too much grass in my ground cover

I couldnt really find a forum this would fit in... but the grass is being quite invasive in my sedum.
I couldnt find the specific name, but this is an image. It gets lil yellow flowers, but not as nice as kamtschaticum

http://www.intrinsicperennialgardens.com/2005_perennials/Sedum/Sedum%20acre%20Aureum.jpg

anyways.... the sedum has such a tight weave, and the grass is embedded (I should have taken a photo today)... pulling it out by hand is difficult - so i was wondering if there was some sort of a grass killer (Round-up like) that would get rid of the grass but not harm the sedum.

any ideas?

TIA,

Terese

How large is the area? I've dug out beds where I have sedum and grass and removed all the grass
and replanted the sedum. Its quite forgiving about being disturbed.

Maybe someone will have an easier solution though.

Tam

There are graminicides (herbicides that kill only grass family species) and don't kill broadleaf plants. That sounds like just the thing, if you would rather use a chemical pesticide.

Fusillade was an old brand that I used eons ago. Consult your cooperative extension service or farm supply store for current brands appropriate for homeowner use. And, always follow label directions.

small area.... our back yard slops a bit, and my DH is one who like to weedwhack all the grass along the fence line to keep it a "clean" look... so when we get heavy rains, all the soil washes down hill. So, along the chainlink, i planted 2 clematis, and added the sedum to "keep the roots cool" but the grass has really grown in there... th area is about 6" x 8-10'. I CAN sit and pull it all out, but it would be very time consuming - and it'll just grow back as most of it is in so tightly, that the roots snap off.

Thanks -- I'll look for the "grass only" killers.

Terese

I took photos today.

top one you can see i was pulling grass. (very time consuming)
middle image - grass isn't as bad, but you can see a lot of it. Most of the grass is still 'dead' hence, it looks white
bottom image -- what sedum should look like with no grass.

I still have not made it to the store to get some 'killer'
but i'll get that done this week.

The Poast or the GrassBGon should work nicely on that mess and both are generally readily available. Either one will be a phenomenal time saver. I hit up several Iris beds this morning as well as the entire length of Iris along the sidewalk from my driveway to my front doors. Air temps were perfect and are going to remain good for the next 5 days. I'll check the areas I treated in about 10 days to see how goes things but I'm thinking the grass should be cleared out well enough for me to avoid hard labor and it should be knocked back to the point that all I have to do is spot spray from here on out.

How do you get three distinctly different images all into one photo?

>>How do you get three distinctly different images all into one photo?

Photoshop.

i took all three images and cropped and resized to a width of 300px

then created an image that was 300x800 copy/pasted each image, then "flattened" and cropped down the rest.

It takes a bit more time, but it's nice not having to do a separate post for each photo.

Terese

ps -- and thanks for all your wisdom, today and in the past... i'll be heading to the store for all sorts of *BGon products.

Ummm, I wouldn't exactly call it wisdom but more so learning from one's own mistakes. Last year I soaked several of my Iris beds and lifted each Iris out one by one to get at the grass to avoid using chemicals only for about a good third of it to come back. I've hammered the areas with corn gluten meal and now I've hit it up with chemicals. The thought of trying to avoid chemicals this year by spending a day outside on my knees with a hose running in to an Iris bed was too much for me after last year's stint. Too much to do to this year to go that route again! Try to get the Poast product like we talked about first but the GrassBGon should work too if you can't locate the Poast.

I know how to crop and resize and cut and paste but I don't think I have Photoshop. I use that PhotoFiltre that gardenwife told me to get many years ago. How much does Photoshop cost? I'm getting that new camera although I haven't decided on which one to get so I suppose I should break down and buy a real photo editing program.

Photoshop is generally costly. It's more of a professional software. Though Photoshop Elements is a good one too.

I would think most software where you can create a new image, and copy and paste... you should be able to do it.
I've just been using Photoshop for about 8 yrs and as long as i have so much invested in it -- i keep it.
(Got my first version [ver4] at a steal and couldn't pass it up... certainly didn't wanna pay full price for it)

as for the highway fence (from the other thread) I think that went up shortly after this extension of I290 was built back in the 70's.
Our subdivision is coming up on 6 yrs old. But i've also lived here most my life, so the road sounds are not too bad... just the 'jake brakes' and the crotch rockets.

