Grassy Weeds
Grassy weeds are true grasses or monocots. A grass seed germinates and emerges as one single leaf. It develops hollow, rounded stems and nodes (joints) that are closed and hard. The leaf blades...
Category: Lawns
Bahiagrass
Bahiagrass (Paspalum notatum), also known as highwaygrass, is an aggressive, warm-season perennial grass. Bahiagrass has a mat-forming habit with a light green color, coarse texture and open canopy....
Managing Weeds in Fescue Lawns
Tall fescue, Festuca arundinacea, is a popular turfgrass grown in the mountains and upper piedmont areas of South Carolina. To keep it looking its best, weeds should be controlled through an...
Managing Weeds in Warm Season Lawns
Bermudagrass, centipedegrass, zoysiagrass, and St. Augustinegrass are the most popular warm season turfgrasses grown in South Carolina. Warm season refers to the fact that they prefer warm...
Broadleaf Weeds
Most broadleaf weeds have netlike veins in their leaves and nodes containing one or more leaves. They may have showy flowers. Broadleaf weed seedlings emerge with two leaves. Because of differences...
Nutsedge
Nutsedges are very aggressive and persistent weeds that commonly infest lawns, vegetable and flower gardens, and home landscapes. They can be very difficult to eradicate and their control is likely...
Watering Lawns
Turfgrasses, like all living plants, require water for growth and survival. Since rainfall patterns vary, seasonal droughts are common in South Carolina. During long, dry hot periods in the summer,...
Fertilizing Lawns
Essential Elements All plants require certain chemical elements for proper growth and appearance. Of these at least 17 are known to be essential elements. Table 1 lists the 17 known elements and the...
Brown Patch & Large Patch Diseases of Lawns
Introduction The beauty of a lawn can be quickly destroyed by brown patch or large patch, which are serious fungal diseases (each caused by different strains of Rhizoctonia solani) that can affect...
Gray Leaf Spot on St. Augustinegrass
Gray leaf spot is a fungal disease (caused by Pyricularia grisea) that occurs most commonly on St. Augustinegrass (Stenotaphrum secundatum), but occasionally may also be found infecting tall fescue,...
Spring Dead Spot
Spring dead spot is a fungal disease of bermudagrass lawns and is a result of infection by one or more species of Ophiosphaerella. These soil-dwelling fungi damage the roots, rhizomes, and stolons...
Leaf Diseases of Lawns
Home lawns in South Carolina are commonly infected by leaf diseases including dollar spot, rust, gray leaf spot, powdery mildew, anthracnose and Helminthosporium leaf spot. Most of the time, these...