Eradicating Annual Bluegrass Weeds

Annual Bluegrass

Hi Dan, can you tell me how to eradicate this? It is taking over my lawn and it laughed at the Ortho Weed B Gon I put on it.

Thanks, Dave

This is annual bluegrass (Poa annua). Weed B Gon is not good on grassy weeds. And, when annual bluegrass gets this old it's hard to control it with anything. When it is younger, Atrazine will do a fair job. Sprays made back in January or February generally work pretty well.

At this point I'd just mow regularly to keep it from flowering (as it is currently doing) and setting seeds. This will reduce problems next year. Annual bluegrass is a cool season annual that will die off completely and disappear by late April. When your lawn is growing vigorously and you are mowing regularly it will not be an issue.

Apply a lawn weed preventer the first week of October to keep the seeds from germinating (click here for examples of products). Then, check over the lawn in January and February. If you see enough annual bluegrass to warrant additional control, spray with Atrazine (it will control a wide variety of cool season weeds in the lawn).

Dan Gill
Consumer Horticulture Specialist

3/27/2015 3:14:53 AM
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