Thanks, Greenthumb; I'll take some more photos tomorrow.

greenthumb99 said:Robin - your unknown sure looks like Mugwort, Artemisia vulgaris, a very invasive weed. https://www.google.com/search?... Remove all you can ASAP, getting all the little rootlets and check the area regularly for new growth. Has some medicinal uses and is said to provoke unusual dreams if stuffed into a "dream pillow".

Yup...that's what I was going to say - Mugwort. Can also be dried and made into a smudging stick but doesn't burn as readily as white sage. Yes, I know this from first hand experience...no comments

Cam, we probably have enough compost to cover a lawn.
Did anyone else think robinbunch5s weed could have been woodland poppy?

Yes

Wood Poppy and Mugwort both have very similar compound leaves with 5 main parts. Unlike in Robin's photo, in Wood Poppy the terminal and next two leaf parts are joined at their bases.

I did not think wood poppy (Stylophorum) on that. Just mugwort. if anyone needs Stylophorum diphyllum, I'll add you to my list.

How fast does the wood poppy spread? I have a few small clumps that I'm thinking about splitting to use as a border in a new bed.

Rickm the darn stuff is near invasive but easily controlled by pulling. It'll grow pretty well in shade too.

Mine is in full shade and maple roots. It is starting to reseed and has been for a couple years, since the original plants got decent looking. But Stylophorum has not wandered to far distant places in my yard the way chelidonium has (I have Ch. Flore Pleno) The Chelidonium is well leafed out now and some buds can be seen. Stylophorum, I haven't noticed them up yet, they could be but barely.
Trying to be sure we are all discussing the same 'wood poppy'

Well noted RickM, Wood Poppy is a common name for both Stylophorum diphyllum and Chelidonium majus. Good reason to use Latin names, though some readers are put off by their usage. I believe both Sally and I were thinking Stylophorum diphyllum.

How much wood does a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood... How much spread does a wood poppy spread if a wood poppy could spread... he he he, couldn't get that darn woodchuck saying out of my head when you all were talking about the wood poppy...

Going to have to mow the lawn today. April first... a bit earlier than usual but it won't wait, growing like... well... a weed.

Going to start the annual mulching too... starting with 32 bags, should get about one third of the job done. I do not like that job, back breaking, but wow, sure love the end result!

CAM, I'm really hoping that this is the year I get my little bit of front yard grass looking good. We had five big oak trees taken out over the winter - they were already dead or in the process of dying from a disease. Moles/voles have tunnels all through the yard and where their tunnels humped up, River and Riley dug bigger holes trying to get at them. Needless to say, it is a mess now other than the original problem of the grass being sparse and weedy. Luckily the size of the area is very manageable, so we are going to bring in compost and topsoil, level out all the humps, and totally reseed. I've been reading the Scotts website to get an idea of what to be using in addition to grass seed, but would appreciate any tips from your experience. It looks like they recommend an application of a pre-conditioner product, then the seed. I'm still trying to figure out when/if to do applications of weed control, lime, and/or fertilizer.

Sounds like you have a good idea of how to start, Terry. Yes, level off you soil. I'm sure you're is nice and rich and good soil for growing grass so I do not think you need to do anything other than using a little Starter Fertilizer to give it a healthy start. It's very important when you're starting a new area of lawn to make sure you water the seed lightly at least twice a day do keep the seeds moist. You can use straw to help with that but then you're going to have a lot of weeds. If it's a small area, you can lightly rake the area after seeding to turn the soil over a bit which will help keep the seeds moist.

Let it get good and healthy and develop deep roots this Spring and Summer. Given it will be young, you may need to water it during any dry spells this summer. Give it a dose of Scott's Summerguard fertilizer in June or July.

Once it's healthy and deep rooted, then you can start the routine of weed control, fertilizing (once established, I would go to Milorganite 3-6 times per year), keeping the pH balanced between 6 and 7, with the use of lime to raise it, granular sulfur to lower it - unless you are lucky to have soil that is already between 6-7 pH and stays there. And if you really want to be a fanatic like me, have it aerated and overseed it each fall.

