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Lawn being taken over by torpedo grass
Posted on 6/7/17 at 6:22 am
Posted on 6/7/17 at 6:22 am
About half of my st augustine front lawn is now solid torpedo grass. I have read that this stuff is pretty much the AIDS of lawn weeds. It sounds like my options to get rid of it are 1) spray glyophosphate and kill all the grass, then re-sod 2) cover with dark tarp for the whole summer and re-sod.
Neither of these are really attractive to me, so are there alternatives? Also, if I only cover/spray the area that has the torpedo grass, what are the chances that it just comes back up in the untreated st Aug?
I also just found a few areas in my st aug backyard that now have this crap starting to come in. Are there any specific cutting height, fertilization, etc that could help the St Aug crowd out the torpedo grass? And are there any pre emergents that would be effective at keeping it contained from the rest of the yard?
Neither of these are really attractive to me, so are there alternatives? Also, if I only cover/spray the area that has the torpedo grass, what are the chances that it just comes back up in the untreated st Aug?
I also just found a few areas in my st aug backyard that now have this crap starting to come in. Are there any specific cutting height, fertilization, etc that could help the St Aug crowd out the torpedo grass? And are there any pre emergents that would be effective at keeping it contained from the rest of the yard?
11
Posted on 6/7/17 at 6:44 am to tight lines
Not much you can do in St. Augustine grass. There are some products that you can use on centipede and in landscape areas to suppress it but there are non for st. Aug the last time I checked. I use fusillade II to keep it under control in landscape areas and border grass and segment for control in centipede. This weed is a huge pain in the arse and I don't know of any product that will completely get rid of it.
Posted on 6/7/17 at 6:56 am to tigers84
quote:
torpedo grass
quote:go on...
on centipede
I had a 14yd load of dirt dumped in my yard at the corner of the road and my driveway when I bought my house 4 years ago to build flower beds, slope away from shed and fill in holes, etc. Beautiful dirt. Beautiful dirt full of torpedo grass seeds apparently. From the corner where the load was dumped it has slowly crept over half of my front yard.
I had my first ever thoughts of murder while cutting the grass last week. Don't know if I should waste money on suppressing it, or just kill, chop and start over from seed or sod.
Posted on 6/7/17 at 7:04 am to CootDisCootDat
This is my exact dilemma. If you do re-sod, it looks like there are solid herbicides that kill torpedo grass that are safe on Bermuda and zoysia.
Also, apparently spillway sand is notorious for having the this crap in it
Also, apparently spillway sand is notorious for having the this crap in it
Posted on 6/7/17 at 7:19 am to tight lines
quote:
About half of my st augustine front lawn is now solid torpedo grass. I have read that this stuff is pretty much the AIDS of lawn weeds. It sounds like my options to get rid of it are 1) spray glyophosphate and kill all the grass, then re-sod
My uncle is a Horticulturist and he basically said the same thing to me last year. So earlier this spring I sucked it up and killed a 10'x12' area in my back yard once I saw the Torpedo grass patch from last year had almost doubled in size. Couple weeks back I started placing patches of St Aug from other parts of my yard in the dead spot and its starting to grow. When my friends look out there and ask why I have a huge dead spot I tell them thats where the Aliens landed.
Posted on 6/7/17 at 8:02 am to 4WHLN
The runners on the torpedo can travel as far as 9ft and as deep as 18in or so. Very difficult to eradicate in turf you can't spray a selective herbicide. Dr Ron Strahan with LSU calls it a lawn killer
Posted on 6/7/17 at 8:16 am to Daponch
Yeah, unless you have a lawn like bermuda that can tolerate Quinclorac, you don't have many options.
quote:is the man. I've been to several of his presentations over the years, and the dude knows his stuff. Seems to enjoy what he does.
Dr Ron Strahan
Posted on 6/7/17 at 8:19 am to tight lines
I had it and went route of nuking entire front yard, and replacing with zoysia. Two years later and I'm starting to see it again. About to go after it in spots with drive xlr. The sethoxidym or whatever it was for centipede wasn't worth it. Yeah it killed it back, but in 3 weeks it was back to full strength.
I gave up on backyard and it's probably half torpedo and rest a centipede and st aug mix. Figured with kids playing and a swing set, just let it be. Now I wish I would of nuked and sod back there. Mowing and edging the torpedo in backyard and then doing front yard with same equipment in my opinion has brought it back up front. Most yards I see in se Louisiana have it.
Good luck it can't be beat... it's the devil.
I gave up on backyard and it's probably half torpedo and rest a centipede and st aug mix. Figured with kids playing and a swing set, just let it be. Now I wish I would of nuked and sod back there. Mowing and edging the torpedo in backyard and then doing front yard with same equipment in my opinion has brought it back up front. Most yards I see in se Louisiana have it.
Good luck it can't be beat... it's the devil.
This post was edited on 6/7/17 at 8:23 am
Posted on 6/7/17 at 8:36 am to Cmk07c
I have it in Bermuda grass and msma burns it back and keeps it under control but it comes back
Posted on 6/7/17 at 8:40 am to Easternrio
Easternrio is that product msma better than drive? OP, if it's in your beds you need to kill it there too. I went wrong by not doing that as well. Be warned I spray it with roundup and dip blades straight into the round up and there is always more to come back..
Posted on 6/7/17 at 8:44 am to Cmk07c
Drive is the trade name for the herbicide Quinclorac I mentioned earlier. Will handle torpedo, but from what I remember it's 3 separate applications 2 weeks apart.
Posted on 6/7/17 at 8:51 am to bootlegger
If you pull up your entire yard to replace it with sod, do you have to apply any product to the soil beneath or remove any of that soil?
Posted on 6/7/17 at 8:51 am to bootlegger
I wouldn't say it's better than Drive. The bottom line is that it's a devil weed that takes repeated apps every year to keep under control.
Posted on 6/7/17 at 8:55 am to Daponch
quote:
The runners on the torpedo can travel as far as 9ft and as deep as 18in or so.
Yeah I killed a much larger spot than I needed in hopes of catching it all. I am sure thats not going to happen.
Posted on 6/7/17 at 8:56 am to Cdonaldson27
For torpedo? I'd kill it all with a few rounds of non-selective herbicide, till it, grade, then sod.
Posted on 6/7/17 at 9:03 am to bootlegger
Yeah Strahan is very knowledgeable and a great guy. We have nuked the turf on several accounts and moved to zoysia or Bermuda to control torpedo. It saves money in the long run
Posted on 6/7/17 at 9:08 am to Daponch
Is there a Bermuda thats tolerant of partial shade? That's the issue I foresee in my yard. Also, is a pre emergent like dimension capable of preventing torpedo from spreading?
Posted on 6/7/17 at 9:14 am to tight lines
No pre emergent for torpedo grass
Posted on 6/7/17 at 9:39 am to Easternrio
And no shade tolerant Bermuda. Even the zoysia doesn't do very well in the shade although many varieties are supposed to do well
Posted on 6/7/17 at 9:42 am to Daponch
Honestly if the torpedo bothers you that much your best bet is to do what bootlegger said. Spray with glyphosate, till, grade, and resod with Bermuda.
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