# Driveway border filled with "wire grass"



## bob22 (May 28, 2008)

might read this info on wire grass:
http://turfgrass.com/ubb/Forum3/HTML/000007-2.html

also saw this on another wire grass:
http://www.sfrc.ufl.edu/4h/Wiregrass/wiregras.htm

do some googling if you've no luck here.

good luck!


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## Beth777 (Jul 3, 2008)

*Thanks for the link...I was able to find more info on the wire grass battle*

Got some good ideas for trying to hold it back.

This stuff spreads pretty deeply down in the dirt. I've dug its root runners out of flower beds as deep as 9" or 10". Nothing seems to deter it from thriving and spreading! If you leave behind only a tiny fragment of root runner, you will soon have a whole new wire grass plant.

Maybe I can put down a physical barrier that's about 12" deep, and maybe not many of the runners would get through to my driveway border...and maybe even fewer would make it through to bite into the asphalt!


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## Beth777 (Jul 3, 2008)

*Will look for a pre-emergent herbicide*

To slow down future growth, since the conclusion is that you can't just dig this stuff out and be done with it!

Then will have to figure out how to make this weed border into a walkway! 
Sure wish I would just wake up one morning and find a beautiful, natural stone sidewalk there. =)


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## KHouse75 (May 14, 2008)

Get some super concentrated roundup and double or triple the recommended amount you put in to the sprayer. Spray it, it will die quickly then spray any that comes back about 2 weeks later. I'd wait another 2 weeks then make one final spray if needed.

That should do it, however, any bermuda that's left nearby that you didn't spray could spread back into the area you just killed.

My whole front and back yard is bermuda and I love it. It does require weekly edging to keep it from spreading.

I've had it for 7 years now and it has never spread into any of my beds or borders as I properly maintain it.

Also...This is a big thing...make sure you put down a pre-emergent after killing it and do the same again in the spring or it will come back via seed.


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## Beth777 (Jul 3, 2008)

KHouse75 said:


> Also...This is a big thing...make sure you put down a pre-emergent after killing it and do the same again in the spring or it will come back via seed.


Thanks for good advice on the 2-week plan for this re-emergent problem! Wire/bermuda grass gives new meaning to the word "perreniel."

About that pre-emergent: does the pre-emergent need to be applied through growth while it is still living and able to carry chemicals down to its roots? Or is the pre-emergent applied to bare soil ,or to brown grass/weeds after growth has died?


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## KHouse75 (May 14, 2008)

I used to try to get rid of my bermuda until I saw how dense, green and drought tolerant it was. I decided to mow the remaining fescue low to kill it off. Now I have a very nice lawn that stays green for a long time without rain. It's brown in the winter and early spring but you can overseed with ryegrass to get the green during the winter and spring.

It depends upon the instructions for the pre-emergent. I don't use it on my yard because I have a dense bermudagrass and don't need it to control any weeds. The bermuda does that for me. I also have a concrete driveway that it doesn't hard like it does asphalt.

My guess is you have to time it pretty close to when the seedlings will begin germinating and water it in good. Sometime in the early spring while it's still dormant. Some seeds may stay dormant longer so you may want to apply again a few times during the warm season. If you want to plant something else there from seed, you won't be able to as it will stop the seeds from growing.

Oh! Make sure the bermuda is active growing when you apply the herbicide. If you spray it while it's dormant, it won't don't anything to it.


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## FieldersChoice (Jul 18, 2008)

*Bermuda grass*

Whatever you spray, I would make sure that you put down landscaping fabric after it dries. If you are going to put stones or some type of permanent mulch, I would make sure that I put down the fabric. If you live near a Sam's Club, you can buy it rather cheap there and it is very high quality.


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## downunder (Jun 13, 2008)

> Next to that is a wire grass-filled border,





> Wire/bermuda grass gives new meaning


Just asking, but you do know that Bermuda grass is not the same thing as Wiregrass?  Lots of people call Bermuda wiregrass because the runners are wire-like, and some people in this world just repeat what they have heard others say. Any reasonably knowledgeable pesticide applicator will tell you that you first have to identify the problem. Yes, weeds and herbicides are a category of pests/pesticides.

I would strongly suggest that you take a sample of your weed to either your local extension service or a good garden center and ID it first.


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## KHouse75 (May 14, 2008)

No Comment! Later Cliff.


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## Beth777 (Jul 3, 2008)

*Getting positive ID on the weed/wire/Bermuda grass...*



downunder said:


> Just asking, but you do know that Bermuda grass is not the same thing as Wiregrass?


It would be cool to get a positive ID on this aggressive culprit! Maybe I'll be able to get in contact with someone who really knows their weeds and grasses! I could *almost* tell from an internet search, just needed a slightly better photo...

Yup, definitely repeating what I've heard other people say, for lack of a more definitive name for it.

I am humbled by its will to live and to conquer the earth...and to bite holes in my driveway. *sigh*

Virginia Tech has an internet ID program, the WhizID Keying System for ID-ing an unknown grass weed sample. We'll need to study ours a tad closer, then we can try running the info through this system!

Link: http://whizlab.isis.vt.edu/servlet/wid?table=grasses


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