Question
Hi Charlotte,

I have two questions, one relating to grass that will not grow in a certain area, and one relating to Asian Jasmine that has run beyond control.

I live in central Alabama and have an established Meyer Zoysia lawn (13 years).  For the last 3 years, there is a round patch, about 100 sq. ft. that is always nearly bare and the grass struggles to survive. I have tried extra watering, extra fertilizer, fungicide, insecticide (at different times), aerated with a pitch fork, and scattered a thin layer of layer of rich top soil, but with no noticeable positive effect. The grass will form a few new, short blades and seem to be poised for a come back, but it never takes off.  There is a Live Oak tree, and there once was a Maple tree (I cut it down early last year), near the bare spot. The trees were part of the initial landscaping 13 years ago, so they are not large trees, and do not shade the spot. I thought that the feeder roots for the trees were causing the problem, but the bare spot does not conform to the drip line of the branches, and in fact, extends well beyond it. Also, if this were it, there are other areas of the lawn that would seemingly be effected the same way, but aren't. Can you offer any suggestions?

Next, I included 500 small Asian Jasmine plants as part of that intial landscaping. We pulled weeds, mulched with straw and prayed over them to grow for years. Now, they have taken off with a vengence and are choking out everything in their path, including climbing the walls of the house and creeping in through the windows. I have not found an effective and practical way to recover the areas overtaken. Cutting and weed eating will only provide temporary relief, and Round Up will not phase these plants. Given their root system, pulling them from the ground is next to impossible. Is there any effective chemical to control this plant? (I know that you like organic solutions, but this is war).

Thanks for your help.

Mike

Answer
Hi Mike;
There could be a dead and decaying piece of wood under the soil in that bare spot that is poisoning the grass. Do you get mushrooms there? That is a sure sign of an under the ground fungus. Those mushrooms are the blooms of fungus.
The soil in that spot could be too hard from clay, or there could be a large rock shelf under there that is close enough the roots don't have enough soil to grow in.
Does water penetrate that spot well?
If not, dig under a little to see if there is rock. If the soil is very hard to get a shovel into, it indicates hard clay. Water will not soak through clay. Some clays will let water in and get very wet and slick, but doesn't dry out as fast as good loose soil.
do you have a birdfeeder in that area?
The hulls from the black sunflower seeds are toxic to plants, and the toxin lives in the soil for several years.
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The asian jasmine.
IOt grows well in the shade, but where it gets sun, it spreads like Kudzo.
Yes, I do prefer organics, and generally won't recommend any chemical products, but since you are on a chemical program, I will tell you what will kil it.
Green Light puts out a broadleaf killer called WipeOut.
It kills ANY broadleafed plant but will do no harm at all to grasses.
It absorbs through the leaves, stems and stalks or the soil. So you can put some on the leaves, and if it doesn't get on the ground and soak into the soil, it won't hurt trees etc.
Get a few drops on a rose bush or something else you want to keep, and it is toast.
The squirrels hide their pecans from the trees that bear those tiny worthless pecans, under my climbing roses.
the tap root of those little trees is twice the length as what is showing above ground, so when the little tree ghets high enough for me to see it, that tap root is about a foot and a half deep.
I mix 1 part WipeOut with 2 parts water, and paint it on some of the leaves. I cover the rose bush with plastic till the WipeOut dries, so none of the wipeOut gets on it, and I also cover the parts of the tree leaves I paint with plastic and tie it shut around the bottom, so my lizards won't be harmed.
n a couple of hours, those leaves start to look sick, and the next day they are dead. The WipeOut travels through the leaves to the tap root, and in a couple of weeks, that little black stick has no small roots under ground, so I can just pull it out easily.
Walmart carries Green Light products, and it carries WipeOut.
You only have to put the WipeOut on a few leaves to kill out the plant they are coming from, so you can go through and paint some where you want it thinned, and in a few days, it will be dead. Leave the a few days, and those dead runners should be very easy to pull up.
Those climbing up your wals, paint them, and you will kill out the ones close to the house.
You could put some in a spray bottle, and spray lightly to get it out of large areas without all that bending over to paint the leaves.
Charlotte