Hopefully i can hit HD or wallyworld tomorrow morning -- I have to run to Midway to pick up my son and his GF from their spring break trip to san diego.

Last week when i went to HD, the gal looked at me like i was an idiot when i said i wanted GrassB-Gon to get the grass out of my flower beds.... she kept telling me they were weeds, not grass... and that there is no such thing as GrassB-Gon...

i did a lil search and found a post where some guy said he found it at Target and had great success with it, and it didnt kill off the flowers in the bed, only the grass.... so this morning i was on a mission...

but Target didnt have it either... they had --> Spectracide which i bought.... as it says Use around trees, shrubs, in flowerbeds & on patios & walkways

its a Weed & Grass Killer [visible results in 3 hrs]

here are the ingreds....

diquat dibromide 0.18%
fluazifop-p-butyl 0.06%
dicamba, dimethylamine salt 0.04%
other ingreds 99.72%
[wonders what other ingredients are]

this stuff is fine, right??

i just need my clematis and ground sedum to survive.

TIA

T.

The fluazifop-butyl is in there and that will kill grass but you've also got a few other ingredients in that product that are going to kill off more than just the grass. You've got dicamba and diquat dibromide in the mix too. I'd say that product would kill just about any grass or weed.

If you want your clematis and sedum to be left standing, return that product and get your money back and try to find the Ortho GrassBGon or the Poast product.
http://www.bugspray.com/catalog/products/page2004.html

Maybe you could call around to see who is carrying it before you make the drive to go buy it?

What was the full name of this Spectracide product they sold you?

I just did a check on dicamba and found that there were some herbicide injury research trial results out there and that clematis had allegedly been negatively impacted by this chemical. I didn't have time to search for herbicide injury to sedum.

Here-
http://www.urbanext.uiuc.edu/hortanswers/detailProblem.cfm?PathogenID=195

E,

i have been unable to find GrassB-Gon... though i've only checked WallyWorld, HD and Target
I should try calling some nurseries.

the product was Spectracide...... Weed & Grass Killer

I used just a tad in the sedum, but nothing near my clematis.... then i just sprayed weeds/grass that i wanted to get rid of "back in the field"
about 75% of the bottle is gone already.

that was about 4 hrs ago.... i'll go out and check to see if there are "visible results" yet.... last i checked there wasn't.

thanks for the info.....

T.

That makes more sense to me now, a grass & weed killer.

I think you might be better off with a grass killer only product particularly since it is only the grass you want to kill.

I did some more checking and the sedum may be ok only because I'm not finding much out there specifically on sedum and susceptibility to dicamba. Sedum is a popular plant and you'd think something would show up in a search engine in the first page or so of a google wouldn't you? This doesn't mean much though because I'm only one person trying to poke around for you. It's the clematis that can allegedly sustain herbicide injury based on that site I provided above. Checking for visible results after applying only 4 hours ago might be too soon. I think you might want to check in 10-14 days and again once the plants begin active growth. I don't even know what to suggest to you to look for given the site stated the product might "cause a variety of growth abnormalities in susceptible species". This means you'd need to wait for new stems and new leaves to be able to see any visible results. Who knows, maybe when the research at the link above was done... boatloads of the stuff was sprayed on clematis to get growth abnormalities. On your bottle there is going to be a toll free number for customer service or support. Since you still have the bottle, maybe you could give them a call and specifically ask them about clematis and sedum and come back and share what you learn. Maybe Spectracide did trials on clematis and based on their research, clematis was unaffected and sustained no herbicide injury.

I have another thought, if you can't find the GrassBGon out where you live, do you want me to go buy it and mail it to you?

E,

on the bottle is says visible in 3 hrs... that's why i checked... but alas, nothing.

where can you find GrassB-Gon ? If i cant find any, i'll take you up on your offer.
You'd think someone in the chicago area would have it for sure... i just may have to look harder.

Tomorrow i'll call the number on the bottle and see what they have to say.

thanks for all the searching you;ve been doing on my behalf... i appreciate it.

T.

