Knowledgebase

Lawn Grass identification #806021

Asked August 12, 2022, 9:56 PM EDT

Hi, We are trying to determine what type of grass is in the pictures and how to get rid of it. In the spring, there is no grass, just bare dirt. We've planted various mixtures of bluegrass, rye, red fescue for 2 years now in the spring and they have been overtaken by this grass that comes back strong and then dies off in the fall. It is easy to pull out of the soil as the roots don't go down very far. Would we need to use Roundup or similar product, or can it be pulled up or churned up with a tiller, or ??? I can send in a sample if needed, or provide a better set of pictures. The lawn is in Richfield, MN. IMG 9994 was a sample pressed flat in a book for a few weeks. IMG 6749 is one that wasn't pressed. Thanks for your help!

Hennepin County Minnesota

Expert Response

Hi,

This may be barnyard grass, an annual grass. Using Roundup isn’t recommended unless you want to kill the entire lawn. Even then, seeds from the weedy grass will remain and pop up later. Rototilling wont solve the problem either.

Cultural practices like fertilizing your lawn to grow healthy competitive turf and raising the mower blade in the summer to let grass grow longer will help suppress the weedy grass.

Seeds last a long time in soil, so you may be dealing with this issue for awhile. You can pull the plants up or use a pre-emergent fertilizer in spring to stop new weed grasses from popping up.  If you apply a spring pre-emergent, you can’t plant desirable grass seed until fall. Using a pre-emergent may be the easiest thing to do if your want to maintain and improve the lawn you have.

More information is available here: 

https://apps.extension.umn.edu/garden/diagnose/weed/grass/barnyardgrass.html

Good luck!


MJ Replied August 13, 2022, 9:21 AM EDT

Loading ...