Killing Saint Augustine without killing bermuda

Bill W. M. – posted 05 April 2001 08:45

My back yard has a mix of bermuda and Saint Augustine. I want to kill the St. Augustine and let the bermuda take over. Any suggestions?

Drake – posted 07 April 2001 04:57

I believe your best bet would be to adjust the cutting height. Bermuda likes a short cut; something around an inch. St Augustinedoes best when it is maintained at three inches or so. Over time the St Augustine should thin out.

Burlap_Etc – posted 17 April 2001 21:47

quote:Originally posted by Bill W. M.:My back yard has a mix of bermuda and Saint Augustine. I want to kill the St. Augustine and let the bermuda take over. Any suggestions?

Hay Bill, How are you doing? Help has arrived. There is a simple process to control the St. Augustine in you Bermuda. What you want to find is a 2-4-D type of herdicide. One I use is called Three Way. This is a selective herbicide for use on but not only Bermuda. This product will smoke St Augustine. You must check to see if this is registered in your state. Secondly this is a heat restrictive product. What I mean is that as it get to 80-ish you have a Bermuda burn potential. So follow all label instructions.Feel free to ask away and please let me know where you are located. Burlap_Etc

seed – posted 18 April 2001 19:18

In my experience it is the MCPP component that is harmful to St. Augustinegrass, not the 2,4-D component. That might affect how you approach this experiment, as so-called 3-way phenoxy combinations vary in the relative proportions of MCPP, 2,4-D and dicamba. But be careful when you think of “smoking” anything. Read and follow the label, and don’t go overboard.

Besides, drought and verticutting will also do a lot more harm to the St. Augustinegrass than the bermudagrass, without the risk of injury to neighboring desirable plants.

Phil