Question
I have Devil Grass as my Dad called it growing up, overtaking my roses. Is there anything that I can put on it to kill it and not harm the roses?

Answer
That stuff your Dad calls Devil Grass is the dense, deep-rooted perennial creeper, Cynodon dactylon -- called Couch Grass or Bermuda Grass in my neck of the woods.  The Weed From Hell.

In some Southern neighborhoods, they actually grow entire lawns with this.

In Bermuda, it has become one of many rampant, invasive species ever known to man.  We credit the island with introducing it to the United States -- which is why it's called Bermuda Grass.  They feed it to cows in India; it is the first green plant to show up after a brush fire in Africa; and it's great for football fields because you can run all over it and nothing will happen.  

I feel your pain.

Unfortunately, Janine, I am The Long Island Gardener -- and although I could fudge an answer for you, we do not have your Devils Grass problem here on Long Island.  I am religious about not using weed-killers -- chemicals are just un-Godly to me, I do the organic thing and it always works.  I am simply not qualified to help you with your Devil Grass.

My best guess -- if I was you and I was living your latitude (which is not anything like mine) -- would be to do this:

Go to Home Depot and get one of those mats of weed cover.  It's a black fabric-like roll of special material.  This lets air and water and fertilizer go through the mat -- so you can water and fertilize your Roses just like you always do.  THE BEST THING about this stuff is that NOTHING can grow UP from underneath.  Cover it with mulch (I use bark) to keep it down.  It will keep any weeds from growing around your beloved Roses and will look very nice when it's set up.

I get the impression that Devils Grass spreads all over the place.  So I expect it would spread out from under the weed cover.  And I do mean this stuff spreads like a house on fire, very far.  You can read more about it at Blue Planet (www.blueplanetbiomes.org/bermuda_grass.htm).

You need a physical barrier around the perimeter of the fabric drop -- a deeply set barrier to prevent the roots from creeping all the way under the fabric to the end, and taking over your entire yard.  Which they will probably do if you don't get rid of this right now.

But I am sure you have a Horticultural Extension Service that gets this question all the time, Janine.  You did not identify where you are writing from.  So I cannot give you their name, phone number or website.  I apologize for that.  This is the best I can do.