Thursday, April 17, 2008
Wiregrass is tough to kill
John Arbogast
Landscape consultant John Arbogast answers your questions every Thursday. Send questions about your lawn, garden, plants, or insects to:
Dear John
5102 Greenfield St. SW
Roanoke, Va. 24018
Or send an e-mail. Answers will be given only in this column. Please don't send pictures or samples.
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Q: My question is "can wiregrass be killed' (eradicated from lawn)? We live in Salem and have wiregrass mixed in our front yard. What I remember is, when I was a kid, my Dad would not let wiregrass get 'thrown' near his garden; it was always put in the trash to go out; his theory was you can't kill it once it gets going.
A: As best I can tell, there are no effective products that will permanently eradicate wiregrass from a bluegrass and/or fescue lawn. Lawn product companies have been trying to develop such products for years, but I can’t sincerely recommend any product to remove a specific unwanted perennial grass from another perennial grass lawn without damaging the desired grass and/or becoming ineffective.
The non-selective plant killer sold as Roundup with the active ingredient glyphosate can be sprayed onto actively growing wiregrass in a lawn to kill almost all growing plants whose green parts absorb the ingredient. However, several days after applying Roundup, the dead plants (turf) must be raked out, new grass seeded, and recommended post-planting care, especially watering, must be provided.
Because you live in Salem, the desired grass type in your front yard is bluegrass and/or turf-type tall fescue. These grass kinds are the most common in this area. They are in the “cool-season” turf type category. Wiregrass is a type of wild Bermudagrass, which is in the “warm-season” turf type category. However, they are biologically all perennial grasses.
My recommendation for eliminating wiregrass from your bluegrass and/or fescue front yard is to manage the turf to favor the “cool-season” grasses (bluegrass and fescue) and not help the “warm-season” wiregrass to thrive at all. Specifically, “cool-season” grass enhancers should include the following: fertilize moderately with nitrogen one to three times during the fall months, which is the best time of year for bluegrass and fescue plants to receive nutrients, and do not fertilize the lawn during the spring, which aids the wiregrass but not the roots of the bluegrass and fescue; mow the lawn at a medium to high setting of 2 ½ to 3 inches rather than low cutting height; rake out dead debris, overseed new desired “cool-season” grass varieties in the early fall; and water the lawn priority areas as allowed to reduce stress on the bluegrass and fescue.
Q: At home in Maryland we could buy double-sifted lovely brown topsoil by the truck load. We've been here four years now and I haven't found a source of good topsoil; just gravelly stuff with little real soil in it. Can you tell me the nearest source of good topsoil closest to Moneta?
A: Locating “good” topsoil in many areas can be difficult. I don’t have a source in the Moneta area to suggest to you, but I do want to tell you my suggestions to find topsoil in almost any area. Unfortunately, there are no guarantees with any of these possibilities.
Begin by contacting farmers in your area. You should have some idea of producers in your Moneta area. You can target those who keep animals in barns or small areas. These places could be a source of rich, organic soil, although you might have some weed seeds in the soil if the animals feed in weedy places.
Ask landscapers who serve your area. The project installers might use “good” topsoil in some of their work and thus be able to sell you some or tell you where they find it.
Real estate developers in your region might have topsoil that they must remove from new parking areas and other places in preparing for construction where “good” topsoil will not be returned to the site.
Q: I just won a strawberry bush plant at the Home and Garden show here in Victorville, Calif. The only instructions were to water three times a week until established. However, since I live in the High Desert, I wonder if this plant can be planted in full sun, does it spread like a vine and will it withstand frost.
A: I recall hearing about a type of begonia here in the eastern United States that has the common name of strawberry bush. However, I have no way of knowing if this begonia grows there in California.
Your question is a good example of why botanic names are so important for plant selection and use. Plant common names can vary from region to region, but plant botanic names are the standard internationally. Contact the place where you won the plant to see if they have an invoice that gives this name.
