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How to identify what my lawn consists of

engineeredgarden

15 years ago

Dr. Rogers,

I have questions about identifying the various types of growth that my yard consists of.

My father bought the place in 1964, and has never done anything to the "grass", other than mow it. If I were guessing what type of grass was initially sewn - i'd say probably bermuda. I would estimate that at least 20 different types of weeds are present, but don't know how to identify each. I see posts on here, where people are able to specifically identify what they are dealing with, but I cannot. I would like to make improvements, but it would not be cost effective for me to remove everything and start over, because of the size of the yard. What I would like to do, is find something that would eliminate the "bad" growth, and leave the "good" growth intact. I don't have any photos, but will take some this weekend. Perhaps they will help some.

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Comments (7)

yarddoctor
15 years ago
Dear Engineered Garden

Thank you very much for your inquiry. It sounds as though you should strive for a bermudagrass lawn. If this is the case, I would suggest a application of either Bayer Advanced All-in One Lawn Weed Control or Ortho Weed B Gon Max plus crabgrass control on your lawn now, followed by an application of a ammonium nitrate based fertilizer and then mowing properly at a height of 2.5 inches every 5 days. I think you will be impressed with the results. Send me before and after pictures.

Again, thanks for the question and let me know if you have more.

Respectfully

Trey Rogers, The Briggs & Stratton Yard Doctor, YardDoctor.com
engineeredgarden
Original Author
15 years ago
Dr. Rogers, here are some pictures of what I have. Can you please identify if this first picture is bermuda or not? Thanks

http://i29.tinypic.com/264hyxl.jpg
http://i30.tinypic.com/34smmjc.jpg
http://i26.tinypic.com/25g7wbp.jpg
http://i26.tinypic.com/25iy82w.jpg
http://i30.tinypic.com/s30z1c.jpg
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yarddoctor
15 years ago
Dear Engineered Garden,

I cannot see these pictures, as there is no link.

Trey Rogers, The Briggs & Stratton Yard Doctor, YardDoctor.com
engineeredgarden
Original Author
15 years ago
Ok, i'll do it this way...sorry

I think this may be bermuda

here are some of the weeds I have

I would love to know what the weed below is

You get the general idea. Here's a final photo of part of the yard.Thanks for all your help.
yarddoctor
15 years ago
Dear EG,

Thank you very much for your inquiry. In that first picture, I think I see more than one type of grass. I believe I see a bermudagrass seedhead, but I also see leaves that are distinctive to Kentucky bluegrass and St. Augustinegrass. Pictures are sometimes confusing. From the picture, the grass with the long runner appears to be bermudagrass, as this is very characteristic of its growth habit. One thing to remember about bermudagrass, it has several varieities which vary greatly in leaf width.

Pull the leaf away from the stem (not off), and where they were connected you should see a fringe of hairs. That is a identification key for bermudagrass. My students love that one!

For the broadleaf weed control, use what I recommended, then fertilize.

Again, thanks for the question and let me know if you have more.

Respectfully

Trey Rogers, The Briggs & Stratton Yard Doctor, YardDoctor.com
engineeredgarden
Original Author
15 years ago
Thanks, Dr. Rogers - you have been quite helpful!
christinamckaughan_yahoo_com
15 years ago
I know I have lots for bermuda grass in my yard. But we are tired of using the expensive weed control products. As a small child I remember my mother using amonia nitrate in 80 degree plus weather for about 5 to 7 days and it would kill everything but the bermuda. Then with a good rain should re-apply amonia nitrate and water daily to bring the bermuda out in a hurry and have a beautiful carpet like yard. What do you think of this method?

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