Q: Can I spray the green weeds in my Bermuda lawn with Roundup?

A: Yes, you can, but you have to promise to be careful. Get down on your hands and knees and examine your Bermuda at the soil level. If you can not find ^any^ green leaves, you can spray the weeds lightly. Non-selective weed killers like glyphosate (Roundup) or glufosinate (Finale) are only absorbed by the green part of a plant. Since the exposed Bermuda grass foliage is brown now, and the weeds are green, a gardener can spray the invaders without killing the grass. Within a few weeks the weeds will be dead and in a few months, green Bermuda will cover their former encampment.

CAUTION: Bermuda grass is the ^only^ turf on which you should attempt this “weed wipeout”. Though zoysia and centipede grasses seem to be dormant now, they very likely have green sprigs growing at ground level. Pat Mawhinney, owner of Prestige Shrub and Tree, says one of his customers tried spraying glyphosate on his zoysia lawn last winter and killed large portions of it. Read the label of any weed killer you use to determine the conditions under which it is safe to use the chemical.