Another possible Poa Triv thread

[EriCS198]

I’ve been trying to identify the light shades of my turf for quite some time, seems every spring is when it bothers me most considering it stands out like a sore thumb. Contemplating on nuking partial sections of my lawn and doing a reno each fall till it’s eradicated. Moist soil conditions and shade has me thinking it’s gonna be a long battle but if I can get it to where it’s manageable with spot spraying each year I’m kinda up for it. I got a quote from my lawn company to power seed in the fall but I’m assuming I would need to nuke it NOW before it goes dormant. Just need to identify it first, here are the pics




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[TimmyG]

I'm not seeing anything in that 3rd pic that warrants concern, let alone that screams Poa trivialis. Is the light shading by chance from KBG going to seed? Or is it specifically grass blades that are lighter in color, devoid of seed heads or stalks? I ask because KBG looks quite bad and lighter in color when it goes to seed, which is now, because of the seed head stalks. In a northern mix such as mine, the effect is quite splotchy.

IDing grass for someone can be very difficult without the absolute best pictures of all the necessary plant structures. You really need to be your first line of defense, so familiarize yourself with an online ID tool such as NCSU TurfFiles and use it to narrow the field. It should also give you a better idea of what pictures you need to take and share to have any hope of us being able to help you.

[KBGkicksazz]

Have you tried a good shot of iron on your lawn?

[EriCS198]

I'm not seeing anything in that 3rd pic that warrants concern, let alone that screams Poa trivialis. Is the light shading by chance from KBG going to seed? Or is it specifically grass blades that are lighter in color, devoid of seed heads or stalks? I ask because KBG looks quite bad and lighter in color when it goes to seed, which is now, because of the seed head stalks. In a northern mix such as mine, the effect is quite splotchy.

IDing grass for someone can be very difficult without the absolute best pictures of all the necessary plant structures. You really need to be your first line of defense, so familiarize yourself with an online ID tool such as NCSU TurfFiles and use it to narrow the field. It should also give you a better idea of what pictures you need to take and share to have any hope of us being able to help you.

I have
Noticed a lot of area where the turf is starting to produce seed heads, not just in the lighter areas but I would say typically in the lighter ones I think. Identification is my problem, anybody have a link where I can maybe send my turf out to get identified? I need to act quickly so I would have time to nuke this stuff before dormancy. Does anybody else see a possibility of Triv here?

[EriCS198]

Also I haven’t put any iron down on the lawn

[andy10917]

It would help if you were more specific about your location than "Lower NY" - that could be the Southern Tier or it could be Long Island. I'm in the Lower Hudson Valley and Poa Annua is completing its primary seeding period as KBG is seeding now also.

I agree with Timmy - better pictures would help. The current pictures seem to be taken sometime close to mid-day, which is a horrible time to see color differences. Use your eyes and find when the color differences are most evident. I find that around 9:30am and 5:30pm are good times - YMMV.

I like Timmy's wording - Poa Triv is not ruled out as a possibility from the existing pictures, but they don't scream Poa Triv. Since we don't know the types of grass that are present in your "cool season" blend, we can't know whether the lighter stuff is grassy weed, or the natural differences within a blend of different grasses.

[EriCS198]

I’m trying to reply to this for the 5th time and for some reason it’s not posting so I’ll try again. I have not added any iron to the lawn, I am however still waiting for my lawn care company to apply an application of lime because the ph was off. I’m located in East Fishkill, happy to hear from somebody local! I don’t have even enough knowledge to identify the cultivars on my lawn I’m still learning. Bought the house 3 years ago, I do believe I have fescue kbg and rye. I definitely have some creeping bent in a shady area as well.

[EriCS198]

[andy10917]

Focusing on pH as a direct measurement of anything is a mistake. "Lime" can be calcitic (0%-5% Magnesium) or dolomitic (up to 40% Magnesium), or it could be that the Potassium is lacking. All that the pH tells you is that the end-result of all of the cations combined yields the current pH. If you want to truly get serious, then a soil test from Logan Labs will help us to help you get the soil right - we offer free interpretations and annual plans to correct deficiencies.

