Questionwe planted common bermuda and centipede seed. by mistake we applied weed and feed thinking it was the fertilizer we had purchased. what can we do to the lawn area, we desperately need some grass in the new red lawn. can we over lay with sand? when can we replant the seed?
Answer I really hope that you put down the weed and feed AFTER the grass seed had germinated and grown out a bit. If not I do not hold out much hope for good germination of the grass seed.
Look on the label of the W&F product for the active ingredient of the weed killer.
If it says 2.4 followed by a long word (something like Dichlorophenoxyacetic) then there is some hope. This chemical causes the plant to grow so fast that its food supply cannot keep up so it "starves" to death. It is harsher on broad leaf plants than on true grasses. Frequent watering or abundant rainfall can mitigate the action of this chemical. Hopefully you have had a lot of rain. If not, the water police will not accept this incident as an excuse for watering outside of the regulations.
I expect 2.4D to become ineffective three weeks after application.
If it says atrazine, the centipede is more tolerant. There is very little you can do. The chemical is persistent and effective.
If it says pendimethalin or oryzaline, these are pre-emergent chemicals and work by stunting the very new and tender roots. If you applied the chemical AFTER the seedlings were well established, then they may already have had a functioning root system which might be enough to weather the storm.
IMHO, the % weed killer in W&F products is quite small; the application method is often inaccurate and lack proper timing so weed control is often mediocre. So if you can do anything now you may be able to recover some return on your investment.
Let me apologise immediately and unreservedly to all of you out there who read and follow label directions. The environment needs many more like you. Thanks for being there.
