# Hairy bittercress prevention and fall lawn care



## abdulazeez77 (Sep 16, 2020)

*****Sorry for the heading confusion. It should read spring lawn care*****

Hello - I am finding an infestation of the above in my grass and was told it's hairy bittercress. Can you link me to an easily available product that can get rid of this? Or should I just let it be in the hope that it will disappear in summer?

Also I am in NJ and my lawn is not in good shape. I would like to start a lawn care program. I did a soil test last year and results indicated a ph of 5.87 with Phosphorus and Magnesium being optimum but potassium and calcium being less than optimal. They recommended using 65 pounds per 1000sq ft of calcitic limestone spread out as 50 pounds in fall and 15 pounds in spring. I already did the fall application. Should I do the second round now?

They have also asked to apply a prescribed fertilizer three times yearly - early April, late August and fall. The prescription is 2:1:2 NPK. The estimated yearly nitrogen need is 2 pounds per 1000 sq ft and they are asking to apply 0.75 pounds per 1000 sqft. So I assume with three times it will be slightly over 2 points per 1000 sq ft. They are asking not to apply when grass is dormant and to follow the application with light watering. My questions are:

1. Sprinkler is not turned on yet. Can I still apply fertilizer if I can't follow it up with watering?
2. Should I first apply lime followed by fertilizer and if so how long should I leave inbetween?
3. I can't find a 2:1:2 mixture readily available. What do I need to do?
4. I read the cool season lawn guide and it's asking to apply preM and the product I have in mind is the following. Should I apply this before or after the fertilizer above? Is there anything other than the above and preM that I need to do for sprint? The recommendation seems to be to do overseeing in the fall.
https://www.lowes.com/pd/Lesco-LESCO-Stonewall-Crabgrass-Preventer-0-0-7/5001213041


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## ScottW (Sep 16, 2019)

The Lesco pre-M with prodiamine will work and you want to get that down *ASAP*. That would be the first priority IMO. You're getting towards the late end of the window for crabgrass pre-M control.

That hairy bittercress should be manually pulled, or hit ASAP with a selective herbicide. Don't just leave it. They develop long thin seed heads that basically explode when physically touched and rain seed all around them, which is kind of cool to watch, but scatters a lot more seeds for next year. Any of several products will suffice. Ortho Weed-B-Gone CCO formulation contains triclopyr and can be found at most big box stores. Follow the mix on the bottle. Add 1 oz per gallon of methylated seed oil (Amazon) as a surfactant and hit any other weeds that emerged over the winter. Speed Zone (a 3-way) will also work. They're not difficult to kill. They're also not difficult to hand pull, and that's what I do because I don't have a crapload of them.

Yes do your second lime application. Timing not critical but now/soon is fine. Time between lime & fert doesn't matter much and the lime takes a while to incorporate into the soil. You don't have to immediately water in a granular fert, but don't apply when the grass is wet or the granules will stick on the leaves and may cause localized burning if left there too long. Not having an irrigation system myself, I just apply the fert when there's "some" rain (but not a torrential downpour) in the near term forecast.

2-1-2 is just a general guideline for ratios. There's no product you can buy AFAIK that's actually 2-1-2. You might find 16-8-16 though. Same idea. You should be applying about as much K as you apply N, and about half as much (or probably less) P.


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## snapdown91 (Mar 11, 2021)

I had a bunch of these guys pop up this spring. Sprayed them with 2-4d (Weed B Gon) and that seemed to kill them.


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## Thejarrod (Aug 5, 2018)

i made the mistake of telling my kids that they are edible (which they are). now i cant spray them for fear that they will eat them. ...I'll be hand pulling 1,000,000 plants this weekend.


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## abdulazeez77 (Sep 16, 2020)

ScottW said:


> The Lesco pre-M with prodiamine will work and you want to get that down *ASAP*. That would be the first priority IMO. You're getting towards the late end of the window for crabgrass pre-M control.
> 
> That hairy bittercress should be manually pulled, or hit ASAP with a selective herbicide. Don't just leave it. They develop long thin seed heads that basically explode when physically touched and rain seed all around them, which is kind of cool to watch, but scatters a lot more seeds for next year. Any of several products will suffice. Ortho Weed-B-Gone CCO formulation contains triclopyr and can be found at most big box stores. Follow the mix on the bottle. Add 1 oz per gallon of methylated seed oil (Amazon) as a surfactant and hit any other weeds that emerged over the winter. Speed Zone (a 3-way) will also work. They're not difficult to kill. They're also not difficult to hand pull, and that's what I do because I don't have a crapload of them.
> 
> ...


