Grassy Sassy

There is an enemy among us, and it is called Bermuda Grass.

One day, while mowing my lush, deep green lawn, I noticed a small patch of ‘fuzzy’ grass.  I thought “no big deal, it’s just grass, right?”. Wrong. It was Bermuda Grass.

3 months later, the small fuzzy patch has become a big fuzzy patch, and the battle to eliminate the invader has begun.

Bermuda Grass is a rhizome, meaning it actually grows laterally, beneath the soil.  It’s roots are hair-like strands which can extend up to 2 feet below the surface.  The Bermuda spreads laterally along the surface, propagating a mesh of woody roots on top of healthy turfgrasses (like my precious) tall fescue.

Bermuda can’t be removed by hand.  Believe me I tried – an hour of pulling might kill a square foot.  Kinda futile when you have 1000 square feet of grass.  Herbicidal options are few – most internet searches yield only the dreaded ‘nuclear option’ – kill the whole lawn  – Bermuda and all – with RoundUP and start over.

After much searching, I located a product called Ornamec, supposedly the only product that can kill Bermuda.  Extremely expensive and only available via landscaping product wholesalers, I have placed my hope and faith in this nasty juice.  Let’s hope it works!

2 thoughts on “Grassy Sassy

  1. Tibs

    Well, Having dealt with various “grass” over the years I have 2 recommendations:
    1)Use the urine of an Australian Bagel Beetle. Their UB’s ar ehighly effective in displacing the grass
    or
    2) go with a Caribbean motif in your pad and embrace the overall islandy lifestyle of your lawn.

  2. peter lee

    I’ve had grass from California, Maui, Mexico, and I’m sure other places, but never from Bermuda. I can only imagine how hard it would be to smoke Bermuda grass and remember to drive on the left side at the same time!

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