Hi

I am in Raleigh. I have fescue grass. What I am seeing is tall (6"-12")
thin stalks with seed heads on top about evenly distributed through out
the yard in between normal fescue grass. The lawn service person said
this is normal fescue seedheads that is growing rapidly due to the
inflox in temperature and that when we get to consistent 80 degree
weather, these tall fescue seedhead stalks will subside.

Am I being taken for a ride by the lawn service company? Or are they
actually telling me the facts? Is there anyway to control these taller
stalks with seed heads.

Thanks
Bob

wrote:
Hi

I am in Raleigh. I have fescue grass. What I am seeing is tall (6"-12")
thin stalks with seed heads on top about evenly distributed through out
the yard in between normal fescue grass. The lawn service person said
this is normal fescue seedheads that is growing rapidly due to the
inflox in temperature and that when we get to consistent 80 degree
weather, these tall fescue seedhead stalks will subside.

Am I being taken for a ride by the lawn service company? Or are they
actually telling me the facts? Is there anyway to control these taller
stalks with seed heads.

Thanks
Bob

How often is it mowed and how fast does it grow to get that high? With
stalks that high, this sounds like an undesirable weed grass, not turf
type tall fescue. What color is it? Here in NJ I have had some
patches of an undesirable thin stalked grass that sounds similar. It
becomes apparent in early spring, it's lighter in color and grows
faster than the regular grass. It disappears in summer. Mine is in
maybe ten 2 foot size spots though, not evenly distributed. I think
mine may be poa trivialis, which is bad news, as it's a rough blue
grass for which there is no selective control. I whacked my spots
with roundup and reseeded.

Andy asks:

Could you not have just sprayed the tall stalks with a spray
bottle using roundup or pronto, and not have to reseed...???

As long as you don't get the stuff on your desired grasses,
it should work OK... Takes about a week to kill the bad stuff..

Andy in Eureka, Texas

AndyS wrote:
Andy asks:

Could you not have just sprayed the tall stalks with a spray
bottle using roundup or pronto, and not have to reseed...???

As long as you don't get the stuff on your desired grasses,
it should work OK... Takes about a week to kill the bad stuff..

Andy in Eureka, Texas


No, because it's impossible. Most of the spray winds up on the other
grass, not the thin stalks that only stick up an inch or two above the
desirable grass. You can try to apply it with a sponge, but besides
being very tedious, the Roundup only gets the very tips, not most of
the plant, so even with a lot of work, the outcome is not certain.

I mow every 2 weeks cutting at about a 3.5" height based on the advise
from the lawn service company. So these stalks grew from 3.5" to a foot
in about 2 weeks. Some stalks are even taller than a foot.

The color is green. I could try to get you a digital picture if that
would help.

Thanks
Bob

wrote:
I mow every 2 weeks cutting at about a 3.5" height based on the advise
from the lawn service company. So these stalks grew from 3.5" to a foot
in about 2 weeks. Some stalks are even taller than a foot.

The color is green. I could try to get you a digital picture if that
would help.

Thanks
Bob


See the other thread here titled "crabgrass". You don't have
crabgrass, that's for sure, , but what you do have may be poa
trivialis, which is rough stalk bluegrass and is discussed in that
thread. It grows fast, with just stalks shooting up first after
cutting. Search the web and you can find pics of it.

I'm from N.C. and live on the coast. Do the seed heads have
three seperate "leaves" covered in seeds ??? The so called
crow's foot is more than likely Bahia grass which is very
aggresive and VERY difficult to control.

Go here for reading: http://www.turffiles.ncsu.edu/


wrote:

Hi

I am in Raleigh. I have fescue grass. What I am seeing is tall (6"-12")
thin stalks with seed heads on top about evenly distributed through out
the yard in between normal fescue grass. The lawn service person said
this is normal fescue seedheads that is growing rapidly due to the
inflox in temperature and that when we get to consistent 80 degree
weather, these tall fescue seedhead stalks will subside.