Considering Buffalograss 

Trevor: where it's the field located??

@@Amarillobymorning777 Pilot Point Texas

buffalograss is very unlikely to crowd out bermudagrass, it must be a very specific situation you have going on there, some very special list of soil and atmospheric environmental conditions favoring the 609 buffalograss over the particular type of bermudagrass that you have present. In general, seldom will buffalograss (Buchloe dactyloides same as Bouteloua dactyloides) crowd out bermudagrass. I have seen it happen in the 35 inch per year rainfall belt in the Great Plains when a site has never received supplimental fertilization but even then it is not common. Otherwise, I have only seen buffalograss crowding out bermudagrass in extremely low rainfall climates and under no supplemental fertility and then only after several years. Thanks for sharing your experiences and observations, we value and enjoy hearing of them. Thanks for watching.

This is true. Bermuda grass is typically more aggressive and competitive than Buffalo grass.

@@OklahomaGardening Hm. All the more reason to stick with the natives and not the exotics.

Buffalo Grass. Buffalo grass (Buchloe dactyloides), also called buffalograss, is a low-maintenance alternative to St. Augustine grass. This extremely drought-tolerant grass, native to North America, is a warm-season grass with a long winter dormancy.

St. Augustine is not the same as buffalo grass. I live in Houston where St. Augustine is still the dominant yard grass. I struggled mightily as a new homeowner with weeds, fungus and every lawn malady imaginable. Every time something went wrong, I wanted a chemical solution or thought that the problem must be some action that I was failing to take... I’ll save you a lot of time learning how to work St. Augustine... First, accept that the shade beneath an oak tree, pecan tree or pine tree is never going to have a dense turf of grass under it. St. Augustine can acclimate to partial shade over a period of years as a small tree that you planted grows, but laying sod under an established tree is a waste of time and money. This grass likes FULL SUN and the problems people have with it usually start there. Second, don’t bag your clippings. If you leave your cuttings on the lawn and let them decompose, over time they will change the chemistry of the yard into exactly what St. Augustine likes. Don’t add chemical fertilizer. Top dress the yard with a small amount of composted hardwood mulch and leaf mold every five years or so. Less is more. Don’t water it. You may think I’m crazy, but watering St. Augustine makes it dependent and weak. If you are trying to sell your house or you have family or coworkers coming over for a 4th of July party, by all means, water it to green things up... But the grass doesn’t need any watering at all in the gulf coast low prairies. LET IT GO DORMANT in a drought. I’ve had my entire yard look like it was completely dead to the point I thought I would have to re-sod only to be completely green within thirty days after the drought broke. That drought cycle seems to help St. Augustine choke out most kinds of weeds as well. If TLDR, the best thing for St. Augustine is long-term neglect. Then when your grass looks better than everyone else’s and they ask you what you do to keep it looking so healthy, you get to say “Nothing.”

Your local University of Florida Cooperative Extension Service can help with problem diagnosis on your lawn. Concerning American buffalogass (Buchloe dactyloides same as Bouteloua dactyloides), it would be a very poor choice for a Florida lawn due to your high rainfall, high turfgrass disease potential, sandy soils, high nematode populations, etc. St. Augustinegrass and bermudagrass are better choices for your particular area. Concerning your question "Is St. Augustinegrass the same as buffalograss?" No, not in the USA, but common names can be confusing. In Australia, what we know in the USA as St. Augustinegrass is called buffalograss, and if one uses "buffalograss" as a search term in an internet search engine one will get some links to Australian websites that illustrate the varied use of the common name "buffalograss."

I won't. Plus I live in Indiana

@@subninja8069 yes you can but I sure would not do so. The tall fescue will generally dominate the buffalograss in most climates, as in all but semi-arid or arid climates.

Exactly. I'm glad I'm not the only one who finds the underlying assumptions here problematic. Way, way, way too many chemicals in this world.

what is planning to do is just take the good old fashion shove and take out the grass in that way then use Vinter to kill the rest of the weed roots. Takes more work but, Am one of those people who doesn't really have time to wait on 2-year shit.

That won't work because of the rhizomes as he explained, you can kill off everything on top but the parts of the plant below ground can grow back. If you don't like chemicals then you can cover the ground with black plastic for 6 months to try to kill everything in the ground. It takes time and several seasons for everything in the ground to give up trying and die completely.

Yes, lawn renovation can be a lengthy process when removal of a grass that has underground stems, rhizomes, is involved. Concerning "steaming", generally steaming will not heat the rhizomes enough to reliably kill them since some may be located 2 to 3 inches below the soil surface. That is a tremendous amount of energy you would have to be supplying by steam. Bermudagrass is an incredibly well adapted grass having above and below ground runners. The dormant rhizomes are very resistant to heat and cold. Best wishes with your lawn renovation project! Also, remember, the Oklahoma Gardening Show is geographically context specific. Buffalograss is adapted to the Great Plains Region of the US, while there are areas outside of this location where it can work, be sure to check with your local Land Grant University Cooperative Extension Service to get the facts that pertain to your local situation. Thanks for viewing!

@@subninja8069 If you are only talking about a few square feet of bermudagrass then you may be able to successfully achieve the objective with a shovel. However, about 99.9% of the operations that I have seen trying to dig out bermudagrass have failed in my 37 year career working in turf care. Generally it is a multi-year process. Solarization can work but it cannot be rushed either. Generally start the bermudagrass eradication process in year 1 finish the solarization, fallow, till, operations in year 2. Best wishes with you lawn renovation project!

The health concerns are overhyped, and like it or not glyphosate is still an extremely useful chemical. Don't get it on your skin and use it according to the label and you'll probably be fine. The one guy in the news stories was an idiot that used it almost every day and there were a couple times he spilled gallons of it all over his skin and didn't bother to wash it off right away. He didn't wear proper protective equipment either wile using the concentrate. Using it once or twice on your lawn is not a big deal compared to the misuse by farmers.

On the contrary, as a PhD degreed scientist I should continue to use the scientific method in all investigations. Contrary to your statement, the existing body of evidence suggests that glyphosate can be used to control weeds with minimal environmental damaged when used according to the best management practices and label requirements that have been set forth over the years. True, I do have a PhD and have training in biological sciences that crosses four decades and that training continues. I have also read an extensive number of toxicology, mutagenicity, endocrine effect studies on this and other pesticides. I am also involved in ecosystem restoration projects. I am one of many scientists involved in ecosystem restoration that can attest to the usefulness of glyphosate as a management tool. Each tool has its risks and benefits. Many involved in ecosystem restoration and invasive plant management feel that glyphosate is an incredibly useful tool and that its environmental risks can be effectively managed. You are entitled to your opinion as am I entitled to mine. Thanks for watching.

​@@dennismartin4963 can you give an example as to how the negative risks can be effectively managed?

Glyphosate is one of the most studied herbicides in human history. The debate in the scientific community will no doubt continue as to whether glyphosate is or is not a carcinogen. Various regulatory agencies across continents have reviewed those studies and have come to various conclusions. I first used Roundup herbicide 39 years ago and have used it multiple times each year during that time. All pesticides pose risk but many, including myself, feel strongly that risk can be responsibly managed. I will continue to use glyphosate in sound management programs. Only use what you are comfortable in using.