Thanks for your detailed reply. I have a few follow up questions.

1. Is the sequence of applications Pre M, lime and then fertilizer? When do i need to apply fertilizer?

2. Is the following Ortho Weed B gone what you are recommending? Are you asking to add the surfactant from amazon to the ortho weedbgone or as a separate application and can any other surfactant be used too? 
https://www.homedepot.com/p/Ortho-Weed-B-Gon-16-oz-Chickweed-Clover-Oxalis-Killer-for-Lawns-Concentrate-0396410/203686814

3. Is speedzone an addition to the ortho weed b gone or a substitute product?

4. I was also recommended the following for the bittercress. Is this ok or would you recommend sticking with the above?
https://www.spectracide.com/products/weed-and-grass-killers/lawn-weed-killers/spectracide-weed-stop-for-lawns-plus-crabgrass-killer-concentrate.aspx

4a. This is an additional recommendation I got for the bittercress. Which option is best?
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01GIG9VD6/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glt_fabc_ZWSZ51QRJG9M6VEW9MRK?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1

5. I sprayed tenacity three times last year. Should I hit up with another round of tenacity?


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## abdulazeez77 (Sep 16, 2020)

Deleted


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## ScottW (Sep 16, 2019)

abdulazeez77 said:


> Thanks for your detailed reply. I have a few follow up questions.
> 
> 1. Is the sequence of applications Pre M, lime and then fertilizer? When do i need to apply fertilizer?


Sequence of those with respect to each other doesn't matter. Timing of Pre-M with respect to mother nature does matter (do it now). Fert can go down anytime after the grass starts growing.



> 2. Is the following Ortho Weed B gone what you are recommending? Are you asking to add the surfactant from amazon to the ortho weedbgone or as a separate application and can any other surfactant be used too?
> https://www.homedepot.com/p/Ortho-Weed-B-Gon-16-oz-Chickweed-Clover-Oxalis-Killer-for-Lawns-Concentrate-0396410/203686814


Yes. You don't _have to_ add the surfactant to it, but it will help that product work more effectively against other spring weeds as well. I like MSO as the surfactant but other surfactants will suffice.



> 3. Is speedzone an addition to the ortho weed b gone or a substitute product?


Substitute product that will also work fine on the bittercress.



> 4. I was also recommended the following for the bittercress. Is this ok or would you recommend sticking with the above?
> https://www.homedepot.com/p/Ortho-32-oz-Nutsedge-Killer-for-Lawns-Ready-To-Spray-9901910/203720166


That might work but wouldn't be my first choice. I save products containing sulfentrazone for when I'm actually trying to kill sedges & kyllinga later in the year, not now.



> 5. I sprayed tenacity three times last year. Should I hit up with another round of tenacity?


No need for tenacity now, unless there's some other problem you're trying to solve.


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## Deadlawn (Sep 8, 2020)

Thejarrod said:


> i made the mistake of telling my kids that they are edible (which they are). now i cant spray them for fear that they will eat them. ...I'll be hand pulling 1,000,000 plants this weekend.


If they're edible, then what's the problem leaving them there? :thumbup:


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## abdulazeez77 (Sep 16, 2020)

Deadlawn said:


> Thejarrod said:
> 
> 
> > i made the mistake of telling my kids that they are edible (which they are). now i cant spray them for fear that they will eat them. ...I'll be hand pulling 1,000,000 plants this weekend.
> ...


