from invading and you will be able to see the above ground stolons as they try to grow over the barrier so you can control them. To control any growing over the barrier, routinely use a sprayer or wick applicator and apply glyphosate herbicide (Roundup and many other brands) on the zoysiagrass growing over the barrier. Mowing will break up the zoysiagrass into smaller pieces that could potentially root and spread the grass even more. If you mow, you need to collect the clippings.
If an area has already been invaded, bite the bullet and use glyphosate (Roundup or equivalent) herbicide and spray the area once the zoysia has greened up in the late spring. This will kill everything but does not leave a residual. Do this every 3 weeks until you see no more zoysiagrass coming back up. You can then reseed or sod in the late summer with the desired turfgrass. You will have a dead area all summer but it is the only way to effectively eradicate it. Digging does not do a very good job, close mowing will not kill it, and there are no good selective herbicides that will kill Zoysiagrass and not the desired grass. There are some reports in the literature that higher rates of MSMA, fenoxaprop, or fluazifop may cause some suppression of Zoysia. Note that MSMA has been routinely used in zoysia in the past as a herbicide so don't expect much control. Of the three, fenoxaprop (Acclaim) will have the most effect on zoysiagrass.
Gordon Johnson, Extension Agriculture Agent, UD, Kent County
Zoysiagrass is a warm season grass that goes dormant from mid-fall through mid-spring. Although some homeowners like the grass because of its fine texture and ability to stay green in the middle of summer heat, others hate having the brown look for more than half the year.
Zoysiagrass spreads mainly by underground rhizomes and above ground stolons. This means it produces stems that run on the surface and just below the surface. As such, it can easily invade flower beds, landscape beds, and neighboring lawns. Although zoysiagrass can produce seed, many of the varieties that were planted in the past do not seed much, if at all. Seed should not be the major way that it invades but can be a secondary mechanism in some cases.
Keeping zoysiagrass from invading an area is difficult. Barriers to the underground rhizomes could help. Bury a 12" barrier such as thick plastic, fibergrass, or metal, slanting the barrier toward the area being invaded with another 6" out of the ground. This will keep the underground rhizomes from invading and you will be able to see the above ground stolons as they try to grow over the barrier so you can control them. To control any growing over the barrier, routinely use a sprayer or wick applicator and apply glyphosate herbicide (Roundup and many other brands) on the zoysiagrass growing over the barrier. Mowing will break up the zoysiagrass into smaller pieces that could potentially root and spread the grass even more. If you mow, you need to collect the clippings.
If an area has already been invaded, bite the bullet and use glyphosate (Roundup or equivalent) herbicide and spray the area once the zoysia has greened up in the late spring. This will kill everything but does not leave a residual. Do this every 3 weeks until you see no more zoysiagrass coming back up. You can then reseed or sod in the late summer with the desired turfgrass. You will have a dead area all summer but it is the only way to effectively eradicate it. Digging does not do a very good job, close mowing will not kill it, and there are no good selective herbicides that will kill Zoysiagrass and not the desired grass. There are some reports in the literature that higher rates of MSMA, fenoxaprop, or fluazifop may cause some suppression of Zoysia. Note that MSMA has been routinely used in zoysia in the past as a herbicide so don't expect much control. Of the three, fenoxaprop (Acclaim) will have the most effect on zoysiagrass.
Gordon Johnson, Extension Agriculture Agent, UD, Kent County
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
