Dr. Grow: Burmuda grass: Gotta hate it

Last week I woke up one morning at 3 a.m. thinking about Bermuda grass. I know what you are thinking. I can assure you I am still sane. My wife will vouch for me, I hope. Well, maybe Kelsi, my granddaughter, will.

My thinking session was prompted by what I see as the contrast in the role of Bermuda grass. It is both a great sports turf in southern climes and an obnoxious lawn weed. Perhaps I should explain.

Football, soccer, and baseball coaches want their teams to play on grass surfaces that are resilient enough to prevent injuries, tough enough for good footing when quick turns are made, and grow rapidly enough to repair divots.

Bermuda grass is a great candidate for all of these requirements if the field is situated in southern latitudes where it grows all year long -- but not in Cape Girardeau. Most of our sports turf activity occurs in the spring and fall when Bermuda grass isn't growing. Therefore it can't repair divots, it is not very resilient, and the dormant grass doesn't provide good footing for quick turns.

I know there are a lot of lawns in this area that have Bermuda grass in them. In many cases they look very good. I even know people who planted Bermuda grass. I still consider it an obnoxious lawn weed for one reason and one reason only:You can't easily contain it.

Bermuda grass spreads by rhizomes and stolons. These virtually unstoppable surface and subsurface runners root and send up new shoots. I've seen them go under a 24-foot-wide driveway and over or under a three-foot retaining wall. These aggressive runners move into shrub beds and send up shoots that tower over shrubs and perennials.

If you have Bermuda grass in your lawn and are trying to keep it out of your shrub beds and gardens I have some solutions for you. First sell your house and move into a new one. Before buying another house, hire a horticulturist to inspect the landscape of the new one for the presence or absence of Bermuda grass.

If you prefer to keep the house you have, hire a company to plant several 80-foot-tall, well developed, shade trees in your yard. Bermuda grass does not tolerate shade.

If you can't afford either of the two options mentioned above, don't give up yet. I still have a few items in my bag of tricks. You can coexist with Bermuda grass if you hoe or weed your shrub beds twice a week to keep the aggressive Bermuda grass under control. This system is effective only as long as you are consistent. Don't go on vacation unless you hire someone to weed for you in your absence.

My last trick is three chemicals that you can find at your local garden center:glyphosate, poast, or fluazifop. Spray any of these chemicals as a fine mist on the leaves of Bermuda grass. A fine mist ensures better coverage of the leaves. The chemicals must be introduced into the plant through the leaves. These systemic chemicals then travel to the roots and kill the plant. Six hours of sunlight are needed after spraying for the herbicides to penetrate the leaves effectively. Do not mix the herbicides stronger than the label states. This results in leaf tissue burn which inhibits herbicide penetration into the leaves.

Glyphosate is a non-selective total vegetation killer. Use it only if surrounding plants can also be killed.

If Bermuda grass is in your shrub beds or garden use fluazifop or a poast. They are selective herbicides which only kill grasses. Most shrub, perennials and vegetables will not be hurt by either chemical. The labels of both herbicide provide a large library of plants and their susceptibility to the herbicides.

Unfortunately all three herbicides are not totally effective all the time. Be prepared to spray several times. I prefer spraying because it is a lot easier than working up a sweat pulling or hoeing Bermuda grass. As you can see, I certainly don't like the Bermuda grass growing in my backyard.

If you have questions on gardening write to Dr. Grow, Paul Schnare at the Southeast Missourian, P.O. Box 699, Cape Girardeau, Mo. 63701.

Paul Schnare of Cape Girardeau has been in the lawn and garden business for more than 20 years. He's an adjunct professor in horticulture at Southeast Missouri State University.