While I might go so far as to claim the Roediger House is a bit of a paradise, I must confess that wire grass could not have been the invention of a just, merciful, and benevolent God. And by all indications it cannot ever be fully defeated, especially since even the smallest bit of left-behind rhizome or stolon is capable of germinating new growth. Multiple applications of high-strength RoundUp, plus completely removing up to a foot of sod and topsoil from both sides of the front yard, still has not been sufficient to be rid of it. In the photo above, you can see where it's coming up even after removing several inches of topsoil.
Everything about wire grass depresses and discourages me, but finding that a one- or two-inch section played dead for (two or more!) weeks before sending out the taunting green tendrils of new growth (see above), and also finding incredibly thick and vibrant rhizomous roots as deep as a foot (photo below), was sufficient to nearly send me over the edge.
Further discouragement came from discovering all too late that plenty of life was left in the poisoned remains dug out of the front yard, and that it's happily sprouting in the back yard where I relocated a lot of that fine topsoil.
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