Fusilade Selective Herbicide II 73215, White

I had been doing a lot of research to try to solve my lawn problem, which is that I have a zoysia lawn that has been invaded by lots of unwanted grasses and weeds, especially bermuda grass (since that's so hard to get rid of). Proper use of selective herbicides is very sensitive to dosage, and after doing research, coming up with a mix, and trying it, I can say I've had great success.If you have this problem too, you've likely come across some research saying to use a mix of fusilade II and triclopyr. The surprising thing about this combo is that pure fusilade by itself may harm zoysia, but adding triclopyr (which by itself is a pretty strong herbicide) supposedly has some protective effect for zoysia. I don't know enough chemistry and plant biology to know exactly why this is true, but figured it was worth a shot.The issue for me was I was seeing online lots of varying information about quantity/concentration and ratio between the two. The confusing thing about many herbicides is the application directions typically are stated in terms of how many ounces to use per acre, which makes sense for agriculture, since they use large sprayers and have a pretty good sense of how much coverage they get per acre. But for a homeowner with lawn application, the question in one's mind is really: how much of this should I add to a 1 or 2 gallon handheld sprayer to a get an appropriate concentration?Across some info online, I found pretty large variations in both total concentration and ratio of the two, so I kind of averaged those out, went with a conservative concentration, and went with a lower ratio of triclopyr-to-fusilade. Below is my recipe for making 1 gallon:-15ml Triclopyr-5ml Fusilade II-5ml surfactant-splash of blue spray colorant (so you can see where you've sprayed)-gallon of water(I prefer metric measurement, and the dispensers on the bottles have markings in both ml and fluid ounces.)So this is a 3:1 ratio of T:F, while some recipes I came across online were greater than a 5:1 ratio. I have not done enough testing to say if this is "optimal" or not, but I can say two things about this mix: 1) my zoysia seems completely unharmed by this, and 2) it does a great job of killing bermuda and other lawn nuisances. Note it might take a week or two to see the results, so be patient. Be careful of overspray and never spray when it's windy, this could accidentally harm or kill other things you want (bushes, trees, flowers, etc.).I know this bottle might seem expensive, but it will last you a very long time, and it's well worth it to solve this kind of lawn problem.

So far...based on performance it is 5-Stars!Update August 21, 2015: Areas hardest hit are all coming back but still have some Bermuda in places. I will be applying a 2/10 oz per gallon mixture this weekend to kill the last of the Bermuda and hopefully make the spring growing season better.Update July 14, 2015: I still give it 5-Stars. I applied the Fusilade in April 2015 and here are my observations. I actually did three different levels of application and here are the results. In all cases a Non-ionic surfactant was used first..6 ounce per gallon of water based on the label directions. Too strong a mixture, crushed the Bermuda but also hit my Zoysia pretty hard. Although the Zoysia is finally coming back this mixture is way too strong and leaves the area open to more weeds, garbage grasses, and of course more Bermuda. This section is probably back to 40-50% pre-spray levels and I will need to respray again due to Bermuda sliding back in..4 ounce per gallon was not too bad but still hit the Zoysia hard. Took care of the Bermuda but also still hit the Zoysia to the point it took some time for it to come back - grass is probably at 75% of pre-spray levels but no recurrent Bermuda..2 ounce per gallon seemed the perfect rate for my lawn. Took care of the Bermuda, but not hard on the Zoysia and that section of the lawn is back to normal. No recurrent Bermuda, Zoysia grass is nice and healthy.My recommendation...test, test, test and find the right mixture for your specific lawn. If you want to get rid of wild Bermuda...this stuff will do the job, you just need to take into consideration the grasses you want to keep.My location: Nashville, TennesseeLawn: Sodded Zoysia three years oldPreparation: Using an attachment on my mower cut and thatched the entire lawn to clean out some of the thickness, Bermuda stamens, and old thatch.Purchased Fusilade II based on the recommendation of the company that installed my Zoysia lawn. Needed to control the Bermuda creep which was slowly taking over one side of my yard.It is extremely important to read the instructions in the flyer on the bottle, review some of the blogs online, and consult with a lawn installer or a local Zoysia lawn expert if you have questions. The first thing to figure out is how much Fusilade II versus water to cover 1,000 square feet. Bottom line…practice it by measuring out 1,000 sq ft and doing a pass with your sprayer containing water first.Make sure you spray the area to be treated with Fusilade II with a Non-ionic surfactant first, this helps the Fusilade II adhere to the grass. Many blogs state you can use a mixture of dish detergent and water, etc. but you can get Non-ionic surfactant for under $5 at your local garden store. I spent way too much on getting my yard sodded with Zoysia to play around here.Noted when the Bermuda was starting to come out of dormancy and sprayed first with the Non-ionic surfactant and then with the Fusilade II based on my 1,000 sq ft trial. Now two weeks after spraying my Zoysia lawn is really coming in thick. I noticed the areas I sprayed with Fusilade II are still a bit sparse and noticeably thin. When I looked at the sparse areas I noticed the Bermuda was severely stunted and not growing as it usually does. See the picture but the Bermuda is stunted, no stamens running everywhere, and the blades are browning. However, I am not seeing any damage to the Zoysia and it seems to be doing OK. Due to the slow nature of Zoysia I am sure it will take months for it to really come in and hopefully regain control of the areas the Bermuda had attacked.I will be putting the second application on my grass this week with hopes it limits the Bermuda enough to allow my Zoysia to regain control.

Killed almost all the Bermuda grass I’m fighting against—definitely needs more than one application though…small patches are coming back after a few months…