Gardening with Gary

Gardening Advice from an Expert

Grass

Annette writes~
I have St. Augustine grass with lots of clover and Bermuda grass. Is there any way to eliminate the Bermuda and clover - or should I just overseed with more Bermuda and turn it info Bermuda grass lawn. I am in Phoenix, AZ - hot summers and mild to moderate winters.

A. St. Augustine grass has a higher maintenance than preferred but it is lovely. During the hot, dry summers, it is necessary to use the sprinkler system on a regular basis. St. Augustine likes to be mowed at 4-6" tall. Most mowers only go to 3" tall, but it likes that too. In any kind of shade, St. Augustine will take over Bermuda. You can make your own shade easily enough by setting your mower to the highest setting. That should shade the Bermuda enough that it goes away. It might take a season or two, but it should work.

Try a 4% solution of post-plus.....test an area first. There is also a 3-step springtime treatment for Bermuda in St. Augustine grass and it involves two sequential applications of Prograss+atrazine followed by Prograss alone. The results are at best "control or suppression," because it may take multiple years of treatment to achieve serious effects, and in hot weather the St. Augustine grass may be so injured that it will not recover to compete with the Bermuda grass.