Grass identification - Ask Extension
Last spring we had a patch of this grass pop up in a spot we often park our pick up truck. We pulled it thinking it was probably not native. (We're on...
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Grass identification #645966
Asked June 04, 2020, 1:39 PM EDT
Last spring we had a patch of this grass pop up in a spot we often park our pick up truck. We pulled it thinking it was probably not native. (We're on a mission to restore our 5-acre property in Sisters to native plants only.) It's back again this spring in the same place. A neighbor thinks it might be poa bulbosa. Are you able to identify it from these photos? Is it something we should continue pulling when we find it? If so, how aggressively? That is, on a scale of 1 to 10--with, say, cheat grass being a 10--how easily does it spread? Note: Right now it seems to be out-competing the cheat grass in that area, which is at least a small blessing.
Thanks so much!
Karen Garber
Sisters, Oregon
Deschutes County Oregon
Expert Response
HI Karen,
Thank you for the inquiry. Can you please email me the photos? I am not able to download them from this site and I need to send them to someone else to get their expert opinion. Also when you email, please let me know - are all of the pictures recent? The last picture looks like the seed heads are fully mature, if you could let me know when that is from. Thank you!
Clare<personal data hidden>
Thank you for the inquiry. Can you please email me the photos? I am not able to download them from this site and I need to send them to someone else to get their expert opinion. Also when you email, please let me know - are all of the pictures recent? The last picture looks like the seed heads are fully mature, if you could let me know when that is from. Thank you!
Clare<personal data hidden>
Hi Karen, I was just going through a book today and recognized this grass from last week before it got reassigned. I believe it is Bulbous Bluegrass or Winter bluegrass (Poa bulbosa). A perennial cool-season grass. Here is some more information about the plant itself. https://wric.ucdavis.edu/information/natural%20areas/wr_P/Poa_bulbosa.pdf
https://extension.usu.edu/rangeplants/grasses-and-grasslikes/bulbous-bluegrass
https://extension.usu.edu/rangeplants/grasses-and-grasslikes/bulbous-bluegrass