Controlling Japanese Stiltgrass in your Lawn
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- Опубліковано 4 лип 2024
- Japanese Stiltgrass (Microstegium vimineum) is an annual grass native to Asia. In the United States it is a very aggressive invasive species which will compete with native plants. Our goal is to rid our lawn of Stiltgrass so that it doesn't spread into our woodlands. To control Stiltgrass in our woods and in our lawn we use Acclaim Extra, which is a grass-specific herbicide containing fenoxaprop-p-ethyl. It targets annual grasses such as Stiltgrass, Crabgrass, and other weedy grasses of turf. In this video we show our treatment of a lawn area and how the grasses, both weedy and desirable, respond to treatment over time.
Oak Haven is a 60-acre private woodland in Southwestern Ohio near Cincinnati. Jim and Julie Varick both have degrees in Botany and over thirty years of experience in managing natural areas. They enjoy sharing their enthusiasm for the natural world and would like to build relationships with like-minded people to share knowledge and resources. - Наука та технологія
Thanks! I am really struggling with Japanese Stiltgrass and this was very helpful.
It's a struggle! Good luck with it!
Very informative. Thanks so much!
Another great video. Always nice to learn from an actual expert.
Thanks! Expert is a bit of a stretch, but I appreciate the thought.
Awesome vid, awesome Labrador!
Thanks for summarizing that test for us. I need to add some selective herbicide to my toolkit.
Glad it was helpful!
We've all been there when one second, we're looking at a beautiful lawn just coming out of dormancy in April and the next there's a massive infestation of weeds! I downloaded PictureThis to identify what weeds I have in my lawn and found out I did indeed have a major Stiltgrass and Blue Violet infestation. Your tips on Acclaim application helped me knock it out and the lawn has been bouncing back. Thanks for uploading, subbed!
Thank you for the tip about Acclaim Extra. This is so helpful. I’ve been fighting stilt grass for years, but this might be the final step that I’ve needed.
How many applications did it take to eradicate the Japanese stilt grass? And how long were your grass before cut? Thx.
Since the blades are broad and it pulls easily I have found that purposely not mowing for two weeks (so it's poking up above the slower-growing grass), then using a power dethacher set at the very highest setting will pull all of it out, leaving the finer-leafed grass alone. Stiltgrass is an annual, and it goes to seed only once per year, and it won't come back from root fragments. There are its key weaknesses and they can be exploited. But mowing just makes it eventually go to seed down low. Dethatch in July, do it again for new germination in early September before it goes to seed. Anything that come up after that won't have time to go seed before the first hard frost kill it.
Sounds like a solid plan. Thanks!
For the average homeowner, where does one rent a power dethacher? Or is this a professional job?
@@Tricia_JoElle I'm sure there are much better professional-quality units but I bought an electric (120V) SunJoe dethatcher. It comes with a tiller/scarifier blade installed, for scraping the soil for seed preparation, and the wire-tined dethatcher bar, which is the one you would swap in. Since I'm not trying to dethatch all the way to the ground during a stiltgrass pulling session I set it at the maximum possible height so it is barely touching the grass, but is snagging the stiltgrass blades. During the Summer session I don't the bag the thatch as the bag is tiny and must be emptied often. Rather, I just do some raking afterward and compost the stiltgrass. By October the stiltgrass will be going to seed so you'll have to bag and dispose of the stiltgrass, lest it re-seed your lawn. For the remaining stiltgrass in the woods that i missed, that is also going to seed; time to try to pull every one of them. Just one plant produces an insane number of seeds so it pays to be thorough. That's how this invasive species is taking over!
@@paulh6591 I am about to buy the SunJoe dethatcher, also. Not because of the stiltgrass, but because the lawn was NEVER dethatched. Good idea to use the SunJoe to pull out the stiltgrass!
This has been the bane of my existence…i have 40 acres in NC and the neighboring property did a clear cut of hundreds of acres and im fighting this on every border….i had to go nuclear with imazapyr…and yes, i killed many trees in the process…ive got a commercial tank sprayer and brush trimmer that i have heavy string on…tried weed wacking before seed…it was fine until the next season…seedbank resprouted…plus all my neighbors property blowing seeds over…so i got permission from my neighbor to spray 40 feet into his property…
The only thing that truly stops stilt grass is to kill the seedbank, that is a soil sterilizer….pramitol, ecomazapyr, imazapyr…
I was like you and was trying to save native species but it became so counterproductive and expensive…on a large scale where your talking dozens of acres…did the whole acclaim route, 300 gallon sprayer takes 9000ml of acclaim, thats 2.5 gallons, thats $800 per treatment…and you need to do that twice….so….
