What is this and how do I kill it.
 

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This stuff is taking over my yard as well as my neighbors yard. We didn't have this last year but what we did have is "normal crabgrass" problems. I'm using Drive XLR8 to kill crabgrass but this weed/grass laughs XLR8 off.
One lawn care professional said it's Timothy grass but looking it up on the net it's totally different. Any help with a description and treatment I'd appreciate.

That looks like St Augustine. It's what passes for grass in Houston. Our lawns are made of it. It's a creeping grass (versus seed). Thick bladed, heat resistant, and tough.

You'll need to rip it out if that's not what you want as it will take over.

In Houston we call it grass. We can't seem to get anything else to grow :)

First you need to find out if it's an annual or a perennial...

It looks like what we call annual crab grass, which means you deal with it next with crab-grass spray.

I have something like that in my yard, but we have freezing winters here and I thought St. Augustine wouldn't survive that.

I've tried to pull it and spray it. Nothing works. Next up: roundup.

On the parts of the lawn where it is not competing with the normal grass, does it fan out low to the ground?
From here, it looks like crabgrass.
Bayer makes a great crabgrass, and broadleaf killer in one container.
The newer gal product comes with a battery powered sprayer...all in one. It can be refilled.
Bayer products are excellent.

is that what grass looks like??

send it to me, only thing green in my yard is weeds

Looks like bermudagrass to me. The local extension office has this to say about it:

"Quackgrass and Bermudagrass is more difficult to control since there are no herbicides to selectively kill these without damaging the lawn. Also, pulling or digging is often unsuccessful as only a small portion of a rhizome remaining in the soil will generate a new plant. The best way to control quackgrass, is to spot treat weed-infested areas with glyphosate (Roundup, Kleenup, etc.)."

If you dig down 4 feet and the replace all that dirt with perfectly sterile fill, you can get rid of St. Augustine. For a season or two.
There is only one product I know of that can get rid of that stuff without killing the fescue and I won't recommend it because it's safety has been called into question.

For reference it's called turflon ester.
Do your own homework, the EPA says it's safe but others don't agree and I don't feel like being a litigant.

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Yep, St. Augustine.

Yep. I have a pretty big lawn, about 1/3 acre. Used to be a fanatic about it..spot kill bad grasses with roundup, then seed with desirable grasses.

Today? If it's green and kinda looks like grass, I just mow it.

I'd be worried about using chemicals to control St. Augustine. In my experience, you'd likely just kill everything else first. It's pretty tough.

Because it spreads with runners, it's not too hard to pull out of flower beds or other small/new areas it creeps into. Not sure it'd be easy to rip out a big established patch, though -- It gets pretty interwoven and matted.

Like all plants it needs sunlight -- and St Augustine seems to really like full sun and water -- it doesn't grow well under big shade trees. And I've learned that it dies pretty quickly if covered up with dirt or debris (like from a hurricane).

If you've only got a patch of St. Augustine and don't want to rip it out by hand, consider putting a tarp or heavy trash bags over the affected area for a couple/three weeks. Use a rake to clear out the dead grass and loosen up the soil. Re-seed with whatever grass you use in your area. The grass seed will regrow before the St. Augustine does.

And you will likely have to be vigilant about pulling any roots that regrow runners, but that should be pretty obvious and relatively easy to maintain.

Kentucky is too far north for St Augustine to be invasive like that...imo

I am dealing with something similar on a now less used gravel area.

Tarp works wonders, you will have an ugly patch, but short term pain long term gain I guess.

Bermuda grass has a narrow blade... that isn't Bermuda...Bermuda makes a nice lawn..... What you have is Johnson Grass. https://www.google.com/search?q=johnsongrass&client=safari&rls=en&source= lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiC84ad6ercAhURC6wKHb z_DF0Q_AUICigB&biw=1363&bih=607

Round up will kill it.

We have the same problem up here in OH! Just this year, its been terrible. Its been hot and wet, and I think its the perfect combo for it. It did respond when I used crabgrass killer, but came back with vengeance.

A lot of Johnson issues lately.

It also doesn't like to grow under about 80F.

Viagra ? SmileWavy

Sheesh! 19 posts and no one got it right!!
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If you plant bamboo it will get rid of the Johnson grass ;)

Use a selective herbicide with 2,4-D in it.....follow the directions....may need a couple applications a couple weeks apart. You should see browning within' the first week and can re-spray as needed 14 days after the first application.

Weed-B-Gon by Ortho is one that might work.

Try in a small area first before doing any large areas!

Timely thread. Something is invading the lawns around here where I am just south of permafrost zone. The thin stuff is the normal mix of perennial rye, Kentucky blue and red fescue. The thick bladed, lighter green stuff is taking over!

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A wider shot here. I'm thinking this is some kind of invasive non-native turfgrass most likely from Asia.


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Looks like common crab grass to me.

This goes against every thread of my being, but have you guys ever considered hiring one of those professional lawn care gurus? The guy who come by once a week or so and spray the magic green stuff?

I've considered it before, only for a few months at a time to make stuff look really nice.

unfortunately the watering laws have screwed up what was once a pretty nice yard.

Looks like Johnson Grass to me. St. Augustine has a rounded point blade that come off of the runners in a flat orientation.
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It use to be in Houston they called Johnson Grass "Dallas Grass" while in Dallas they called it "Houston Grass." ;)

+1 it’s not Bermuda.

Looks like crabgrass to me.

Hey....you found MY quarter! I just know it ain't fescue or Ky. bluegrass....or St A :(. People in Fl are funny....spend thousands for sod, more for religious watering, pest control, etc. And they want to call it grass too :)!

its crabgrass where I'm from. you kill it with money.

we have a lawn guy who spreads stuff a couple times a year. will take about 1 or 2 seasons to get real progress against that stuff as I'm told it has to be prevented, not killed. my neighbor uses the same lawn guy and he only does his front. yard. our back yards are remarkably different.

Thanks guys for all your input. Yea this one is a real monster to get rid of. I believe it is St. Augustine grass as it looks exactly like the pictures in Google images when searching St. Augustine. I’ve used Ortho weed be gone and didn’t phase it one bit. Right now the herbicide of choice is Drive XLR8 made by BASF. I’m mixing 3 tablespoons of Drive with one gallon of water and applied it twice in two weeks although the directions say reapply 14 days after first application. While Drive is killing crabgrass is doesn’t harm St. Augustine in any way.

I want to say that's not St Augustine, it's Dallas Grass. There are Youtube vids on how to kill it.

You can kill St Augustine with just a broad leaf type weed killer. No need for roundup, especially if you want something else to grow there. My neighbor laid his whole yard with st augustine sod and then killed it by too aggressively putting on a weed and feed.

No, this is NOT St. Augustine.
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It is quite different from this which is.
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here too.

I have a confession to make: I bought some Roundup grass and weed killer this weekend and sprayed it selectively around the yard. I mostly used it on a bunch of random weeds growing around my setbacks, but did also spray some on some "St Augustine" that was sending runners into places I didn't want it. I'll report back with whether it made any difference.

And I wore gloves.

You're on to something. After overthinking about what herbicide to use i've decided to go the burn route. Just bought one of these from Amazon
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So sometime this weekend i'll give it a try. I did read that it's not a one and done kind of solution but I have to repeat the burn until the root is starved and finally die. Funny thing is most of the problem is in my neighbors yard. What I got my neighbor will get and what my neighbor got I'll get.
Wish me luck.

Why not go with something like this? It will allow any good grass to continue growing..instead of having scorched earth.
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