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Identify type of grass #828004

Asked May 01, 2023, 5:15 PM EDT

Please help me to identify the grass type that has overtaken my lawn after a new school was built beside me. I think this is a type of rye grass - annual or perennial that blew over when the school did their seeding. Any suggestions on eliminating it. Thank You!!  It’s come back after killing it with celcius wg  for the last 2 seasons. 

Wake County North Carolina

Expert Response

Grasses are difficult to identify and Extension Master Gardeners are not the best at knowing grasses.  So I cheated a little and used two different plant ID apps (PlantNet and Google Lens) and they both said your grass is Little Barley, Hordeum pusillum.   However, it doesn’t look quite right when I looked up that grass.  IF it is this winter annual, then the herbicide you used in summer would not be effective.  Winter annuals germinate in the fall and so a pre-emergent applied in September would be most effective.  It does look like some type of bunch grass and a broadleaf weed killer would not work.  Killing a grass in a grass lawn is hard. If you can cut off the seed heads before they ripen, then over time you will at least slow the spread of the grass.  There is a grass expert at NCSU, Dr. Fred Yelverton, who might be able to be of better assistance.

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An Ask Extension Expert Replied May 03, 2023, 9:42 AM EDT

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