Question
QUESTION: I have an area of lawn that seems to have every symptom of every ailment known. It seems to have begun with my application of turf builder with weed control to get rid of plantain. Everything but the the plantain started to die off, so I fertilized and over seeded. The newly seeded areas sprouted, but now are failing, and large dead areas are developing outside of the treatment area. What have I started?

ANSWER: Your Scotts Turfbuilder with Weed Control is based on ___, a weed killer that will kill Plantain but is useless on Crabgrass.  It should not have done any damage to your Lawn if you applied it properly but it should have eliminated the Plantain effectively.

What kind of Grass do you have and what state are you growing it in?

If your Lawn is made of St. Augustinegrass, Dichondra, Carpetgrass or Bentgrass, kiss it goodbye -- this stuff kills it just like a Weed.  Please give me more information, including the Grass you 'newly seeded' to repair the damage.  Any other 'ailments' you see?





---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: I have no idea what kind of grass is already on the lawn, as it was here when we moved in, and I'm no expert for sure. What I seeded was a combination of perennial ryegrass, annual rygrass, clover and one variety of fescue. It's a basic contractor's mix, I understand, and I'm living in Vermont.
I may have over-applied the turf builder, but since it didn't really get rid of the plantain, I didn't think I had. As I mentioned, I now have an area adjacent to, but outside of, the area treated with either turf builder or seed that's going brown. It simply seems to be dieing. I've gotten on hands and knees looking for insects or mold or whatever, but can't see anything other than dead grass and dirt. I've seen one little leaf hopper and a few tiny white flies, but nothing else. There are no congregations of birds feeding anywhere on the lawn, and no skunks or other burrowers are in evidence.
We have had, incidentally, no rain for the past two weeks or so, and temps have been in the upper 80's. I've been watering the treated area mornings and afternoons and it looked pretty good in the beginning. Some of it's hanging in there, but the rest is stunting and twisting or just failing altogether.
Thanks for the reply, by the way.

Answer
Cool Season Grass -- this narrows it down.  This particular Scotts product comes with specific instructions for use:

'Make sure grass is wet from dew or sprinkler before application.'

'Do not water or mow lawn for at least 24 hours after application'.

'Granules must remain on weed leaves for 24 hours to be effective.'

'Do not apply if rain is forecast within 24 hours.'

'Do not apply by hand.'

If you miss just ONE of these details, my friend, you reduce or completely cancel any chance their Weedkiller will work.

The 'Fertilizer' part of course -- the 'Turf BUILDER' part of the product -- can be overapplied in all kinds of ways.  So you can EASILY overdose your Grass with the Fertilizer while preventing the Weedkiller from having any effect on the Weeds.

What I find the most troublesome is that the Grass died, but the Plantain and Crabgrass are surviving.  You had a handful of Clover in your Lawn when you started, which is a splendid touch to include.  But that may be adversely affected by any Weedkillers.  You may not realize it, but Clover is collateral damage in these Weedkiller treatments.  The reason many people consider Clover a Weed today, in fact, is due to the Scotts advertising campaigns for its early Weedkillers, which could not separate the Clover from the Crabgrass and Dandelions -- and so Scotts convinced people they should not like Clover, they should treat it just like a Weed.  Which they eventually did.

It also bothers me that you don't see any Birds on your Lawn.  MECOPROP (aka 'MCPP' among other things) and 2,4-D are the key Weedkilling ingredients in the Scotts powder you used.  These are fairly DEADLY (They're not kidding when they tell you, 'Do not apply by hand').  Between your dry, hot weather and your Weedkilling spree, you pretty much have wiped out all intelligent life in your Lawn.

Let's start over.

Here's what University of California at Davis Agriculture Dept has to say about Plantain, that noxious, aggressive Weed you are trying to evict:

http://www.ipm.ucdavis.edu/PMG/PESTNOTES/pn7478.html

According to UC Davis, when they can't get rid of it, people in California make dinner out of this stuff: 'Young leaves of Broadleaf Plantain are sometimes used as a potherb or in salads.'  The rest of the time they make tea out of it, and sometimes they use it for blisters and bruises.  See, Plaintain isn't ALL bad.

This is not really what you want to hear, I know.  I personally do not care for Salads much anyway.

UC Davis does point out why your Plantain problem is SUCH a nuisance: 'Because of the extensive crowns, hand-pulling, digging, or hoeing to remove plantain is usually futile unless repeated for several months.'  They note that spreading Plantain around your Lawn accidentally can be as simple as mowing it.  'Once a few plants become established in turfgrass or ornamental areas, seed and plant parts can contaminate equipment, particularly lawn mowers, and spread to new areas.'

UC Davis maintains it is hard to get rid of this Weed.  But not impossible.

'Early removal of new seedlings has been successful when practiced diligently. Digging out perennial plantain plants must be done regularly for several years to be successful.'

It is VERY IMPORTANT, sir, to Mow this brown Lawn to keep the Weeds from taking over.  If you sow more Annual Ryegrass, some White and Red Clover, Alfalfa perhaps, you will be taking up space that outside Weeds will love to use when they see it's vacant.  At the same time, you'll be building up your Soil.   Then in Autumn, you can till and re-seed.  The soil will be packed with new life, and you'll have some beautiful new Grass to Mow.

Meantime, I recommend you make nice to some of the local Birds.  They are great at eating Weed Seeds and Insects.  It would be nice for you to pull up to a Lawn covered with lots of hungry Birds in the middle of a feeding frenzy.  Start with a concrete Birdbath, filled with water -- something they're sure to appreciate since you've had so little rain.

Given that National Geographic has named your entire State one of the must-see places in the world, it's important to make sure your Birds and Bees are well taken care of.

Very sorry this had to happen.  But it is a common question this time of year.  If you switch from concentrated powders to organic fertilizers and weedkillers, you'll never have this problem again.  There are some tricks of the trade you can use to get rid of Weeds, and some of them are BETTER than the chemical kind.  Plus the Birds and the Bees like it more.

Thanks for writing.  If you have any questions, let me know.