Nimblewill – What are those tan patches of grass in my lawn?

Nimblewill – What are those tan patches of grass in my lawn?

This time of the season we usually get a call or two asking us to come look at the tan patches of grass in their lawn.  Without looking at their lawn, we could let them know it is nimblewill.

Nimblewill – In Cincinnati and Dayton Lawns is an unwanted grass and is considered a lawn problem.  It technically is a southern grass, which means it has a different growing pattern than the grasses in the Cincinnati and Dayton areas.  The grasses in the Cincinnati and Dayton lawns usually have a blend of fescue, rye, and bluegrasses.  Nimblewill stands out especially in the Early Spring and Late Fall when the northern grasses are greener.

Nimblewill Patches

Nimblewill Patches

Nimblewill in Cincinnati and Dayton lawns at this time of the year is a tan color and it usually grows in patches.  Many times you see it choking out good grasses.

Often it is confused with Bermuda (another warm season grass) or Creeping Bentgrass.  It has the same wiry horizontally growing pattern to it.  However, unlike bermuda grass, nimblewill does not have long runners.  Creeping bentgrass is what is on most golf course greens and is a little tighter knit growing.  Also creeping bentgrass is a cool season grass so it will match up better in color with the blue, rye, and fescues.  Nimblewill is a lighter green color than most cool season grasses in Cincinnati and Dayton lawns.

Solutions:  Unfortunately at this time there are not too many options.  Here are some:

1)  Kill Off/Reseed – A full lawn renovation may be needed to eradicate this invasive grassy weed.  I would suggest having a professional do this, but if you plan on doing it, then spray Round Up Pro twice and reseed with a turf type tall fescue grass mix.  Do not attempt this drastic renovation at any other time besides Early Fall (begin the process in August).

Kill off of nimblewill

Kill off of nimblewill

Turf Type Tall Fescue

Turf Type Tall Fescue

2)  Pylex and Tenacity Selective Herbicide – These products are lawn chemicals that work selectively to kill off the nimblewill while not harming your good cool season grasses.  It is a process and you see a reduction in the amount of nimblewill.  We spray 3 times within a time period of 2 months.  We have seen better results with Pylex, but would never guarantee full elimination.  Also, be prepared to see your nimblewill grass bleached white during the killing process.

3)  Tolerate It – Nimblewill does green up in Late Spring and will stay green through the Summer and Early Fall.  The only times many customers even notice it is when it goes dormant earlier in the Late Fall and does not green up as quickly in the Early Spring.  Continue to slice seed newer grass blends of turf type tall fescue and bluegrass every Fall to try to crowd it out.  If you plan on manually eradicating nimblewill make sure you remove every part of the plant or you could be causing regrowth that is more aggressive.  We do not suggest manual eradication.

4)  Receive a Free Lawn Analysis – Have one of our licensed technicians come out and analyze your lawn for FREE.  We will give you our suggestions.  We can also give you a quote on a Fall Lawn Renovation Project for your Cincinnati or Dayton lawn.

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