Imazapyr is only $300 per 2.5 gallons and will kill the seed bank…kills everything
I tried fighting the good fight but ran out of patience, money, time…
Now i can replant the seedbank with native plants that can outcompete stiltgrass, annual grass/oats as a cover and i created a 40ft wide bare ground fire line between the property that i keep treating with imazapyr
Its Acclaim EXTRA selective for grasses! Hope this helps
It's 10/3 in NE, above Phila., so I'm going to spray the Acclaim Extra. I watched it spread slowly, and just kept cutting it. Unfortunately, it grows faster than grass, so by the time the grass needed cutting, the stiltgrass was high and THICK and the push mower would stall. Push mower. Not fun. Fed up, on a mission, SunJoe, Acclaim, and "enough of this" attitude! LOL! BTW, I ordered Acclaim from Amazon due to free shipping. and it came with an expiration date of 16 months ago. It'll weaken in strength by the time I use it all up. I also got a chemical that makes the Acclaim "stick" to the stiltgrass. I just heard you say "didn't do as good as I thought it would"> NOOOOO! I read to spray it when it is 6" high. At this point, astroturf is looking pretty good to me right now! Just kidding!
FYI Seed Barn nor charges $155.00 for it! Less elsewhere
Can you please do a follow up video this year? I have way too much to say for the comments section. But I am fighting it!
We have another video coming soon!
Omgoodness stilt grass is a nightmare! I tried you acclaim extra recipe and has fair outcome
Amazing how fast stilt grass spreads. Have it every where I look now after first seeing it three years ago and spraying it. Couldn’t get at it this year as much as I was down with a bad case of shingles for seven weeks. It’s all through my lawn too. Seems like it pops up in patches where it never was before. Wondering if it root spreading or were there a bunch of seeds there?
It's an annual, so it doesn't spread by roots. It certainly produces plenty of seeds, though!
Since stiltgrass has such shallow roots, I wonder if a de-thatcher or scarifier machine would pull it up out of a lawn. If so, you could control a lot of it in a lawn before it had a chance to set seed.
I have stilt grass growing in all day sun. It doesnt care if there is shade or sun.
I sprayed the acclaim this spring. Waited a month before re-seeding my lawn. I even used a heavy dose of it. But the stiltgrass hasn't even be affected. I am confused and worried it will kill my new lawn. Expiration date on acclaim was 2021 but should be okay. But wondering why in the world this herbicide hasn't worked. I have things working against me. South Dakota hot dry spring. But have been keeping new grass moist. Any thoughts?
Please talk about Reynoutria japonica.
I am fortunate that I haven't had to deal with Japanese Knotweed (Reynoutria japonica). I try to only address problems that I have personal experience with, although I fully appreciate how devastating it can be.
Stiltgrass growing in Houtonia: I want to keep the Houtonia (it's not out of control). Remedies?
7-5-23 Checked Seedbarn for acclaim extra, unfortunately they are at $155. for a pint now.
I have Japanese Stiltgrass in my woods under large trees. Do you know if I can use Glyphosate under the trees without hurting them?
You only spray on the leaves. Not soaking wet. Should be no problem. Round up works thru the leaves not the root system.
But, you can pull a bunch with your hand. Can take out all the stilt grass in one or two minutes.
Will it get rid of Kentucky blue grass too?
It did not seem to kill the Kentucky Bluegrass.
What are your thoughts on Clethodim, the forester I work with in our woods has recommended it and I'm having mixed results? Been using it for about 5 years, but I'm thinking I'd like to try something more effective. I'm treating 110 acres and the stiltgrass is not slowing down much.
That's ambitious! I don't have any specific experience with Clethodim. I notice that Japanese Stiltgrass is not listed as a species controlled on the label, although it falls into the "annual and perennial grass" description. I would try some Acclaim Extra and see how it compares. Does your current approach not seem to be killing it, or it seems killed at the end of the season, but still comes back the next year? When are you treating it?
@@TheWoodlandSteward no, it does not seem to be killing it. Knocks it down then about this time of year we notice even larger patches than we did before. We spray starting around the first of July, what is the best time? I'm afraid to start too early because it's harder to spot.
When did you spray this? I have heard it is better to spray in the spring when the stiltgrass is young.
I sprayed June 29, 2022. I feel like if you spray earlier you miss all that germinate later. If you spray later, you risk there being cleistogamous (hidden) flowers that have already produced seed.
@@TheWoodlandSteward Thank you for the information.
what happens if you just weed whack them?
I saw somewhere that you can do that, but if you consistently cut it low it will seed underneath that height. So you have to weed wack it when its tall late in the season before it seeds so it won't grow back in time. I wonder if weed wacking it straight to bare ground would work though.
If it's an annual and you clearly Mow, will it just die over winter? (Doesn't mowing it keep it from going to seed? )
I'm trying mechanical treatments, mowing and string trimming. As well as roundup in different places. The Acclaim Extra looks like something I should add to the arsenal too. I did read on a university ag extension website string trimming before seed really low is effective. I'll tell you next year - LOL.
You would think that mowing would keep it from going to seed, but it still comes up in lawns. Japanese Stiltgrass reportedly produces cleistogamous (hidden) flowers in the stem sheaths which produce seeds even if they never see the light of day.
I would love to hear what you find out!
@@TheWoodlandSteward Maybe I can share a video response next year. This is my first time attacking this species. I really need the marking dye, I miss a lot spraying by eye.
One last comment: Your lawn grass? Isn't it from other places? Europe? Africa? Isn't IT invasive? I assure you I am not a "troll". It just makes me so depressed to see someone hasn't examined their own base rate fallacies. Its good that you feel you are managing your own land that you bought. I suppose thats better than paving it over or turning it into a golf course.