Spring Grassy Weeds in Lawns | Tomlinson Bomberger

Spring Grassy Weeds in Lawns

Category: Lawn Care

spring grassy weedsIt’s spring and you’re excited about the birds chirping, bulbs blooming, and cutting your lawn for the first time. Spring definitely lifts most of our spirits as we get a chance to enjoy the weather after a cold winter. Suddenly working out in the garden brings a smile to your face, that is until you notice the strange, light green grass growing in your lawn. Read about grassy weeds in this blog post.

“I’ve got crabgrass…”

We often get called in the spring with frustrated lawn owners wondering what the strange, clumpy grass growing in their lawn is. Often, they believe it to be crabgrass. Most times, it is another undesirable grass such as Orchard Grass and Rough Bluegrass. These grasses provide an ugly contrast from the dark green of the Kentucky Bluegrass, Perennial Ryegrass, or Turf-Type Tall Fescue that we have in our lawn. They differ in texture, color, and growth rate of the desired species in our lawn.

Orchard Grass - longUnfortunately dealing with Orchard Grass and Rough Bluegrass isn’t as easy as a dandelion invasion. Unlike broadleaf weeds, these grassy weeds cannot be controlled with a selective weed control. The only materials that would control them is a non-selective herbicide like glyphosate (Round-up). That leaves you asking the question if it is better to have spots of different green or spots of dead grass, then baby grass plants until that fills in.

“I sprayed it with Roundup…”

Even if you killed off spots of your lawn with these types of grasses, you would only solve this problem short-term. The stand of these grass plants most likely has dropped hundreds if not thousands of seeds in the soil underneath. This means if you get the bad out and put in the good, the bad may just show up again later anyway. There isn’t an easy fix for this problem.

lawn mower

“What are my options?”

Even the best lawn care program won’t fix this. The solution we most commonly recommend is one every one can do, but comes easier for some than others. Wait and mow frequently. In the case of Orchard Grass, it only grows aggressively in the early part of spring in our area, and in 4-5 weeks, it will be barely noticeable. In the case of Rough Bluegrass, it will always remain but will perform poorly in drought situations, making it go dormant when other turfgrasses will be greener. It will return in its ugly glory however when temperatures cool down. Mowing frequently will make these grasses less noticeable.

Like we said, there isn’t an easy answer to this problem, but it may be encouraging that the problem may be worse when you’re seeing it now than it may be for the majority of the year.

If you would like to learn more about how we can help you with your lawn care needs, please don’t hesitate to contact us.