Wednesday, July 08, 2009
Enhance your fescue, reduce your Bermuda
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: I found a Web site that recommended "Ornamec" and "Furflon” in combination to get rid of wire grass and not kill the fescue. Please look into this and let me know what you think.
A: I spent a lot of time looking into this recommendation. I have to say that I can’t endorse this suggestion for permanently killing wire grass. Let me explain before I make suggestions.
The first thing I must mention is my bias against some items that appear on the Internet. The Internet can be used like a big catalog of things for public consumption without controls for accuracy or effectiveness. I guess that my feelings are founded in my many years of work for Virginia Cooperative Extension, which claimed that our recommendations must be based on research. Web sites that end with “.edu” should be reliable since that designation is given only to educational institutions. Items on the Internet that are chemical labels, trademarked or are sanctioned by some link to government should be based on trials and are thus reliable.
I checked the Web site that you mentioned, and it brought me to a sales pitch for products from the Yard Lover folks. The information mentioned at this site said that this formulation of Ornamec will fend off Bermuda grass if applied in early spring and fall. Wire grass is wild Bermuda grass. The site used the words “fend off” rather than killing the Bermuda grass forever. That brought many red flags into mind.
I clicked on the link for the product label of Ornamec Over-The-Top grass herbicide since chemical labels must be based on tests and approved by the government. That product does kill unwanted grasses, but the section titled “Personal Protective Equipment” makes me think that this product is to be used only by licensed commercial pesticide applicators, not homeowners.
I did a lot of looking for the Furflon product to see how this combination would enhance Ornamec’s ability to kill wiregrass. I tried a Google search, looked for a Material Safety Data Sheet on Furflon and even looked through Virginia Tech’s Pest Management Guide on the Web. All attempts were unsuccessful. My feeling is that your note had an incorrect name in Furflon.
Here are my suggestions: Work through your local Cooperative Extension Office to get a recommendation from a weed control specialist at your state’s Land Grant University. Also, look through articles I have written in the past to learn how to enhance your fescue lawn while at the same time reducing the presence of Bermuda grass.
Q: Will oleander die in the winter in the Roanoke Valley if planted in the ground?
A: It is my understanding that oleander is a mid- to deep-Southern flower that will not survive during winter if planted in the ground here in the Roanoke Valley. Even with winter protection, it’s not worth trying.
Q: I desire to purchase some red and white spider lily bulbs. As of yet, I have been unable to find any place which offers these bulbs for sale. Please advise me of at least one company where I can purchase these bulbs.
A: Unfortunately, I cannot recommend where you can purchase spider lily bulbs of the red and the white varieties. This is one of the useful roles played by the Internet. Do a Google search asking for those varieties and select only the names of the suppliers that you recognize, such as Park Seed Company. Also, look for suppliers that show pictures so you’ll know what you’re getting. You’ll probably get several sites from your Google search that you won’t want.
Another suggestion is to look the old-fashioned way through flower and bulb catalogs. Your local Cooperative Extension Office might have ideas, although the office cannot recommend places to shop or people to hire. The Cooperative Extension Office here in the Roanoke Valley where I used to work maintained a horticulture catalog library for the public to come in and browse through.
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.
