My yard is being overrun with Japanese Stilt grass...thanks to this site, I've finally identified it. Last year there was almost none, but a neighbor had a little. Is Ornamec the product to use to kill it when it is among bedding and ivy plants? What is its root structure, and how does it reproduce? Is there a systemic that will kill it, or only contact herbicides? I can tell this is a problem not unlike Kudzu here in the South! If Ornamec, how do I use it? If something else, what?? And how, and often? Is fall an ok time to attack, or do I have to wait...? This is REALLY a problem. I am a northern gardner, transplanted, and this is all new to me. Thanks for your quick replies...I can hear it growing...

From another thread, I learned of Hi-Yield Grass Killer at Ace Hardware. I applied it all over my "back 40," which was covered in stilt grass waist high. I sprayed for nearly 2 hours and used most of the quart, also around $35, mixed exactly as recommended. Of course, this was last resort after pulling the grass since Sept 2001, when Colin Powell urged us to rip out terrorism by the root wherever we found it, and which I executed on the backyard invader I have come to call the "Tali-bamboo."

Taunting me with martinis from the deck, my husband laughed at what we both believed to be a futile final assault. For two weeks after, I did not see the greeny robustness of the weed but neither was it dead. But after a 2 week vacation, I returned to a field of DEAD stilt grass--I mean, DEAD AS A DOORNAIL DEAD. A month later I got around to raking up 15 bags of stilt grass hay, and I did not see a living leaf.

I applied the grass killer when no rain was forecast for a week because I did not want it to go into our creek. It killed nothing else around it; it's a wild area, mainly vines. I am planning to reapply as soon as it starts poking up next year and as needed after. I have spent so many hours on this grass that an hour or two of spraying is nothing, and if it does get out of hand again, I won't have either the hand-pulling or raking to repeat either.

This grass showed up after Hurricane Fran, when this area was scoured by the over-flowing creek. I called it "hurricane grass" when it first came up. My neighbor thought it was great looking and still does. It's an easy-to-grow lawn, as far as he is concerned, and he just mows it.

In article ,
mcdaniel wrote:
both believed to be a futile final assault. For two weeks after, I did
not see the greeny robustness of the weed but neither was it dead. But
after a 2 week vacation, I returned to a field of DEAD stilt grass--I
mean, DEAD AS A DOORNAIL DEAD.

Keep in mind that stilt grass (Microstegium vimineum) is an annual, and
the coming winter will kill it anyway. At this point in the year, most
of it around here is already dead or dying. It will not overwinter or
regrow from the previous year's roots.

The key is to keep it from setting seed. Around here, it is going to do
that around September. Pulling it (in small areas), mowing it short, or
applying herbicide shortly before it goes to seed is the most effective
way to control it. Applying herbicide in the spring isn't going to help
much, because additional dormant seeds will still have plenty of time
to grow to maturity.

If it is already well established and has colonized a site, it is going
to take several years to eradicate it, no matter what you do. The seeds
can last for 3 to 7 years and each plant can produce up to 1000 seeds.
And seed can also spread (from, or into your site), typically carried
downhill by water.

It's an annoying plant. It can completely colonize areas, choking out
most of the native vegetation, and doesn't provide any benefit to
wildlife. The best thing is to keep it from getting established, but
unfortunately, it is well distributed throughout the region, and
spreading.

--
Steve

Thanks for the warning, although I realize I just killed off one crop. I am anticipating seeing it again next year but hope that by spraying when it first comes up and staying after it over the summer that I will prevent the thick runaway growth and the seeding that goes with it. I know I still have a yearly regimen to follow. Good luck to all of us!

Thanks for the warning, although I realize I just killed off one crop.
I am anticipating seeing it again next year but hope that by spraying
when it first comes up and staying after it over the summer that I will
prevent the thick runaway growth and the seeding that goes with it. I
know I still have a yearly regimen to follow. Good luck to all of us!


--
mcdaniel

In article ,
mcdaniel wrote:

I am anticipating seeing it again next year but hope that by spraying
when it first comes up and staying after it over the summer that I will
prevent the thick runaway growth and the seeding that goes with it.

Spraying in the spring and throughout the summer will not be much more
effective at erradicating it then spraying it once at the end of the
summer to prevent it from going to seed. Spraying it once also has the
benefit of reduced ecological damage from the herbicide use, and less
cost for the herbicide.

Here is a good datasheet from the National Parks Service which a
forester from the NCDFR referred me to:

http://www.nps.gov/plants/alien/fact/mivi1.htm

Good luck.

--
Steve

........My neighbor thought it was great looking and still does.
It's
an easy-to-grow lawn, as far as he is concerned, and he just mows it.
mcdaniel

I have to admit it is also my lawn. But that is only one acre out of
7. I feel like a bit of an expert at this point. For the past three
or four years I have been pulling out the bamboo grass by the roots
where I don't want it. It comes back the next year in a VERY sparce
manner and can be pulled out very quickly. It does require constant
vigilance, and I admit I do become somewhat "obsessed" with pulling it
out all summer long. But I figure in two more summers I will actually
have it under complete control on the 7 acres. I just must walk over
the land and pull out the little batches where I see them (and it is
like 10 plants per batch instead of 10,000 where I've pulled it the
year before). I have marked borders between my "lawn" and my woods,
and I make sure it does not go over the borders. This has actually
been very easy.
The big problem is that NONE of my neighbors take care of it on
their own property, and it is basically slowly (or maybe quickly)
covering the whole subdivision of 770 acres.
No chemicals are involved here, and hey, at a ripe old age, I can
with straight knees touch my knuckles to the ground.... great
hamstrings !!!
Kira

I've read somewhere that the seeds are viable for up to 7 years...we're going
to be at this for a long time!

Marcy