Native Plants
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Sunday - April 25, 2010
From: Morgans Point/Lake Belton, TX
Region: Southwest
Topic: Non-Natives, Problem Plants
Title: Eliminating non-native invasive bermuda grass in Morgan's Point TX
Answered by: Barbara Medford
QUESTION:
We are trying to establish a wildflower meadow, but are having trouble with the neighbor's invasive bermudagrass taking over..what can be done to eliminate the bermuda?ANSWER:
Have you already read our How-To Article on Meadow Gardening? It doesn't tell you how to get rid of non-native invasive bermudagrass, but it has a lot of other good information.
On to the pest, here is an excerpt from a previous Mr. Smarty Plants answer:
There are essentially three choices of methods to remove your bermuda grass:
"1. Dig up all the plants along with all their roots, rhizomes, and stolons. This is a daunting task for an entire lawn, but it is not impossible. There are tools to help you with this. You can use a sod-busting shovel or rent a sod-slicing machine. The problem lies in the fact that the rhizomes can be as deep as 6 inches and these tools may not be able to get below the rhizomes and their roots in an initial cut. You may have to dig out soil below that level. Even a small piece of rhizome left in the soil can root and form a new Bermuda grass plant.
2. "Solarize" the plot by covering it with plastic to kill the grass. This will take a minimum of 4 to 6 weeks and the problem is that solarization may not kill all the deep rhizomes and roots. You can find more tips from Native American Seed in Junction, Texas about solarization.
3. Finally, you can apply herbicides judiciously. This is the least environmentally friendly method, but chemicals used with care can be very effective. It may, however, take as many as 3 or 4 treatments with an herbicide containing glyphosate (present in Roundup, Bronco, Landmaster, Ranger, Pondmaster, and Rattler) to completely kill the Bermuda grass. The Wildflower Center neither condones nor censures the use of herbicides; but, for your safety and for the preservation of the environment, we do strongly urge you to read and follow carefully the instructions in the use of such chemicals.
You may want to use a combination of the three methods above to remove your Bermuda grass. You can read this article from the University of California Integrated Pest Management Program describing in greater detail these methods to remove Bermuda grass."
More Problem Plants Questions
East Texas grasses for holding soils
September 17, 2008 - Hi Mr. Smarty Plants,
I have a question about the East Texas area: Specifically, which natvie grasses can be planted to hold the soil/new roads through the winter?
Here is the situation: (Against...
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Dealing with live oak suckers in Central Texas
March 05, 2015 - Hi, I have a couple huge Live Oak trees in my back yard. Trunks are 4' in diameter. These Live Oaks produce a lot of root sprouts/suckers. I had always head that a tree's roots feed on water/oxyg...
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Source of Allergies in Austin, TX
June 19, 2012 - Hi, Mr. Smarty Plants.
I live in Northwest Austin and I've been suffering from allergies since moving to Austin. The allergies seem to occur at least once a year for at least a month or two. Beg...
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Reducing Allergens in Yards and Gardens
January 31, 2012 - What are some allergen-free native plants to Central Texas that thrive in the soil and can survive in the weather?
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Are there prescribed burn professionals in central Texas?
July 12, 2012 - I am looking for someone to hire for a controlled hillside burn. Can you recommend someone to hire?
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