Dollar Weeds

Need Help – posted 26 October 2004 22:12

We live in Jax Florida and in the last month or so dollar weeds have just about taken over our st. augustine grass. About 2 weeks ago we applied lessco ferterlizer 15-0-15 for the winter. We also put Scotts fungicide. And then last week we applied a spray for assorted lawn bugs. Now I need to do something about weeds. Earlier in the year we had a really thick nice looking yard but now all of a sudden I have dollar weeds, clover, crabrass, signalgrass and nutsedge. Any suggestions on how to get rid of them short of removing the lawn and starting over. Thanks….

Buck – posted 27 October 2004 14:27

I use a product called Drive manufactured by BSAF and available at Lesco on 419 in costal North Carolina. Kills the $$ as well as RoundUp would. Make sure that your turf will tolerate it, it’s pretty stroung stuff but does not damage bermuda.

yardpro – posted 30 October 2004 14:13

any trimec product or even 2,4-D will work wonders. trimec is marked under the following names. triplet, tri-mec, three way, weed out, weed be gone, and a few others. try and get the “southern” mix as it has less dicamba and is safer on st aug.

also image is a good control once you have it knocked down.

mikemaas00 – posted 17 December 2004 10:29

DO NOT use Drive. It is only for coolseason grasses and bermuda. Spray the 2,4-d or spread or spray an atrazine product during the winter months like mentioned above. For the sedge, Manage is probably the best product on the market. Starting in February, Lesco has fertilizers with a preemergent herbicide. Your best bet will be Pre-M (yellow bag) with an analysis like 5-10-20. This stuff stains everything yellow, but it works and is cheap. 6-8 weeks later, apply another pre-m fertilizer, only this time with an analysis like 16-2-16…something with a high first number. This will take care of your crabgrass. You can use the 5-10-20 pre-m again in October or Nov to try to slow down the winter annuals…anything that pops up during the winter, spray with the 2,4-d or atrazine again. Stay somewhat close to this schedule and you will start to see better weed control. The most important thing, though, DO NOT use Drive. It is a great product, but not for St. Augustine grass.

jr – posted 20 December 2004 09:34

I don’t think 2,4-D is for st augustine either. Homeowners really shouldnt be using that stuff anyway. They apply it at high rates when its a hundred degrees out and end up killing all their trees and shrubs in the process. Why wouldn’t he simply use atrazine for the broadleaf weeds and image for the sedge?As for using Pre-M, if you don’t want to turn everything yellow, use ronstar. Its a granular pre-emergent like pre-m but it doesnt stain.

mikemaas00 – posted 29 December 2004 15:12

Ronstar is not registered for use on residential lawns anymore. I wish it was because it works great. The cheapest and most effective route is still probably the pendamethlin (pre-m), although the yellow staining sucks. At my local Lesco, there are two products they will sell me for broadleaf postemergent control. Bentgrass Selective and Three-Way. These are both 2,4-d type products…the threeway is a little stronger. Use a little soap or some type of sticker with it for most effect on dollarweed.

ted – posted 29 December 2004 16:26

you can’t use 24d on st. aug. in the warmer months, it’s extremely toxic.

mikemaas00 – posted 04 January 2005 13:58

In my experience, a 2,4-d product like three-way will work great in weather from 60 to 80 degrees farenheit. The closer it is to 80, the better it seems to work. Usually October-November is a great time to use it, as long as the highs arent in the upper 80s anymore.