Identifying a St. Augustine Weed

Rossco – posted 02 August 2003 20:26

I am having trouble identifying a weed in my St. Augustine lawn. I bought 18 months ago and the first summer discovered it and that it was too late to do anything. I pulled it as much as possible. In the winter it died off and I thought I was rid of it. Come summer it is back and stronger than ever coming up all over now. I took it to Home depot and they said it was torpedo grass. I have researched hour on the internet. But it does not look like torpedo grass which is erect. My weed sends out long runners flat to the ground with short 5-10mm wide blades which are hairless. Some are easy to pull while others hard. These are the closest pictures I can find to identify it but not exactly the same as the blades are more spaced and thinner.

Any help appreciated.

Thanks.

Rossco – posted 02 August 2003 20:30

Sorry the photos are at :

http://www.griffin.peachnet.edu/cssci/TURF/DIGLO.htm

Jims’ Turf – posted 09 August 2003 14:20

If it looks anything like the picture you posted I would have to say it is some type of crabgrass. Either hairy or smooth or possibly alexander grass. Gaining control over these kinds of grass once they have invaded takes patience and persistance. If you let someone else take care of your lawn both chemically and on the mowing and you spend very little time in the lawn, these grasses will take over. You need to take charge of your lawn and inspect it on a regular basis. These grasses don’t just take over over night. At the beginning of the summer rainy season and when temps start to stay over 75-80 the seeds deposited by these plants during the prior growing season begin to germinate. This is when I start looking for the immature plants, they are very easy to pull out at this stage of growth because the roots are not established yet. They are easier to see before you mow and early in the morning because the morning dew sticks to the leaves. This method can work if you are persistant. If you turn your back on them they will take over in what seems like over night. If a patch gets away from me I used to put baking soda on it but if I put it on to heavy I would burn the St. Augustine also. I have since been using a product called crabgrass control that I buy online at www.crabgrassalert.com

certified-in-florida – posted 28 September 2003 17:48

I agree with the previous post that it looks more like a crabgrass than torpedo grass. I have some turf which I am reponsible for which has torpedo grass growing more in tune with the st. aug or bermuda instead of growing upright. If is is torpedo grass, I know of no chemical treatment on a selective basis (targeting the torpedo and nothing else). Products like fusaladeII and Vantage will also harm the St. Aug.

If you find a product which will do that, please let me know. I have almost 1.5 million square feet of turf I’m responsible for.