I tried pulling some out but inevitably pulled out my plants along with it. It’s the beebalms’ 4th year, so are they established enough where they will rebound if I pull now? Or should I just wait until the summer… but I’m afraid the grass is going to choke them out
by Frostmycookies_
4 Comments
Is the grass remnant of the previous turf? What is your watering regime?
You could put down an herbicide for monocots. You could also dig it all out, separate out the grass, and replant the flowers with mulch
If your long term solution is to eliminate the grasses entirely and replace with wildflowers then [yellow rattle](https://www.rhs.org.uk/plants/64224/rhinanthus-minor/details) is a hemi-parasitic wildflower that will feed on most grasses. Looks pretty, too!
Beebalm will probably overcome the grass in this case. While that grass is thick, bee balm is in the mint family and not much can stop it. You can also replant any that still has roots after you’ve pulled it out. It’s still early.
In most cases, I tend to trim back the grass until the plant I’m trying to protect grows tall enough to be bigger than the grass. You can then water it really well and just pull the grass from around it as much as possible. Some grass will still be around, but as long as it’s not a thick blanket it won’t matter.
I’m still dealing with grass because it does like to come back if you didn’t kill it thoroughly enough before planting and I did a mediocre job in half my yard so I’ve signed up for a yearly spring resurgence.