[djlnc]

I'm new to the world of St. Augustine grass. I have areas in the lawn where I see this. Is it baby St. Augustine, Bermuda or what? (hoping this picture is visible)
Thanks

[VApeople]

Originally Posted by djlnc

I'm new to the world of St. Augustine grass. I have areas in the lawn where I see this. Is it baby St. Augustine, Bermuda or what? (hoping this picture is visible)
Thanks

That is Torpedo Grass and it is a problem for all of us with Zoysia or St. Augustine lawns. We have been pulling it out for over five years.

[RICH1]

If you fertilize your own lawn, throw out any fertilizer you brought from up North!
Scott's or the other Brand names that you purchase down here will mark their bags " Southern"mix for Southern grasses.. Not sure the size of your yard , but mine being the postage stamp size , and plenty of time on my hands, I am able to handle it myself! You may find it fun and rewarding to do it yourself..

[djlnc]

Originally Posted by VApeople

That is Torpedo Grass and it is a problem for all of us with Zoysia or St. Augustine lawns. We have been pulling it out for over five years.

Dallisgrass up north, and Torpedo Grass here. Why is God punishing me?

[ThirdOfFive]

Originally Posted by RICH1

If you fertilize your own lawn, throw out any fertilizer you brought from up North!
Scott's or the other Brand names that you purchase down here will mark their bags " Southern"mix for Southern grasses.. Not sure the size of your yard , but mine being the postage stamp size , and plenty of time on my hands, I am able to handle it myself! You may find it fun and rewarding to do it yourself..

Agreed. Our lawn guy died and rather than try to recruit a new one, I went to Lowe's and shelled out a few bucks for an electric mower, hedge trimmer and weedwhacker. Lawn looks good and I'm getting a bit more exercise.

[Woodbear]

Originally Posted by ThirdOfFive

Agreed. Our lawn guy died and rather than try to recruit a new one, I went to Lowe's and shelled out a few bucks for an electric mower, hedge trimmer and weedwhacker. Lawn looks good and I'm getting a bit more exercise.

We have decided to do our own as well. In fact a lawn guy that we contacted recommended us doing our own before going with anyone south of 44. For those looking for a fertilizer for St Augustine, here is one for ya Ferti-Lome St. Augustine Weed and Feed 15-0-4

[DAVES]

A lawn, you are fighting against nature. A single grass type mowed, edged etc exists nowhere in nature.
Add to that our soil. In most of the villages it is sandy, CLAY. Our soil is loaded with limestone so the ph is usually 7-8. Your lawn does best at 6.5. Amusing way to confirm what I say, take some of our natural soil put it in a jar and add vinegar. The vinegar an acid will desolve the limestone and you will see it fizz like the baking soda, vinegar toys we all had. You can actually grow grass on cement-close to what many of us are doing. First thing to do is have a soil test done. It is inexpensive. Our soil is lacking in organic matter. It is a lot of work but you want to incorporate organic matter into our sandy clay. It takes a lot or organic matter far more than most people think and you need to get it into the soil, not on top

[rwcw]

It's not torpedo grass, it's wild bermuda. With St Augustine there's nothing you can do eccept dig or pull it out or kill everything with glysophate. With zoysia we can use FUSILADE

[OhioBuckeye]

Originally Posted by djlnc

I'm new to the world of St. Augustine grass. I have areas in the lawn where I see this. Is it baby St. Augustine, Bermuda or what? (hoping this picture is visible)
Thanks

This is exactly what we have in Texas too. We lived in Ohio for over 60 yrs. & we had grass. This grass in Florida & Texas I consider it as weeds. Don’t know what to tell you, unless you want to kill what you have & put a fortune in something that looks like grass. Good luck, djlnc!

[cherylncliff]

Originally Posted by djlnc

I'm new to the world of St. Augustine grass. I have areas in the lawn where I see this. Is it baby St. Augustine, Bermuda or what? (hoping this picture is visible)
Thanks

My understanding is that this is the grass they use on the greens. When cut very short it works well for a green. Unfortunately you can't cut it that short in your lawn. When they seed the greens the seed sometimes scatters (wind or birds) and ends up in your lawn. There is no way to effectively control it with chemicals without damaging your lawn. The only effective method I have found is hand pulling.

[billethkid]

If it is green, I leave it alone.

[John Mayes]

Originally Posted by rwcw

It's not torpedo grass, it's wild bermuda. With St Augustine there's nothing you can do eccept dig or pull it out or kill everything with glysophate. With zoysia we can use FUSILADE

Not sure where the OP is located within The Villages but the new sections south of 44 use ProVista St. Augustine sod. The nice thing is that it can withstand non-selective Glyphosate for weed control such as bermuda or torpedo grass. Here’s some info on ProVista;

Scotts ProVista™ St. Augustine is the first glyphosate-tolerant turf on the market, allowing you to eliminate costly weeds like Bermuda grass and torpedograss without damaging your Scotts ProVista™ St. Augustine turf. Thanks to its dense, horizontal habit, excellent uniformity and weed-free capability, Scotts ProVista™ St. Augustine makes it possible to cut your mowing in half, delivering valuable savings in time, money and flexibility.

Of course, before using Glyphosate, you need to make sure you have ProVista otherwise, as others have mentioned, it will kill everything including your non ProVista St. Augustine.

[coralway]

Kill it before it spreads

[jimjamuser]

Originally Posted by djlnc

Dallisgrass up north, and Torpedo Grass here. Why is God punishing me?

Perhaps punishment because someone has been worshiping the false God of having a better-looking yard than thy neighbor.

[jimjamuser]

Originally Posted by cherylncliff

My understanding is that this is the grass they use on the greens. When cut very short it works well for a green. Unfortunately you can't cut it that short in your lawn. When they seed the greens the seed sometimes scatters (wind or birds) and ends up in your lawn. There is no way to effectively control it with chemicals without damaging your lawn. The only effective method I have found is hand pulling.

Just one more of the reasons that TV Landers should throw away their golf clubs and play pickleball, softball, tennis, or even table tennis. That way you get more exercise than golf.