Weed control is the toughest part... if you aren't adverse to using chemicals, it's not as hard though. Once a year with a spray of Weed-B-Gon and most of your troubles are solved. You may have to fight some occasional crabgrass but the Weed-B-Gon will take care of everything else. If you don't like to use any chemicals, pouring boiling water on the weed kills a good many of them. The rest you can pull by hand.

If you ever need help, I'm not far away and would be glad to come take a look and give advice.

CAMfromMD said:Going to have to mow the lawn today. April first... a bit earlier than usual but it won't wait, growing like... well... a weed.

Going to start the annual mulching too... starting with 32 bags, should get about one third of the job done. I do not like that job, back breaking, but wow, sure love the end result!

We've already put down 48 bags. Another 30-40 should do it. Yes, it is a lousy job, but the end result is worth it.

I went to Lowe's and they raised the price of my favorite mulch. I would need over 100 bags and the total cost would be over $500 so I went to Meadows Farm and have 6 yards being delivered and even with the delivery fee it's considerably cheaper than buying the bags from Lowe's.

Couldn't resist a weeping Cherry 'Snow Fountain' while I was at the nursery.

Cam--I have a couple of questions....

WHEN do you spray the Weed-Be-Gone on your lawn?
And--can newly sprouted crab grass be killed like a weed?

I was talking to a customer at the HD and she said she always sprays her whole lawn with Weed-be-Gone really early ( is NOW considered early???)--and she said
she never has any weeds the rest of the season in the lawn the rest of the year.

All I have done so far is sprinkle down the Spectracide crab grass/weed killer about a month ago to discourage any crab Grass from coming up.
Not sure how reliable this product is as a weed stop/pre-emergent?
I will NOT use the Scotts pre-emergent. Their prices are a rip-off and wayyy to high in "N" and--in my opinion, not long lasting as a lawn fertilizer.
More a "BAM!!!"--and your lawn is green...not long term results.
I bought another bag of the Spectracide and will repeat this treatment. Need to put down some more Milorganite as well.

Just went out to see the name on the Spectracide bag--and the rabbits (??) of someone else, had chewed open one whole corner of the this bag . Like--I could put my fist through the hole! Did not think any critter would eat this stuff!!!

Overall--I am behind on everything....aren't most of us?? Stupid weather!
Not gonna freak out about it either. Gita

You can spray Weed B Gon any time the grass is strong and healthy because you would not want to use it on the grass when it's vulnerable. You'll see a slight loss of green coloring in your lawn temporarily after using it, it's stressed just a bit. So don't use it during dry spells, hot spells, or of course in winter. I typically use it in late April-early May or in mid-September.

Weed B Gon will not do a thing to your crabgrass. Wither use the Bayer Crabgrass Killer spray or dig them up one at a time. Those are the only ways I know to get rid of that nasty stuff, Gita.

I get mulch & compost from Bussard Brothers when I want more than a couple of bags -- around $20 per cubic yard (delivered, either 2 or 3 yard minimum) depending on just what you're getting.

Yay for the weeping cherry! Sweet.

CAM, can I use Weed B Gone and 10-10-10 on my lawn instead of all those special Scotts products? (yes, I know there are other brands, but Dad always used Scotts...) Next dry day, I need to get out and put spring pre-emergent plus fertilizer on the lawn... it got nothing on it last year and by the end of summer looked pretty sad.

Weed B Gon does better on weeds than any Scott's product, although I will say their new formula of Weed N Feed with clover and dandelion killer is really good. Much easier than spraying an entire yard with Weed B Gone and very nearly as effective.

Sure, a basic 10-10-10 fertilizer if fine on the lawn. I swear by Milorganite though and every lawn care forum I've ever been on, the lawn nuts pretty much all agree. You get the benefits of the fertilizer plus you get the incredible benefit of an abundance of natural microbes that will create a crazy healthy lawn.

Check out their site. You read this information for 15 minutes and you'll never use another fertilizer on your lawn. And it's great for the flower beds too so, unlike a lot of Scott's products, you not only do not have to be careful to not get it in your flower beds, you SHOULD.

http://www.milorganite.com/