Question
I lived on the gulfcoast in Mississippi, and I bought a new house 2 years ago.
the grass I have is centipede and I have been having a problem trying to get rid of a weed called dollarweed in my grass.
Do you have any suggestions

Answer
Hi Adrean,

'Dollar-Weed' in Florida may not be the same plant with the same name elsewhere.
The name "Dollar Weed" is not a scientific name for a plant, and without a complete identification of your weed, it is difficult to provide the best information.  The weed is most likely a species of 'Hydrocotyle'.
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About weedy Hydrocotyle or "Dollar Weed"

Dollar weed usually grows because there is an over abundance of water. Reduce your watering.

Most can be dug out manually. Although a chore, this is how one may tackle the underground runners. Most of the time dollar weed can be eliminated in the off months or early months of January and February with using a chemical called ATRAZINE. However do check what zone you are in and what the timing maybe. If dollar weed is in your flower beds, dig carefully. You will eventually eliminate it.  In flower-beds, you can sometimes install a Weed-Barrier plastic fiber material to keep the weeds in check. (See link below)

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ABOUT WEEDS and HERBICIDES:
To properly fight weeds, identify the weedy plant and find a chemical which will target that weed precisely.  Use the technical and scientific name for any plant in web-searches to find the best information about it.

Use these WEBSITES with IMAGES to help identify common weeds:
http://www.rce.rutgers.edu/weeds/index.html
http://www.psu.missouri.edu/fishel/ornamentals.htm
http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/county/smith/tips/turf/summerweed.html
http://www.weeds.iastate.edu/weed-id/weedid.htm
http://www-aes.tamu.edu/mary/Wdid.htm

Manage Weeds in Gardens:
http://www.growers-supply-co.com/dewitt.htm
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DENSE WEEDY AREAS:
Where weeds are dense and form patches, you can use a TOTAL KILL BROAD-SPECTRUM chemical like Monsanto's "ROUND-UP" to kill it fast and efficiently.
With a very thick and dense patch of weeds which has "choked-out" your wanted lawn grass, use a chemical like "ROUND-UP."  This will work great and leave a dead
place which you will have to re-seed or sod with turf grass.
There are variations of ROUND-UP on the market now that do attack the under-ground roots of difficult weeds, and you should try this with Dollar-Weed.  It will, as stated, leave a dead place in the lawn which you will have to re-seed or sod to get back to lawn.

If you can manage to carefully spot-spray Round-up with a hand sprayer you can prevent having so many dead spots in the eradication process. This is recommended if you just have a few weedy areas to deal with.
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I Hope this has answered your question(s)!

___JIM Gibbs,
   Microbiologist

Visit my Lawn & Gardens webpage for more facts and links:
http://hometown.aol.com/eilatlog/lawnol.html

Your Questions and Comments are welcome at ALLEXPERTS.com

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