BTW, I'm in Central Valley just north of the Woodbury Commons, so my climate should be very much alike to your's.

As far as posting issues are concerned, please be aware that all postings by newer members are moderated and approved by Moderators or Admins before they become publicly visible. The lag time to approval can be 5 minutes to a couple of hours (we're out on our lawns too!). This keeps Spam and Trolls from ever making a mess of the site.

[KBGkicksazz]

Im only recommending Iron as it can even out the Color of the lawn.

It’s a band-aid but while you are sorting out weeds and lawn amendments via soil test it’s a relatively benign thing to do on a lawn with fairly good results.

I’ve got wildly inconsistent soil on my new construction lawn and have found that Iron helps on color consistency.

As recommended get a soil test.

I’m trying to reply to this for the 5th time and for some reason it’s not posting so I’ll try again. I have not added any iron to the lawn, I am however still waiting for my lawn care company to apply an application of lime because the ph was off. I’m located in East Fishkill, happy to hear from somebody local! I don’t have even enough knowledge to identify the cultivars on my lawn I’m still learning. Bought the house 3 years ago, I do believe I have fescue kbg and rye. I definitely have some creeping bent in a shady area as well.

[EriCS198]

I’ll will certainly do a soil test and see what my conditions are thanks for the tip. What should be my next step as far as identifying this stuff? Additional pics?

[andy10917]

Additional pix may help. It's challenging with unidentified mixture lawns - so many reasons are possibilities. You could take a sample to the Cooperative Extension office in your county - mailing it etc doesn't work as well as its often dead by the time it arrives. But Co-op Extensions are subject to who you actually get when you arrive - not everyone is a grass expert.

Now for a little dirty laundry: it is very hard to identify grasses in a mixed environment from pictures. Many of the most-experienced members realize that and won't even try. That leaves your answers being offered from well-intentioned but less-experienced members - not just here but everywhere. I can't begin to tell you how many times I saw a picture and thought one thing, and then saw it in-person and knew it was something else. Unless the evidence in the pictures is overwhelming, take the answers with a grain of salt.

[turf_toes]

^^^^^

[andy10917]

Eric: you may want to change you Location to "Southern Dutchess County, NY" or "Mid-Hudson Valley, NY" -- people in Michigan, Indiana, etc are not going to know where Dutchess County is, and you'll get fewer responses from members in similar climates. Even Long Island people (it's a different climate) don't know where Dutchess County is (I do, but that's because I'm close).

[EriCS198]

Thanks for the tips, I the mean while I will get a soil test done and take some additional photos. I have to look into where I could get the grass identified in my local area. What’s your thoughts on powerseeding? I had my lawn company give me quote for that service as well as adding a hydra guard product and soil enrichment for the fall.

[kentster]

I suspected the same thing in my yard this season and hit all of it with a light "light up" application of Tenacity. It turned out that I was mostly wrong about the Poa. I did have a few small areas of Poa get bleached and dealt with it, but my point is that it quickly helped me answer the pressing question of Poa or not. It may work for you. Good luck with it!

[EriCS198]

Can I purchase Tenacity here in NY? I thought you needed a license here in NY to buy herbicides?

[andy10917]

That's only true for Restricted-Use products. Tenacity is actually a Lower-Risk product, which is how they got it to Residential/General Use so quickly.

[EriCS198]

I just ordered tenacity, mark it blue, and a surfactant. Can anybody guide me in the dosage to do a diagnostic blanket spray?

[andy10917]

Half a teaspoon per gallon of water. Apply roughly 1 gallon per K. This is the 4 oz/acre rate. The annual max for Tenacity is 16 oz/acre, so that means you can make 4 applications per year at that rate.

Applications should be made with a pump-up sprayer or backpack sprayer.