Sorry I pasted wrong link and have corrected below for a product someone said which has 2-4D. Would this also be an alternative option as well to consider to the one you suggested? Any opinion on which is better?

https://www.spectracide.com/products/weed-and-grass-killers/lawn-weed-killers/spectracide-weed-stop-for-lawns-plus-crabgrass-killer-concentrate.aspx


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## greengrass (Sep 9, 2018)

I had an explosion of hairy bittercress this year. I had put prodiamine down last Fall (2-3mo worth). Timing must have been off. This Spring I added tenacity to my prodiamine app, and now the hairy bittercress is all bleached white, even though the label doesn't include bittercress.


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## qam1 (Oct 23, 2020)

Good luck.

Hairy Bittercress unfortunately is very common on lawns all across New Jersey in Spring. As far as I can see, once it comes up, it is impervious to everything you can throw at it. Tenacity will turn it white a bit but won't kill it and it will laugh at whatever store brought 2,D product you buy. I've seen neighbor's professional services come and spray it with god know what to no effect.

The only good news is it's very easy to pull up using a stand up weed puller, so if you have a small lawn you can easily get it all and it's a winter/spring weed so it will be gone by Memorial day.

I have always needed to seed in fall so I haven't tried a pre-emirgent yet.


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## Lust4Lawn (Aug 4, 2020)

greengrass said:


> I had an explosion of hairy bittercress this year. I had put prodiamine down last Fall (2-3mo worth). Timing must have been off. This Spring I added tenacity to my prodiamine app, and now the hairy bittercress is all bleached white, even though the label doesn't include bittercress.


Very interesting. I was looking to Spring overseed an area where my kids play in the back yard that is not amazing but I was debating hitting it with something like Surge (LABEL)or Triad SFZ (LABEL) that claims I can overseed in 3 weeks after application. I'm not concerned about how effective Spring overseeding is for this location and can repeat in the Fall with more dedicated efforts.

I have Tenacity on hand so maybe I should just stick with that to not complicate my overseeding.


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## dport (Oct 13, 2019)

greengrass said:


> I had an explosion of hairy bittercress this year. I had put prodiamine down last Fall (2-3mo worth). Timing must have been off. This Spring I added tenacity to my prodiamine app, and now the hairy bittercress is all bleached white, even though the label doesn't include bittercress.


We have explosions of hairy bittercress as well this year in southeast PA. I never remember it this bad before. I've driven in 20-40 miles in multiple directions (for random tasks) and it's everywhere in lawns. Surely there is a climate study on this?


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## greengrass (Sep 9, 2018)

I just learned prodiamine is not labeled for hairy bittercress. Have to use dithiopyr or sulfentrazone for fall pre-emergent.


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## g-man (Jun 15, 2017)

https://extension.psu.edu/lawn-and-turfgrass-weeds-hairy-bittercress


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## Lust4Lawn (Aug 4, 2020)

I sprayed Speedzone and saw full droop of the flower head in 24 hours. I plan to overseed the area in two weeks which is what the label says is appropriate timing.


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## SOLARSUPLEX (Aug 4, 2020)

I too had a large amount of these in my front lawn. I took the 'its sunny and i've had a few beers' approach and just hand picked them all. I'll be doing an overall App of a 3way just to make sure any I missed were taken care of.


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## tgreen (Oct 20, 2018)

abdulazeez77 said:


> Can you link me to an easily available product that can get rid of this?


I had a big problem with this in my back yard. Maybe I just got lucky but I used Dimension in late summer and it was easily controlled the next spring.

I'm not sure post emergent control is worth the effort. If you look carefully and at the right time, this plant basically explodes with seeds when touched. Also, the plant easily dies with warm temps so that is your best post emergent.


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## Deadlawn (Sep 8, 2020)

tgreen said:


> abdulazeez77 said:
> 
> 
> > Can you link me to an easily available product that can get rid of this?
> ...


Exactly. In the lawn, I just mow it. In the garden beds, there I pull it.


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## Cluelessone (Sep 23, 2020)

I have a bunch of this too. I put some Scotts Weed Killer I had leftover on the area, not specifically for the bittercress but the whole area behind the fence takes a lot of pressure from the neighbors and the forest behind me. I wonder if it will do anything, but no biggie if not. I just wanted to weaken the weeds in the area in general. I spread this stuff on after watering in my pre-em.

https://www.scotts.com/en-us/products/weed-control/scotts-weed-control-lawns


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