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gldno1

Ozarks Ground Cover

gldno1
14 years ago

This is for our Arkansas friend who didn't know what cheat was:

From Gardening 2010

That lush soft grass growing under the spirea prunifolia is cheat! lower left is henbit (which you know).

I just sprayed around the blackberries with Gly-4 (generic Roundup) before the cheat gets too much taller. I can't use the string trimmer there because of cutting down the blackberries. and the fight is on.............

Comments (7)

  • christie_sw_mo
    14 years ago

    I didn't know either, but it looks familiar. I wonder if there's any weeds that I don't have. lol
    I have lots of henbit. It invades my shade gardens too.
    I have more wild onions every year. I think when I pull them it leaves little bulblets behind that sprout again so I guess I need to start spraying it instead. That's hard to do when it's mixed in with flowers though.

  • ladycraft
    14 years ago

    We had it back in KS, but I don't think I have any here. I hope it doesn't come for a stay either!

  • helenh
    14 years ago

    Your soil is very fertile. The weeds grow thick on good soil. I don't think it looks bad. I am adapting to weeds. If you can't beat um join um. When my mother was living on her own but was getting too old to mow, she just mowed a path through the grass and declared her yard a wildlife area. I offered to mow but she insisted that was what she wanted. I am not sure how long that idea lasted because there were snakes over there. You could put down some newspaper and put a little compost or barn dirt over just enough to cover.

  • gldno1
    Original Author
    14 years ago

    Christie, sometimes if a dandelion or thistle is too close to a good plant to spray, I use a soft paint brush to brush on the gly-4.

    Helen, we have already removed a 48" long Black snake from the back porch.....don't want to worry about them being in the tall grass or I would love your Mother's technique!

    I do want to use newspapers and mulch under the spirea but other things keep popping up......I need a yard man! I can't keep up.

  • jaceysgranny
    14 years ago

    Does cheat have little black seeds on it? I've got something this year I've never seen before but it's only about 5 or 6 inches tall. I may have to take a pic of it and look it up. Thank you for showing me the cheat.

  • mulberryknob
    14 years ago

    OOoohh, I have that stuff and hate it. I have a rose border that is undergrown with it this spring. It is growing over a weedmat and mulch. I'll cover it in a thick layer of the new chips but that will take time as so much else has priority. And darn it, I have the first cold I've had for over a year. Bad enough with a sore throat that it has slowed me considerably.

  • gldno1
    Original Author
    14 years ago

    Cheat will get about 18 to 24 inches and the seed head looks kind of like an oat head. It is encloses in a raspy sharp husk. Dad hated it; it would work into the skin of his fox hounds and cause an infection. It will also cut your hands if you pull up on the seed heads....the grass itself is soft. When the weather gets hot it will turn yellow and die off early.

    mulberryknob, sorry about the cold. I hate feeling bad anytime but gardening season is the pits! My jaw is feeling much better today. I think the antibiotics working.

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