Weeds & Bad Grass in Miami Dade

mrwizard93 – posted 07 May 2007 13:04

Ok, here is my problem – I have a St Augustine lawn that looks like it should be a test lawn for weed killing manufacturers. I have so many different types of weeds and bad grass that I am clueless in what to use to kill them. I have weeds that I have no idea how to identify. A bunch of the websites I go to for identification are of no help because the pictures are of such low quality.

Here are some notable problems I have – – I know that I have crab grass – for sure. – I have grass that is really thin and forms clumps that when I pull them out they take out a chunk of soil.- I have a pale green grass with soft leaves.- I have a very thin grass with shoots that extend about 12 inches or more from where they start. This one is literally taking over in some spots, damn it. – I have a weed that is similar to one of the grasses in the sense that it has shoots that crawl over my grass and it has little purplish or blue flowers.- I have dollar weed.- I have a weed that grows incredibly fast with a hollow stem with some spines on the leaves.- I have a weed that has small leaves and stems that form an intertwining web over an area and the stems are pretty strong.

This is just to name a few.

I have almost given up – this summer is my last attempt at getting a green happy lawn and if not I will pave it all over with green cement – just kidding. My plan is to use either Lesco or Scotts weed and feed monthly and I might even brave spraying Image when the growing season is in full gear next month (I am waiting for the rains to come in). Last summer, I tried some Ortho weed-b-gon for St Augustine lawns and all it did was kill my grass and leave it susceptible to weeds – go figure – which exacerbated the smaller weed problem I was trying to get a hold of. I almost called Ortho to bitch them out and get a refund.

So my questions – – Am I crazy and should I not use so much fertilizer/weed killer on my lawn?- Does anyone know of a good site that can help identify my weeds?- Any recommendations/good sites out there for Miami Residents with St Augustine laws?

A couple of things about my lawn. I live in western Miami-Dade County in a new development that is about 3 years old. The soil layer underneath my lawn is a bit shallow which I think may be constraining the grass from really taking hold and getting strong enough to avoid these problems. The sides of my house do not get that much light which may help in making the sides weed factories. We are currently in a drought so certain things will have to wait till summer.

I will hopefully be posting some pictures in the near future showing some of my more “favorite” weeds which also might help jog some memories out there.

Thank you all for your help!Cesar B

murquiza – posted 07 May 2007 23:04

First of all mow high. I’m slowly getting rid of the weeds by:

1. Fertilize every time with Scotts Weed & Feed (Every two months)2. Mow at the highest setting of your mower. The grass will be taller than your neighbors but after 4-5 months you will notice it is thicker and greener than the rest.3. Control bugs, I spray with Ortho Bug-b-Gone every season.4. Water it 2-3 times a week very early 4-5AM and for about 40 minutes.5. Pull-out the most weeds you can.6. CAREFULY soak a cotton in Round-Up and attack hard to kill weeds by rubbing the cotton on their leaves.7. If after the weeds start dying you have bare spots use plugs to have new healthy grass growing there.

Almaroad – posted 11 May 2007 07:33

Go to Lowes and buy a bottle of Image for St. Augustine and Centipede. It is the nozzle end bottle that covers 8000sf. Make sure you follow directions on bottle on mowing. It will knock out a lot of those weeds. Active chem. compound is Imaquine. It will take about 2-3 weeks for the dollar weed and other to leave. Another application will probably be needed. DO APPLY WHEN TEMP IS OVER 90. Post a report on results in a week or so after application!

Almaroad – posted 11 May 2007 07:40

Caesar: There’s a lot more to know about St. Augustine. PM me for a little more info. For now, Use a 15-0-15 fertilize with Iron. See your Lesco dealer or buy at a good hardware. Home Depot may have this fertilize. They do in SC

mrwizard93 – posted 16 May 2007 06:44

Almaroad, thanks for the advice. I will be letting you know how it comes along and i appreciate the help.

This is what I have done so far – I bought some Scotts Weed and Feed and applied it the day after the original post – and it rained that night and for a couple of days which was nice. I don’t know if it’s because I want it to work so my mind is tricking me or it’s really working but I have to admit it seems to be doing an OK job with some of the weeds I have. I have also been lightly applying the fertilizer every other week. Some of them are dying out on me and the dollar weed is really almost gone. I have also been mowing almost every week because I want to keep the lawn at a nice height while I do this so this may also be a factor. I bought Lesco Weed and Feed for St Augustine this weekend and expect to do the same as I did with the last fertilizer – every other week. I hope this is a good strategy. I am going to wait about a month after this bag runs out to apply the Image and I will be crossing my fingers that my lawn will be in one piece after that. I hear really good/really bad things about Image so I might try it on the ugly part of my lawn first before I venture out to the good parts. We will see. I hope to get some pictures up soon – it’s just been a bit hectic in my house, my wife had twins and we have a 2-year old to boot.