Hey, I did some checking. These are stores that supposedly ordered the Grass B Gon by you but whether it's in stock and out of the box and onto the shelf already... is beyond me-

Schroeter Ace
837 Westmore Meyers Rd
Lombard IL
(strange street address for this one)

K-Mart
1155 E Oakton St
Itasca IL

Orchard Supply

Mayer

Baumert Ace Hardware
821 E Nerge Rd
Itasca IL

Out by me, I am told that Home Depots, Targets, K-Marts, Ace Hardwares, and True Value Hardwares are all supposed to be carrying the product.

Between the two of us, you'll get your Grass-B-Gon ;)

Equilibrium, I just got Photoshop Elements for $80.00. It's a swell program and could easily do what tcs does with his/her images.

I've never used an herbicide for monocots but it sounds like a great thing. I might pick some up for my borders at home.

watersedge..... $80 seems like a good price. You will love Elements. It would be one that i'd get if i didn't already have Photoshop. I used it in a graphics/web design class i took.... fun program.

E -- I did find some GrassB-Gon at Walmart.... they must have really stocked up on spring gardening supplies, as last time i was there, they only had about 25% of what they have now.

I called the 1-800# for Spectracide and the recording they have basically said,
Kills all tissue..... Do not spray on any desirable plants....

well, so much for what it says on the bottle.... may be sprayed in flower beds...
yea -- just make sure there are no flowers in said beds ....

at least i only sprayed a very small area. If the sedum dies a lil, it grows quickly enough that it will fill back in.

E -- thanks for all your help on this. I probably would have killed half my sedum and 2 clematis.....

T.

I couldn't take it any longer, I have my old computer hooked back up for the time being until the Geek Patrol does their thing with the new one. I have no e-mail, again. This has not been an easy transition. I do not like the new computer, I do not like the new IE, I do not like Vista, I do not like much of anything to do with my new computer and I'm getting nervous about getting a new camera now which I really need to do. Somebody else told me Photoshop Elements was good and cheap. Then somebody else told me something called Coral for around only $50 was good and could do everything that Photoshop could do. I am beginning to get really confused. If I can't figure out how to use my new computer and if I am dreading getting a new camera (that comes with *gasp* a manual); how the heck am I going to be able to handle new software? One thing is for sure, there is no way I could sit through a graphics/web design class... I think I'd rather hit my hand with a hammer- it would probably be less painful. And besides which, I would feel very sorry for the people taking the class with me as I sat there scratching my head looking like the village idiot. I'm afraid this electronic era has passed me by and I need to get up to speed somehow. I think I'm going to need big time help so why don't you two just pick a new photo editing software for me and I'll just go buy it? I'm in over my head and I know it.

Really glad you found that Grass-B-Gon. I started wondering if it got pulled from the shelves for some reason. Bet that recording for Spectracide didn't exactly leave you with warm fuzzy feelings toward their product? I did a little more poking around and I can't find much on sedum and dicamba but you might want to take a look see at this-
http://www.pesticideinfo.org/Detail_Chemical.jsp?Rec_Id=PC33217

For what it's worth, if any of your sedum does bite the dust... hold off transplanting any plugs from other areas into the treated area for about 4 weeks.

E,

sorry you are having a rough time with Vista. I got my son a laptop late last year just so i could stick with XP. I'm gonna wait a few years to get a Vista PC.

as for photo editing... I hear google Picasa is a pretty good free program.
http://picasa.google.com/
Corel Paint Shop Pro is about $50+.
http://reviews.cnet.com/Corel_Paint_Shop_Pro_X/4505-3633_7-31511188.html?tag=prod.txt.7
I think i got a trial with my Dell, and never used it.... so i can't help with Corel.

I've also used and really liked MGI Photo Suite, but that too was about 10 yrs ago.

but -- I'd find a program on Download.com that has a trial period of at least 14 days... if you like it, buy it. If not, you can try another one.... but dont drop a fortune on a program only to find out it's too difficult to work with. A program where you can figure out how to do the basics (crop, resize, save for web, and minor tweaking) then eventually learn a lil bit more.

Oh goodie goodie goodie, shriveling weeds! Brings a tear to my eye for you. Can you tell I hate weeding?

