Shop Products
Houzz Logo Print
oberci

Lawn ID please!

oberci
11 years ago

Hello,

This is my backyard lawn. I'm hoping that these pictures will help with identifying what type it is. For reference, I am in East Sacramento/West Carmichael area, 95821.

Unfortunately about 30% of the backyard lawn has been overrun by bermuda grass (YUCK) and I'd like to eradicate that and get this type of grass everywhere. Our house was vacant for a year and a half, so I'm not sure how long the bermuda was in the lawn etc. I'd like to ID this grass and hopefully treat the areas with bermuda. Tahnks for your help!

(ignore the weeds, I'm working on learning proper organic lawn care)

{{gwi:109726}}

and a close-up:

{{gwi:109727}}

Comments (16)

  • grass1950
    11 years ago

    Fescue? K31?

  • tiemco
    11 years ago

    I second tall fescue, not sure if it's K-31, looks too green, but it certainly is a wide bladed variety. I think a more important issue question is how do you plan on getting rid of the Bermuda? Bermuda is notorious difficult to irradicate, even with Round-up.

  • oberci
    Original Author
    11 years ago

    Thank you both!

    Tiemco: I bought a product called Ornamec that I'd like to use to eradicate the bermuda. Do you know anything about it? (I'm starting a new thread on my questions about this product and would appreciate if you took a gander at it)
    How do I reseed the bermudagrass area with fescue come fall?

  • texas_weed
    11 years ago

    I bought a product called Ornamec that I'd like to use to eradicate the bermuda. Do you know anything about it?

    Good luck with that. The Bermuda grass cannot be stopped and you will be Assimilated. Resistance is futile.

  • grass1950
    11 years ago

    TW what do you tell your wife when she asks you, "Does this dress make me look fat?"

  • mickbo
    11 years ago

    Perhaps I'm in the minority but I've actually had some success killing off bermuda with Round Up. Just make sure that you apply when the bermuda is actively growing, wait a week or two to see the places you missed and then apply again. After I killed off the bermuda, I reseeded with tall fescue and haven't seen any runners yet. Going on two years now...

  • mickbo
    11 years ago

    Sorry DandyLioness, I didn't realize that you had two threads going. I posted a comment just above and posted a pic on your other one.

  • nearandwest
    11 years ago

    "Good luck with that. The Bermuda grass cannot be stopped and you will be Assimilated. Resistance is futile."

    texas-weed: Have you ever used Ornamec for the purpose of controlling bermudagrass and/or other grassy weeds? You should try it some time. I, for one, was pleasantly surprised by the results of using Ornamec in landscape beds. It did take multiple applications, but the product did work as advertised. It completely annhialated the bermudagrass and other grassy weeds. As for using it in an existing stand of turfgrass, we have not tried that. However, the label does state that it can be used for controlling bermudagrass in fescue and zoysia.

    Yes, bermudagrass can be difficult to control, but it is not invincible.

  • dchall_san_antonio
    11 years ago

    I had really good results just burying it under 2 inches of sand and 2 more inches of mulch. That was about 5 years ago. The only bermuda I've seen there is where it has crept back in from the sides, but not from underneath.

  • liyannarose
    11 years ago

    I took over the yard care for my dad's yard last year.It was really bad, no matter how much I watered,it just looked bad. I then dug a section up and saw the water was only getting the top inch or so wet.I then used a thatch rake on it, and the change was amazing.But only lasted for about a month.This yard is 30x40 it has 2 chinese elms (wont die) 1 poplar 2 cottonwoods a palm tree all next to each other in a row. With a catalpa tree in the center.The entire yard has never been tilled in the 20 yrs he's lived there,with the exception of a 10x15 section.It has huge tree roots surfacing everywhere.The 10x15 section was tilled with multitude of roots that kept choking the blades.It has been seeded two times all seed planted grows well for about a month then dies.I did check for grass grubs but found no more.It only gets about 2 hr of sun. It did have grass grubs really bad, but was treated last yr for them.The same section is just riddled with all sizes of tree roots too.I have used scotts lawn products and ammonia sulfate. Is it possible for a yard to have 20 yrs of thatch build up? I have even had to dig up all the flowers and put them in pots,because they don't live long or are stunted in growth.Am at the point where the only thing keeping me from blowing it up is my dad's home. :(

  • liyannarose
    11 years ago

    This is what his yard looked like in spring 2011.It looked like this until around late Aug.

  • dchall_san_antonio
    11 years ago

    I must have overlooked the suggestions that this was fescue. It really looks like St Augustine to me. Does the grass grow on long runners above ground or does it grow in individual clumps? In any case you have it looking pretty good.

    If it grows from long runners, then it is St Augustine. The best care for St Aug is to mow it at your mower's highest setting (which it looks like you're doing). Water it when it looks dry. Fertilize with organics as often as your budget allows. I like the price of alfalfa pellets this year and used a lot of those. With organics it is very (VERY) hard to use too much. One guy on another forum used soy bean meal and Milorganite at a rate that amounted to well over 1,000 pounds per 1,000 square feet over the course of the growing season. That was at least 50 pounds per 1,000 every week. You can easily get by on 20 pounds per 1,000 3x per year unless you really want to thicken it up.

  • jlmart26
    11 years ago

    i also need help identifying what type of grass I have
    Thanks

  • dchall_san_antonio
    11 years ago

    jlmart, again, that looks like St Augustine that needs fertilizer and/or less frequent watering. Where do you live?

  • jlmart26
    11 years ago

    I am in Mission,tx i planted some st. agustine in another section and was watering it twice a day for like 10-20 minutes and it came out pretty nice I also added some of that scott's starter fertilizer as well. That grass looked like the picture in my previous post before and like after a week it turned real nice and green now I only water it every other day and eventually then cut it back to once a week. This new sod that I planted is only 5 days so I will give some time before I also starts to get green as well at least I hope it does. The only problem I have with the other grass I planted is that termites have gotten into some parts of it and I don't know what to do I was thinking of spraying melathion any suggestions?
    Thanks for the advice I appreciate it

  • dchall_san_antonio
    11 years ago

    Definitely less frequent watering. This time of year you should be watering once a month, not every other day. New sod will need more frequent water until the new roots knit into the underlying soil. Then start backing off on frequency and watering longer. ONCE A MONTH, not thrice a week. Your picture looks normal for very new sod. Have you looked into an organic approach to fertilizer?

    Termites? Can you get a real close up picture of these termites?