Invasive grass in my lawn - Ask Extension
What is this "grass", and is it possible to eradicate it from our lawn? It has been spreading down the hill from our neighbor's property and through o...
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Invasive grass in my lawn #486867
Asked September 24, 2018, 9:07 PM EDT
What is this "grass", and is it possible to eradicate it from our lawn? It has been spreading down the hill from our neighbor's property and through our lawn. It has very thin stick-like stems and multiple leaves from each stem.
What's the best way to bring our lawn back to a nice quality grass?
Thank you for your help!
Frederick County Maryland
Expert Response
This is stiltgrass, or Japanese stiltgrass, an Asian invasive that burst on the scene over a decade ago, but has gone crazy in the wet year we're having. It's a particularly harmful invasive plant because it can grow in shade, and thus has taken over our parks and natural areas.
Try thickening up your turf, so it can outcompete the stiltgrass. Stiltgrass is an annual grass that will soon die, but try to pull any that is going to see now in beds. Seeds live for about 4 years in the soil, so you'll be saving yourself a lot of future pulling.
Here are the other approaches you can use: https://extension.umd.edu/hgic/problems/japanese-stiltgrass
ECN
Try thickening up your turf, so it can outcompete the stiltgrass. Stiltgrass is an annual grass that will soon die, but try to pull any that is going to see now in beds. Seeds live for about 4 years in the soil, so you'll be saving yourself a lot of future pulling.
Here are the other approaches you can use: https://extension.umd.edu/hgic/problems/japanese-stiltgrass
ECN