I'll check that Photoshop Elements again and I'll go check out Corel (helps to have the correct spelling). They are both around the same price so it may come down to which one is most popular or has a support forum that I could join for a bit until I get up and running. One think I would really like would be the ability to adjust colors. Skin tones would be most important to me. Sometimes when I use flash, the kids turn out really weird looking.

http://www.download.com/Corel-Paint-Shop-Pro-Photo/3000-2192_4-10585273.html?tag=lst-0-1

30 day trial

http://www.download.com/Adobe-Photoshop-Elements/3000-2192_4-10511144.html?tag=lst-0-1

30 day trial

E,

i totally haven't forgotten about this topic (Editing software)

about 18 months ago, i did dabble in Corel PSP, and having been an adobe user for eons, i found some of the controls harder to learn.

BUT -- you may get more "bang for your buck" with PSP than Elements, as that is a scaled down version of PhotoShop.... though for making graphics (Buttons for web pages) Elements was great... and i never figured out how to do it in PSP.

so -- that is why i suggest the trial versions... find one that you like and are able to do with it what you want to do with images.

I'm thinking there are more bells and whistles in PSP.

might want to stumble into the Photography forum and ask what others would prefer and why.

One the other topic... grass in my ground cover... my sedum seemed to fair OK even with being sprayed a bit.
since the cold snap, i havent been spraying weeds.... will get back to that when it warms up.

T.

I've got major computer problems, so much so that I'm back on my old computer right now. I'm going to have to wait to play with the new computer and new applications later.

oh -- that's right.. the one with Vista.

Yup, and IE7 and Adobe8 and all these other wonderful applications that are not reading down to my data transfers. I went back to Win XP but now I'm stuck dealing with their SP2 and all the conflicts that created. At least both machines are running. I suppose that is a step in the right direction. I am about ready to scream.

Just a little update. I was on the new computer a little bit ago and was able to get every last photo from the old computer in one application over to the new computer. I turned the computer off and turned it back on and about 10,000 photos were finally transferred. This means there is light at the end of the tunnel. Finally.

Later on today, I will download the trials of both photo editing softwares onto the new computer. No senes trying them here on the old computer.

Although it is a little off topic, I have too much groundcover in my grass! I planted Creeping Jenny two years ago on the slopes around my house. Living in Pittsburgh my yard is pretty much one big slope. The jenny took to the hillside so well that it attacked my poor 20' patch of flat lawn from the top and the bottom. I initially tried to get rid off it, but it looks the fine when I mow, and I have to admit I am a little lazy......

jessums,

i've heard "jenny" can be quite invasive.

I've sprayed the grass in my sedum, but not much is dying yet.

I only scanned and briefly read this thread but I didn't see where you stated what kind of grass it is. Most likely it looks like a bermuda or crab grass. Both have roots going down 6 feet and no flower bed retainer walls can keep it away.

If you do an online search about truly getting rid of a grass, you will usually find that it takes months to do so and even then a lot of times it will come back.

We had the same thing happen to our house. We have this large frontal flowerbed that had agapanthus growng and filled with black chips. Within a few weeks of bing here we noticed these large lumps and it turned out to be Cannas blooming. We pulled all the chips and tarp out and within a few weeks we had these spouts...

I was not sure what it was and I left it and quickly it turned into a very thick bed of bermuda or crab. We then had a bunch of Gladiolas coming up and the grass grew very tightly aorund each sprout. Not being willing to spend months and months of watering, spraying, pulling, watering, spraying, pulling, repeat, repeat, I pulled out everything growing around anything I wanted, retarped and remulched with 4" of red chips.

I have since turned to containers in my chips. I am just not willing to fight a losing battle with severly invasive grass.

If you do a search for crab and Bermuda you will find what does work best...but it is a very long proccess.

Either Poast or Ortho's GrassBGon should take care of Digitaria sanguinalis and Cynodon spp. They must be applied properly and at the right time.

Just to report..... the Grass-B-Gon is working... slowly, but it's working and my plants are just fine... and the grass is dying. YAY.

Yes it works for me too. I just sprayed a bed of Tall Bearded Iris. Yesterday I found it for sale at WalMart. I was thrilled to find it at a place I shop at regularly.