We bought a house in College Station about two years ago and the numerous previous owners had never put much effort into the yard, I have. It is predominately St. Augustine but there are some patches of Dallis mixed in.

I knew when I started taking care of the yard it would be a multi-year effort to get it into good shape. At this point though I don't feel like the Dallis is going anywhere. So I figure my options are:

a) Let the Dallis be (this is only an option if somebody tells me that eventually the Dallis will go away).

b) Spray heavily with glyphosate (or something else if somebody has a recommendation). We currently get a preemergent/fertilizer treatment in February and November and four more fertilizer treatments between.

c) Dig up the Dallis and backfill with clean dirt.

Thoughts? Timeline that I should give myself before I start being self critical on the lawn instead of previous owners?

Decades ago, my Grandfather told me how to stop worrying about Dallis grass. Move.

Years ago, I had a patch of Dallis grass on one side of my driveway. I used a sponge soaked with Roundup, I thinned it out considerably in the first year. The next year, I became very good with my pre-emergent application. I still had some Dallis pop up, but I did the Roundup again and my yard is clear for the most part.

I will see one pop up from time to time, I pull that by hand and remove. Don't leave the seeds to replant for next year.

One note, my neighbors on either side do nothing to control weeds, and I still have mine under good control.

You can't get rid of a whole place like Dallas. Been around too long. People might get mad if you do that.

~egon

Dr. Doctor said:

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You can't get rid of a whole place like Dallas. Been around too long. People might get mad if you do that.

~egon

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Worth a shot, tho.

It's not going to just go away. You can either spray it with round up and hope or just dig it up and backfill. I've seen it come back after spraying with round up. Coworker of mine even tried injecting the roots with glyphosate with a syringe with ok results.

Celsius is labeled for it but I've never seen it kill it. Maybe if you spiked it with some liquid fert and sprayed it with multiple apps.

MSMA

Not in st augustine

Thisguy1 said:

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Not in st augustine

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You can spot spray or wick it.

If you're going to risk killing the SA you may as well do it the legal way.

I feel for you. Dallisgrass sux.

When I was a kid, I got to the point where I almost hated being on summer break from school.

Every morning my dad would make me out a 'Work List' on a sheet of yellow legal paper and leave it on the breakfast table.

Most of those jobs I could knock out without too much effort, but at the end of the list, every damn day, was "Dig out Dallisgrass from yard."

Our 'yard' was about 50-50 Bermuda and Dallisgrass. I'm sure he knew I'd never finish his list, and would actually look forward to school starting again in the fall. I did.

You have 2 choices - other than digging it up:

1. Spray with MSMA(1oz/gal water) once a week for 3 weeks. Don't miss an application. This time of year, even that will be difficult to get full control. If you can get some Sencor to add, it will be more effective.

2. Spray with glyphosate(Roundup) - be sure it is glyphosate. I recommend a 5% solution(product/gal of water). Even with glyphosate, it is much more effective if you spray late in the fall - after bermuda goes dormant, but dallis is still green.

Good summary from Neil Sperry. https://neilsperry.com/2025/06/despised-dallisgrass/

I have been battling large patches of either dallisgrass or king ranch bluestem. Either way, horrible perennial weeds to try to control in lawns. I have asked around all over and get varying weed IDs - including the aforementioned as well as bahia and goose.

I most recently nuked a large patch of it with glyphosate and after it browned, I tilled it out and backfilled with top soil.

Tried tribute last season. Celsius earlier this year did nothing.

The other week after all the rains we had, I spent a few mornings hand pulling other portions and it comes up pretty easily in these conditions. Whether or not I got ALL of it, is another question.

Send a picture in here if you ever see it. They're much easier to ID with the seed head but I may be able to tell the difference in just the plant. Bluestem usually lies pretty flat and has a skinny blade. Dallis grows up more with thicker blades. Bahia has a very distinct root. Goose grass has a defined center.

All of them have different looking seedheads to a somewhat trained eye. Dallis and Bahia can look similar but Bahia the seedheads shoot from the top of the stem whereas dallis they come off at different points on the stem.

You should.

Any chance I can e-mail you a few I took a couple weeks ago? I always forget how to post pics here and it takes me a half hour until I figure it out.

Thank you!
btw...
Wasn't Jason Street #6?