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GARDENER
lin
Iu
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BylL JEANNE
REHWALDT
A recent question that
came to the Master Gar-
dener clinic was one about
annual bluegrass in lawn.
This grass is considered
a weed, and is difficult to
control. Donald D. Tapio,
horticulture agent in Grays
Harbor County, shares the
following article concerning
this weed.
Annual bluegrass (Poa
annua) is unique among
weeds. Although it has no
boundaries when it comes
to invading home gardens,
it's home lawns where it
seems to cause the greatest
frustration. With its highly
visible and prolific seed
heads, it can make even
the best cared for lawn look
like a disaster. Often called
June grass because it seems
to be most visible this time
of year, this invasive weed's
uniqueness stems from
the standpoint that there
is probably no other weed
that is so widely adapted
to variations in mowing
height, site conditions and
cultural practices.
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Annual bluegrass is one
of the five most widely
distributed plants in the
world. It is a winter an-
nual that germinates in
late summer and early
fall, once soil tempera-
tures have dropped below
70° F. Seedlings mature
in the fall, over winter
in the vegetative state,
and produce seed in late
spring and early summer.
Some germination of an-
nual bluegrass seed also
occurs in the spring. The
seed may lie dormant in
the soil for many years be-
fore germinating, resulting
in a significant build-up of
indigenous seed over time.
It tends to be more prolific
during wet seasons• An-
nual bluegrass often dies
in the heat of the summer.
Turf grass seed heads
usually begin to form be-
low the recommended
mowing height of 2 ½-3 ~
for home lawns 'thus the
seed heads still develop
despite frequent mowing.
Furthermore, seed head
production is seldom con-
sistent throughout a home
lawn, with it most often
occurring in patches. As a
result, annual bluegrass is
often made more obvious
by patches of seed heads
occurring in an otherwise
smooth dark green lawn.
Lowering the mowing
height in an attempt to re-
move all of the seed heads
is not recommended as it
may cause long-term inju-
ry to desirable turf grasses.
About the only redeem-
ing feature of this weed is
the fact that it has a very
shallow root system and
can be easily pulled from
the soil. Its prolific nature
however has many garden-
ers asking if there is an
herbicide option that can
be used. There are no se-
lective herbicides that can
be used to control annual
bluegrass in home lawns
and not also kill desirable
grass. One option is to use
weed killers containing
glyphosate (Roundup)* and
then reseeding the sprayed
area once the annual blue-
grass is dead.
Maintaining overall turf
grass vigor will help to re-
duce infestations of annual
bluegrass. Years of re-
search conducted at WSU's
Puyalhp research sta-
tion continue to validate
that using fertilizer with
at least 50 percent of it in
slow release form gives the
best return when it comes
to turf grass vigor. Use a
complete fertilizer with a
3-1-2 ratio (N-P-K) on es-
tablished lawns to supple-
ment any lacking phospho-
rus and potassium. Often
sold as 15-5-10 or 12-4-8,
the fertilizer should be
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applied at a rate, which
is equal to approximately
one pound of nitrogen per
1000 square feet of turf. If
you were using 15-5-10 for
example, you would need
to apply approximately 6.5
pounds of actual fertilizer
product per 1000 square
feet in order to get one
pound of actual nitrogen.
WSU recommends the sec-
ond of four annual applica-
tions of fertilizer be made
near the time of the Memo-
rial Day holiday.
* Trade names are men-
tioned for educational pur-
poses only. No product en-
dorsement is intended or
implied.
If you have gardening
questions, please visit the
WSU Extension office MG
plant clinic on Mondays
from noon - 3 p.m., or call
427-9670 Ext. 687 to talk
with a Master Gardener
volunteer.
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