We have an area in the front of our house where grass doesn’t grow very well. My husband, bless his heart, has tried in vain for 3 years to establish lawn in this area. Inevitably, no matter what he has tried grass seed or sod, this area ended up being bare soil. It was the topic of conversation on a recent Saturday night. Although I could see he was tired and frustrated from working on the project once again, I had to admit, I really never noticed that part of our yard. It was incredibly important to him, but it would be about the last thing that I ever saw when looking at our yard. When I walk around our yard, I notice the flowers, shrubs and trees. The lawn, to me is simply the background. I equate it to looking at a wall inside a home. Do you see the pictures or the wall? When you look at a cloud filled sky, do you see the clouds or the blue sky behind them? Maybe some people are talented enough to see both, but I usually simply focus on the plants, pictures and clouds. The conversation between Chris and I has helped me shift my focus the past few weeks to the lawn. I am not sure that I like what I see.
Our yard is inundated with quackgrass! This is a perennial grass like weed that is considered a noxious weed in over 41 states. While it is difficult for me to properly explain how to identify quack grass in this forum, I will attempt it. A few characteristics include; the blades are about ¼-1/3” of an inch thick, rough on the upper surface and smooth underneath and pointed. The stem is hollow and they have slender claw like auricles that clasp the stem. Quackgrass also has a very deep root system that is comprised of rhizomes. These rhizomes spread underground, often resulting in new plants. It can be introduced into a yard from various sources. The plant produces seeds in June. These seeds are often transported by the wind and birds.
Eradicating or even controlling the spread of quackgrass in a yard is incredibly difficult. Because it is a perennial grassy weed many herbicides that kill broadleaf weeds do not kill quackgrass. Because there is not an effective selective herbicide option one of the best options may be to keep your turf grass as healthy and vigorous as possible. The idea behind this course of action is that a strong, healthy lawn will over time work to choke out the weeds. I would equate this to our own human immune system. Sometimes when we are healthy, we are less susceptible to getting sick. If your lawn is thick, lush and green, you may find that you have less problems with weeds.
As I had mentioned, there is not a selective herbicide, that I am aware of, that is labeled to kill quackgrass and doesn’t kill turf grass. What this means, is that if you want to use an herbicide to kill quackgrass, your only option would be a chemical product that has the potential to also kill anything that it touches. Herbicides that have the potential to kill all weeds are called non selective or broad spectrum herbicides. Examples of these would include Roundup, Kleenup, and Burnout. With a tremendous amount of effort and detail you may find it possible to apply a non selective herbicide to the quackgrass in your yard. Apply these products only according to the directions on the label and use with extreme caution.
When trying to control quackgrass, you could attempt to dig each plant out of your lawn. It is a start at eradication, but unfortunately it is unrealistic that you will be able to dig out the entire root system as it can reach down 6-8’ into the ground. The long rhizome roots may result in new plants occurring.
Chris mowed our lawn last night. Almost instantaneously the quackgrass was much less visible. We will continue to fertilize our lawn to keep it as healthy as possible, but have not opted to do any additional eradication methods. Instead, he will focus, once again on filling in that bare area with another round of grass seed. Maybe this time it will work.
Kathleen Carr is the owner of The Growing Scene, Inc., a garden center and landscaping company. She can be reached by calling 815-923-7322 or emailing her at Kathleen@thegrowingscene.com. Have a gardening question? Please contact her. She may address it in an upcoming column.
