# New Lawn, Lots Of Weeds



## KSwiss0728 (Apr 17, 2019)

Hi all, after watching the different lawncare folks on youtube and reading here for a while, I have purchased my first home and with that came a ~20,000 sq/ft lawn. There are so many different things going on in the lawn at this point it is becoming a bit overwhelming and so I wanted to turn to you guys for some help. I'm not 100%, but I think the lawn that is hidden beneath all the weeds is Bermuda. At least that is what I think is starting to poke out here:



And spreading over bare spots and into my beds here:





Here in Charlotte the soil is very heavy clay in my yard (that is something I'll have to tackle long-term), but the compaction of that clay and the poor drainage have resulted in a number of weeds coming in and dominating. I would estimate that right now the lawn consists of 25% Bermuda, 70% weeds, and 5% mystery grass. I have the typical clover, Poa annua, dandelions, and what not, but there are a few that I'm not sure of. Over the last week or so I have noticed an explosion of what I think is nutsedge, but could use some verification:



And in my front lawn I have a bunch of this, which I have no idea what it is:





I also have a few patches of mystery grass that looks like KBG, but that is just a guess on my part:





I also have this weed in one corner of the lawn that I'm not sure of:





Last but certainly not least is a weed that is very widespread throughout my yard, so much so that at first I thought it was some sort of bermuda and was actually what the lawn was going to be. In a few spots it is so thick and soft I thought it might have been some sort of zoysia. After doing some research, I think it might be nimblewill, but some of the spots are much much thicker than any pictures of nimblewill that I have seen, so I'm not sure.















I appreciate any thoughts or advice on any of the weeds/grasses, and I hope to be an active member of the forums now that I have a lawn and I am actually getting some experience with lawncare. The only thing I have done to the lawn besides mowing is I applied some broadleaf weedkiller and pre emergent to the front lawn. It is killing off some of the weeds, but hasn't had any effect on the ones mentioned in this post. Thanks again!


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## FlaDave (Jul 10, 2018)

First pics look like bermuda to me. Sounds like you're off to a great start. If you haven't read it yet the bermuda bible is loaded with great info. http://thelawnforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=22&t=1651
The bermuda triangle should take care of most of your weed problems. 
http://thelawnforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=22&t=13
I see what looks to me like sedge, crabgrass, and I think that second one in your hand is torpedo grass. Have you done a soil test yet? If not it is highly recommended to do so. What pre-m did you put down at what rate? 
Do you have irrigation? Any trees or shady areas?


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## Spammage (Apr 30, 2017)

Poa, crab and dallisgrass for sure with various broadleaf weeds. I think you might be right about the nimblewill too.


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## high leverage (Jun 11, 2017)

Looks like a lot of goose to me. Pics 5,6,9 and 10. If not already but a step a way from perennial status.


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## high leverage (Jun 11, 2017)

I've come across goose 2 feet in diameter before. Not sure how long it was there but I guess years. A shovel and 20 seconds can do what no herbicide can.


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## erdons (Apr 3, 2018)

Definitely Bermuda and dallisgrass which is the bane of my existence.


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## KSwiss0728 (Apr 17, 2019)

Thanks for all the answers. After doing a bunch more reading, I'm becoming more convinced that the last 7 pictures are nimblewill, with those very dense patches just having been there for years. At the rate it is coming up this spring, I'd say about 40% of my lawn is infested and there doesn't look to be much of a solution other then to spray with glysophate and start over in those areas. the defined patches I'll probably try and dig out by hand and see if I can get it under control.

In the front lawn I applied this: https://www.bioadvanced.com/products/lawn-care/season-long-weed-control-lawns
I also plan on on applying it in the back soon. I will also aerate the whole lawn in the next few weeks.

The back yard is pretty much all sun, but half the front yard is pretty well shaded and only gets a few hours of sunlight a day. Because of that, I was thinking of starting to switch the front lawn over to zeon zoysia at some point in the future.


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## marshtj (Apr 9, 2018)

KSwiss0728 said:


> Thanks for all the answers. After doing a bunch more reading, I'm becoming more convinced that the last 7 pictures are nimblewill, with those very dense patches just having been there for years. At the rate it is coming up this spring, I'd say about 40% of my lawn is infested and there doesn't look to be much of a solution other then to spray with glysophate and start over in those areas. the defined patches I'll probably try and dig out by hand and see if I can get it under control.
> 
> In the front lawn I applied this: https://www.bioadvanced.com/products/lawn-care/season-long-weed-control-lawns
> I also plan on on applying it in the back soon. I will also aerate the whole lawn in the next few weeks.
> ...


At least several of the last 7 are definitely nimblewill. Don't dig by hand, I'm not even sure that will eliminate it. Buy some Tenacity. Two apps and it's gone.


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## Spammage (Apr 30, 2017)

Pics 9 and 10 are dallisgrass. If you have a lot of it, you will need to source some MSMA and include MSO in the spray. If you only have a few, paint the leaves with glyphosate.


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## KSwiss0728 (Apr 17, 2019)

marshtj said:


> KSwiss0728 said:
> 
> 
> > Thanks for all the answers. After doing a bunch more reading, I'm becoming more convinced that the last 7 pictures are nimblewill, with those very dense patches just having been there for years. At the rate it is coming up this spring, I'd say about 40% of my lawn is infested and there doesn't look to be much of a solution other then to spray with glysophate and start over in those areas. the defined patches I'll probably try and dig out by hand and see if I can get it under control.
> ...


Tenacity will also kill whatever bermuda is there as well though, correct? If that is the case, I might as well go with a cheaper non-selective weed killer?


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## marshtj (Apr 9, 2018)

Incorrect, Tenacity may slightly discolor Bermuda, but will not kill it when applied at the label specified rates.


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## KSwiss0728 (Apr 17, 2019)

Ok, thanks for clearing that up Marshtj.


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## The Walri (Nov 27, 2018)

I too have a good bit of Nimblewill throughout and bought some Tenacity to take care of it. What time of year (sping? heat of summer? fall?) is most effective for killing it off? Hoping mid-late summer so I can get some seed down this fall.


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## The Walri (Nov 27, 2018)

Edit - duplicate post sorry - all thumbs here :thumbup:


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## SCGrassMan (Dec 17, 2017)

Thanks to God - you seem to have avoided the worst perennial weed of all.

Centipedegrass.

If it were my yard, here's what I would hit it with, all at middle rates:

Speedzone Southern
MSM
Prodiamine
Celsius
Nonionic Surfactant

You can tank mix them all, but MSM is root active so if you felt like it, you could do that and the Prodiamine in a separate spray and water them in.

I use all of those (except Celsius because I have a very small amount) on a regular basis so I keep them in stock.

Before all of this, id do a good dose of fertilizer and water it in. I like to spray for weeds a few days before or after mowing. The fertilizer will help the lawn but also make the weeds in the mood to grow and take up chemicals.

If you hit it with the above mix you will be 95% weed free in one application.

Measure inexcusably carefully. I overdosed my own lawn with MSM this spring and I'm still recovering.


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