Atwood LawnCare

WHAT YOU’LL SEE...are grasses that are different looking than what you are expecting. Some may have blades that are much wider or broader than normal or another type of grass may be “fluffier” than normal. Regardless of what it looks like, it is definitely not the normal lawn grasses that you want in your yard. In the early spring, some grasses may green up quicker and begin growing before the others. Sometimes, during the heat of the summer, the grass in your yard turns brown, looking as though it has been burned. Some wild grasses do not tolerate the heat and humidity as well as Kentucky Bluegrass. One special note: Many people become concerned that they have “crabgrass” in their lawns when they see wide bladed grasses in the spring. Crabgrass is an annual grass that does not even begin to appear until late June or early July. If you see wide bladed grass in your lawn before then, it is a wild grass.

THE REASON FOR THE PROBLEM... are wild grasses that can, and do, move into every lawn at one point or another. The wide bladed grasses can be one of two types: Quackgrass or Tall Fescue. Quackgrass is best described as being a wide bladed grass that grows throughout an area. Tall Fescue, on the other hand, is wide bladed and grows in a clump. There may be several clumps growing in an area, and some may coalesce into one large bunch. The grass that feels much softer and appears rather fluffy is probably Bentgrass. Bentgrass is meant to be cut very short on a golf course putting green. In the summer heat and when cut at three inches, bentgrass gets very “leggy” and you may cut off the green blades entirely leaving only the brown stems. It looks as though it has been burned, but actually, you are simply seeing the stems and stolons of the grass plant. We call this condition Bentgrass Scorch.

CONTROLS FOR THIS PROBLEM... are very limited. The Bentgrass Scorch will recover by itself once the temperatures cool off in the fall. There are no selective herbicides available at this time that can control one type of grass, and not affect the desirable grasses. It is not true that if the desirable lawn grasses are actively growing that they will crowd out the bad grasses. If one kind of grass is being fertilized and growing well, then all grasses present will respond similarly.

OTHER OPTIONS AVAILABLE TO YOU... are to replace the offensive grass with new sod or seed. To do this, it is best to kill the wild grass with a “total-kill” product prior to digging it out. Be sure to kill an area slightly larger than the grasses so that all roots and underground stems (rhizomes and stolons) are also controlled. Atwood LawnCare can provide this service for you. Simply call our office and we will be happy to send someone out to give you a quote on controlling these wild grasses.