# Newbie. Nasty Clump Grass.



## LarryFunkster (Jul 16, 2018)

Hello Everyone. New Guy here. My name is Larry and I'm from Southern Manitoba Canada. The family and I recently moved to a larger but older home and the yard is been quite neglected. The back yard was completely stripped and we laid new sod 3 weeks ago. Beautiful Kentucky Bluegrass. Thankfully I installed some irrigation so beating the heat lately has been a breeze getting the new grass to take root.

Anyways, the front yard is coming along. Poor drainage, plenty of moss, dandelions, clover and lots of thatch. Ran the power rake through it, threw down some seed and fert. Its definitely improved but still has a long way to go. I have a lot to learn but I'm quickly becoming a freak about my grass.

So, I've added a few images of this clump grass but I have no idea how to get rid of it with other than digging it out. I'm looking for any help. It would greatly be appreciated. Please and Thank you!


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## pennstater2005 (Jul 17, 2017)

It looks a bit like Kentucky 31 tall fescue.

Welcome to TLF!!


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## LarryFunkster (Jul 16, 2018)

Thanks pennstater2005. Guess its either careful application of glyphosate or digging it out and reseeding.


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## jaygrizzle (Jun 6, 2018)

LarryFunkster said:


> Thanks pennstater2005. Guess its either careful application of glyphosate or digging it out and reseeding.


I am very far from an expert but with some help from TLF I was able to identify that I had a few clumps of KY-31 in my lawn. YMMV, but if you want to avoid the Round Up or digging it out, I had good success killing the KY-31 using a product called Wipe Out - Crabgrass Killer by Green Light. Think it was like $13 on Amazon. My understanding that it is very similar to Weed Be Gone Crabrass Killer, but a bit stronger. It didn't hurt my regular fescue that I liked, but it killed the KY-31.

Before reading about it here, I just assumed the KY-31 was a type of weed as it was clumpy, a lighter green color than the rest of my fescue and grew at a faster rate. So I hit it with a round of the Wipe Out and it worked. Could be worth trying for you, especially if the KY-31 you have is mixed in or close to grass you don't want to kill.


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## Suburban Jungle Life (Mar 1, 2018)

jaygrizzle said:


> LarryFunkster said:
> 
> 
> > Thanks pennstater2005. Guess its either careful application of glyphosate or digging it out and reseeding.
> ...


I don't agree with your assessment of killing K31 with Wipe Out herbicide. K31 is tall fescue grass. It isn't Turf Type Tall Fescue but it is Tall Fescue. There are no selective herbicides to kill K31 in a TTTF lawn that I have ever heard of. You most likely had some other type of weed which was killed with the Wipe Out herbicide.


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## g-man (Jun 15, 2017)

I'm with SJF. The Wipe-Out product is 2,4-D %7.30, Quinclorac 3.50%, Dicamba 0.84% . WBG + Crabgrass is 2,4-D %6.42, Quinclorac 2.13%, Dicamba 0.60%. While the is a small difference in %, none of the active ingredients will treat K-31. They will work on crabgrass. Are you sure it was k31?


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## ForsheeMS (May 21, 2018)

100% K31 can make a nice looking lawn although it will never have the color or texture of TTTF. When mixed in to a TTTF or KBG lawn is looks horrible and stands out just like any other weed. I agree with the others, there's no way to kill it without some residual damage to the desirable turf but careful spot spraying will take it out without too much collateral damage.

My advice would be to spot spray with glypho about 3 weeks prior to time to seed. This will wipe it out and be much less time consuming than digging it out. Don't worry about removing the dead stuff. Dead is dead so it will eventually break down into organic matter. The day of seeding cut the lawn low (about 2.5") and probably a good aeration would be wise too. Throw some good seed down, roll it in, and start watering. Should look excellent in a few weeks.


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## jaygrizzle (Jun 6, 2018)

g-man said:


> I'm with SJF. The Wipe-Out product is 2,4-D %7.30, Quinclorac 3.50%, Dicamba 0.84% . WBG + Crabgrass is 2,4-D %6.42, Quinclorac 2.13%, Dicamba 0.60%. While the is a small difference in %, none of the active ingredients will treat K-31. They will work on crabgrass. Are you sure it was k31?


I posted pictues in a thread about 2 weeks ago and I believe that's where I confirmed that it was KY-31 (unfortunately I don't know how to link to the topic)

But here they are again if anyone can verify that it is indeed KY-31.


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## bgillroy (May 30, 2018)

I've got it too (KY31). I'm prepping for fall overseeding by spraying glypho or pulling it as I find it. Some of it doesn't appear to be responding to the glypho, though. I may have sprayed it when it was too hot out, and the glypho evaporated before it could be absorbed. That's why I'm dealing with the dead spots for over a month while I wait for seeding weather, to make sure I get as much of it as I can, because it's persistent stuff.


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## zeus201 (Aug 30, 2017)

It took me a couple rounds to finally get rid of it.


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## jaygrizzle (Jun 6, 2018)

@g-man @Suburban Jungle Life would either of you be able to identify if what I was posted above was K-31?

While I'm definitely not 100% that it is KY-31, I am however sure that the Wipe Out killed whatever it is.


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## g-man (Jun 15, 2017)

It looks like banyardgrass with the prominent mid rib.


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## LarryFunkster (Jul 16, 2018)

g-man said:


> It looks like banyardgrass with the prominent mid rib.


I don't see a purple stem which is typical of barnyard grass. However, all I know is this stuff is popping up all over the closer I look. :x

There seem to be similarities though with these clump grasses from what I'm finding. Even though I've yet to identify it 100%, most remedies I'm coming across don't recommend digging it out, but rather apply a herbicide for control. There's gonna be a lot of brown spots on the yard. :x


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## Green (Dec 24, 2017)

g-man said:


> It looks like banyardgrass with the *prominent mid rib*.


Where do you see that? To me, it looks like a photographic artifact.


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## g-man (Jun 15, 2017)




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## jaygrizzle (Jun 6, 2018)

I'm glad those with a lot more experience jumped in as the last thing I want to to do is give bad advice. I was just pretty sure what I had was KY-31. At least with my recommendation the worst that would have happened is OP would have only been out $13 since it wouldn't have damaged any good lawn.


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## Green (Dec 24, 2017)

g-man said:


>


Hmm. Not easy to tell what grass that might be from the underside of the blade, but thanks for showing us where you were looking.

There could also be more than one type of grass shown. Some of it is clearly a Tall Fescue, but I'm not sure what this photo shows. Thanks for taking a stab at ID-ing it.


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## LarryFunkster (Jul 16, 2018)

A few weeks ago I took out all the clump grasses with the trimmer, basically leaving bare ground. A week later I could easily see the stems reemerging. From there I hit it with glyphosate. I had numerous spots I hit leaving the front lawn looking a little poor.

After about 2-3 weeks, I power raked, aerated and overseeded. Threw down some Milo. The bare spots are filling in nicely now and the lawn is looking great after the overseed. The Milo took about 2-3 weeks to kick in> So far I'm very happy with the results and I'd go about eliminating the unwanted grass in the same fashion again.

I'm still dealing with a significant amount of moss but considering this was our first summer at this new house I'm very happy with the results so far. We had snow last night but its still to warm for that to stick around. I'm hoping to get back on the lawn a few more times before fall is over.


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## g-man (Jun 15, 2017)

It might be painful, but glyphosate is always a sure way to deal with undesirable grasses.


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