Sacreligious—but here goes

Maureen W – posted 25 August 2004 17:47

We are getting ready to install our Bermuda grass on our new house but our problem comes in the “back” part of our yard that is technically owned by us but not allowed to build on. We basically have 1.5 acres but only .75 will be the lawn–the rest leads down to the lake behind our house but will constantly have to be bush hogged to be cut. What(if anything) can we do to basically kill this grass or at least slow its growth way down so we don’t have to spend so much time and money on a useless grass area. Thanks.

Alex_in_FL – posted 25 August 2004 18:04

A few options:1. Plant a groundcover plant instead of bermuda2. Plant zoysia and mow less often3. Xeroscape the area with rocks and such

I’ve heard of diluting Roundup to about 5 or 10 percent of recommended strength and lightly spraying to stun the growth without killing it.

Good luck

Maureen W – posted 26 August 2004 06:25

1. Plant a groundcover plant instead of bermuda2. Plant zoysia and mow less often3. Xeroscape the area with rocks and such

Thanks Alex, however the stuff that is there now is whatever grows near a lake—we wouldn’t be planting anything nor able to do the rocks because the state wouldn’t allow us to disturb the area. Our only choice(as far as I can tell) is once we cut it to try and spray something on it to either kill or slow down the growth. I will try the weed killer though–thanks.

jr – posted 26 August 2004 09:43

The labeled rate for Roundup is 2.5 oz per gallon, yielding a 2% solution by volume, just to clarify the above post that recommended a 5 to 10% solution to stunt growth. Clearly that is a fallacy.

cohiba – posted 26 August 2004 09:49

Maureen,

Why not try wildflowers? Mow early in spring, roundup and seed. Watch them bloom all season long and mow again in the spring. Lesco should have some good Ready Made seed blends for your area. Consult your local cooperative extension folks for more precise timing info. The flowers look great and will reduce the amount of inputs needed to this area. All this is well and good unless you plan to use this area for recreation. Then turf is the cheapest alternative.

Hope this helps……………

Alex_in_FL – posted 27 August 2004 02:37

JR – Re read the post. It specifically states to dilute to 5-10% of the RECOMMENDED STRENGTH (caps added this time).

Maureen: What state/county? Many times states will let you plant in the wetland and floodplain areas if you use the correct plants.

Alex**Read twice, measure twice, mix once, spray once**

Maureen W – posted 27 August 2004 14:29

Hi Alex, we are in the osceola County Florida area. Our back yard will be approximately 35×150 of Bermuda which we will then gradually slope till we hit the area still technically “owned” by us but unable to touch according to the state. This area is about .75 acres that is much lower then our lawn area but leads directly down to the lake shore. We won’t need to use this area for the kids to play but will use it to go down to the lake. Our only alternative is to build a dock about 300ft long to the waters edge from our back property line—thus we will be using our Bermuda lawn in back alot but we will have to do something with the area that we “technically” own but the state won’t let us touch. Since this area grows quite fast our only choice up to this point has been to have it bush hogged every couple of weeks. Thanks again.