Bermuda Grass Lawn Overtaken by Weeds - Help!

9 years ago

Background:
We live in the Philippines on the coast.
We have a Berumuda Grass lawn for our small boutique hotel.

Our Bermuda was poorly maintained for a couple months. It was overgrown and not properly watered. Then our gardener cut the overgrown grass too short. There were many brown and dead patches as a result of the poor maintenence.

Plan of Action:
Flood the lawn with a deep soak of water once a week.
Cut the grass at least once a week. No more than 1/3rd of height.

Problem:
I went on a business trip and returned to find the lawn had recovered nicely after 2 weeks of new regimen. However, there was orchard grass weeds EVERYWHERE.

Photos of the Weeds:
http://imgur.com/a/1yEi9

Theory:
Gardener put a layer of fertilizer over the bermuda. Orchard grass promptly took advantage of weak bermuda and there were probably thousands of orchard grass seeds in the fertilizer.

Question:
Here is a photo of the grass.
What exact type is it, and how can I get rid of it?

I had my staff pull out every weed they could find until the grass was clear. It filled many buckets. We pulled them out as deeply as we could. We mowed the lawn again after we pulled everything out. Two days later I see hundreds of new weeds already two inches high.

Is it new seeds germinating or is there a root system that's sprouting new stems? Do we just have to keep pulling them until all the seeds have germinated or does the root have to be killed somehow?

My town only has a "Kill Everything in Sight" weed killer, so if there is a method to elimate this without weed killer what is it? If there is a product that will kill this weed and it's worth importing, what is it?

Thanks!

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Comments (6)

Kimmsr
9 years ago
Orchard Grass is a cool season bunching type of grass which can be difficult to remove without killing the desired grass. Is there someplace, such as the USDA Cooperative Extension Service, in the Philippines where you could have that grass properly identified and that could give some better choices for control?
PhilippinesHotel
Original Author
9 years ago
Possibly, but not where I live. Nobody in the Philippines has internet presence either so I'm pretty much on my own to figure this out.
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jean001a
9 years ago
I suspect your weedy grass is nutgrass (nutsedge) instead of orchard grass. It will require repeated attention over a period of time.

Take a look at the info at the link below.

To verify if it is nutgrass, dig several plants and look for the "nutlets" at the root tips. (See image at the link below.)

You can successfully win the fight if your treatments are timely. Must be removed by the time it has 4 to 6 leaves -- suggest you aim for the 4-leaf stage.

Because you apparently have sufficient staff, hand removal will work.

Here is a link that might be useful: Managing nursedge
PhilippinesHotel
Original Author
9 years ago
Thank you Jean. I had a few people identify it as nutsedge like you said.

It's been recommended to me to not water the lawn to slow growth and to continue pulling the rest of the germinating sedge seeds leftover from the fertilizer.

I am going to order a sedge herbicide and a pre-growth treatment to prevent future outbreaks.
jean001a
9 years ago
The main challenge with nutsedge are the "nuts" at the tips of the roots.

In order to get rid of the plants, you need to starve the nutlets. The more often the tops growth is removed by the time the plants get to the 4-leaf stage, the more reserves the nutlets must use up.

Yours will be a long struggle because you basically have more nutsedge than desirable grass.
Kimmsr
9 years ago
Keep in mind that sedges evolved as wet land plants and while they have adapted to growing in dryer conditions they still have that wet land growing condition in their genes. Most often when I see sedges growing in lawns it is because that lawn is irrigated, most often daily for short time periods. Often changing the schedule to once a week to deliver at least an inch of water has helped in many instances.