These weeds started popping up with the hot weather.
At first I pulled them out, probably leaving the roots, but then there were just too many.
My usual broadleaf weed killer doesn't phase it.
I've always had it, but this year is worse than ever.

Can anyone tell me what it is and what to use to kill it?
It grows in bunches and spreads out.
Grass is Bermuda.

TIA...

Looks like lisperza, I know I spelled it wrong, it's some kinda import from Korea they used to hold soil and feed cattle in the fiftys and it's everywhere in the south now.

Back in NC I used a product called speed zone, or Trimec...they both worked

It's called spurge.

Fairly easy to pull. I don't consider it a huge lawn problem (looks like it is for you though), but I can't keep it out of my damed planter beds.

Yeah. We have tons of it here in the Midwest. Easy to pull but keeps popping up.

quote:

Originally posted by g8rforester:
It's called spurge.

Fairly easy to pull. I don't consider it a huge lawn problem (looks like it is for you though), but I can't keep it out of my damed planter beds.

Some good info on Spurge, looks like it is best controlled pre-emergently rather than after the fact unless you can isolate it from the lawn.

Spurge

I hate this crap. Not hard to pull up after a rain. preemergent and postemergent herbicide will have decent results but spurge has many seeds so it can become an annual problem. The better lawn you have the better it keeps it under control. Grows best in bare spots or when grass is stressed by summer heat

https://aggie-horticulture.tam...7-Spotted-Spurge.pdf

Yup, spurge is what the farmers called it.

I get it some here in Virginia. But does not pop-up thru the grass only in bare spots where grass was missing or killed by crabgrass.... Have not really tried to spot-treat it, just pulled it up here and there. Not sure if it is related to crazy wet summer weve had or related to my regular treatments by "The Weedman".

What’s your usual weed killer? 2,4-D?

Yup, didn't know what it was called but I get around here as well. It's mostly a problem for me in bare spots as others have said.

quote:

Originally posted by MikeinNC:
Looks like lisperza, I know I spelled it wrong, it's some kinda import from Korea they used to hold soil and feed cattle in the fiftys and it's everywhere in the south now.

Spurge. It's not lespedeza, but similar.

Common lespedeza (Kummerowia striata (Thunb.) Schind syn. Lespedeza striata) is a freely branched, summer annual legume that is a problematic weed in lawns and other turf areas. Common lespedeza, also known as Japanese clover or annual lespedeza, has three smooth, oblong leaflets with parallel veins that are nearly perpendicular to the midvein (Figure 1). As common lespedeza matures, the stems harden and become woody, which is attributed to persistence and competition with turfgrasses in late summer (Figure 2). Flowers are pink to purple and present in the leaf axils.


http://extension.uga.edu/publi...rol%20in%20Turfgrass

https://sigforum.com/eve/forums...110091644#9110091644

quote:

Originally posted by MikeinNC:
Looks like lisperza, I know I spelled it wrong,...

ITYM Lespedeza. I think not. Lespedeza has woodier-looking stems and somewhat pointier leaves.

I think the others are right: It's one of the spurges.

SpeedZone (red) should get it. If you use a non-ionic surficant with it (I would) and a hose-end sprayer, don't forget to adjust the rate to account for the volume of surficant.

SpeedZone, applied at the correct rate, is fast. You should see what it does to Purslane, a similar-looking weed that you often see in driveway, walkway and patio cracks, and along the edges of those and of gardens. I hit that stuff with SpeedZone and it's already looking decidedly unhappy 24 hours later. W/in a couple days it's essentially gone.

SpeedZone is effective on Creeping Charlie and clover, as well. (Some clover is good, but I was out of control in our yard.)

This message has been edited. Last edited by: ensigmatic,

Try Triclopyr (3,5,6). It works on stuff that seems resistant to 2,4-D. Or go with a product like Crossbow which is a mixture of both. Mix in a little Dicamba and I bet you’ll get it. The Speedzone ensigmatic suggested is 2-4,D + Dicamba. Crossbow is 2-4,D + Triclopyr.

You’d better test your lawn first. Bermuda is susceptible to more stress from herbicides than other species. Also, this isn’t the best time of year to get maximum efficacy. 2,4-D is best in June, since it works by causing uncontrolled growth in the plant. It doesn’t work well late in the season because the growth has already slowed as the plant winds down for the year.

If you are going with a “mix up everything” approach, watch for overspray. Dicamba will kill conifers, for example. It’s a good way to accidentally wipe out your hedge.

If that is the weed where you grab and pull the main root right at or below the branches, I've been fighting that for years.

I used Weed B Gon and Roundup effectively when I broke down and used chemicals. What I normally did(I moved away from that house earlier this year) was pull them. After watering, I'd sit in my chair and pull all within arm's length since the wet soil made it easier.

I have a neurological disease, but I can't pin it on any one thing since I've been exposed to so many things over my 54 years. That's why I would pull these and other weeds rather than to use chemicals, which I still did as a last resort.

quote:

Originally posted by sigcrazy7:
Or go with a product like Crossbow which is a mixture of both. Mix in a little Dicamba and I bet you’ll get it. The Speedzone ensigmatic suggested is 2-4,D + Dicamba. Crossbow is 2-4,D + Triclopyr.

Speedzone "red" is actually 2, 4-D, 2 Ethylhexyl Ester - 28.57%, Mecoprop-p Acid - 5.88%, Diacama Acid - 1.17% and Carefen trazone-ethyl - .62%.

FWIW: The members over on lawnsite.com seem to report more effective results with SpeedZone than Crossbow. (Personally, I cannot say. We haven't had a big problem with spurge. I bought it for the clover control. The Creeping Charlie and Purslane was icing on the cake.)

quote:

Originally posted by sigcrazy7:
You’d better test your lawn first. Bermuda is susceptible to more stress from herbicides than other species.

This is excellent advice. My "grass" is so crappy that a little damage wouldn't be the end of the world, so I didn't worry so much about it. Best thing might be mix up a small batch in a 1 ga. sprayer, treat one small area and give it a few days.

Also I just realized your profile says "Texas." You might be better-served with SpeedZone Southern than "red."

I concur with sigcrazy7's other points, except I believe the proper selective herbicide, properly applied, will still do the job. In fact: After I get the new seed down, I'm going to do another round of crabgrass spot control. In two weeks the second round of Tenacity on the !@$!%!! bent grass. And that's up here in Michigan. In another month I certainly wouldn't bother, though.

Good advice.^^

Killing Spurge or anything tougher than dandelions is a multi-faceted affair. You must plan on more than one application over the course of the season, and sometimes using a variety of herbicides. For example, spurge can be knocked back early with a pre-emergent in the early spring, then two treatments of 2,4-D in June, spaced two weeks apart, then a late season treatment of Dicamba.

Or you could hit it with a flame thrower, saturate it with glysophate, and put it under a hot tarp for a month. Sometimes you just gotta nuke it from orbit. It’s the only way to be sure.

I hate this stuff it is crazy in my planters at the moment.

Thank you all for your input.
It is appreciated...

For growth in the cracks around concrete, Roundup. In the yard, Ortho Weed B Gon does it for me just fine.