Weed of the Week-Annual Bluegrass

Our weed of the week can best be described as a headache! This weed causes frustration for homeowners and lawn care professionals alike. Why would someone that provides lawn care services dislike a weed? This weed is becoming resistant to many herbicides. Here’s the story of the annual bluegrass.

Annual bluegrass, also known by its scientific name poa annua, is obviously an annual weed. Poa annua is a prolific seed producer. Like our other winter annuals, it starts to germinate in the fall and becomes evident on your lawn in late winter or early spring. As I have stated in previous posts, this year’s warmer, wet weather has encouraged the rapid growth of annual weeds such as annual bluegrass.

Annual bluegrass infesting a bermuda grass lawn

Annual bluegrass can spread rapidly once it germinates. This weed has become such a problem that a research project targeting this weed has begun. Mississippi State University along with other land grant universities in the Southeast U.S. is conducting a project to try to pinpoint this weed’s ability to adapt to different herbicides. Lawn & Pest Solutions is looking forward to aiding research scientists in collecting samples of this weed in our area.

What Can You Do?

All hope is not lost if you have this weed, though. There are some specialized products that do aid in the control of this weed. A two-pronged approach is helpful in controlling this weed. Along with the proper herbicide, relying on a good lawn fertilization program will help reduce the incidence of this weed on your lawn.

If you take advantage of our Lawn 360 program for your lawn, you don’t have to ask yourself, “what is the best lawn fertilizer?” Our trained, certified technicians know which fertilizer your lawn needs and will apply nutrients to your lawn at the correct time. Call or text us at 662-534-4535 if we can help you with your lawn, or visit us at lawnandpest.net/estimate.

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