Greenrebellions Grass Grow - Poa Annua Monostand

[greenrebellion]

Put down another 1lb per K of Urea yesterday and a second round of Tenacity treatment. Most of the Poa seemed unphased by it the first time around. I'll get some updated pics out in the next week or so.

Some weeds won't show any affect until the 2nd Tenacuty application. Stick with the plan.

Most of the weeds have been hit pretty hard, its just the Poa that seems unphased. We'll see if the next app does anything.

I think the front and both side yards will be salvageable, but I don't think there is enough viable good grass in the backyard to save it. Grassy weed pressure is insance back there. Will likely have to redo backyard next year, but for now, I have nothing to lose and we'll see where I am at in spring.

[greenrebellion]

Update:

Was hitting my yard with Urea every week until first frost a week and a half ago. Will be posting some end of season update pictures here shortly. Its real bad out there though, millions of Poa seed heads. Hard to tell how much good grass is mixed in there. Should be an interesting spring.

Rust infection sporadically throughout the grass as well.

I had a little 80sf test area of my yard that I hit with Tenacity with the full year allotment in a few week period and it left the Poa completely unphased, so I'm not sure that Tenacity is going to be much help in this fight.

[ligrass]

I had a bad feeling about this one which is why I was recommending a kill/redo. I think you would've been much better off. Whatever poa survives the winter will be even tougher next spring and seed even more vigorously. Tenacity is good, but it's not a magic bullet against poa. I think with enough sun and warm temps you can have decent results (like 50-75% poa kill). But with cooler temps & less sun, those numbers go way down. I'd plan now for a spring reno.

[HoosierLawnGnome]

Yeah, you have quite the situation if you're dealing with poa annua infestations. Grand Rapids is pretty cool in the summer. Does it get hot enough to kill off poa annua even over the summer?

Tenacity isn't really labelled for poa annua, in that you spray it once and it dies. It takes a religious, consisten application of Tenacity at the right time to reduce it - and it isn't perfect.

In your situation, you'll also need to be careful about how much Tenacity you're applying over time. The annual max is 16 oz / acre I believe.

Here is an article from MSU on using Tenacity for poa annua control. I'd study it carefully, and select a program you can execute, making sure you have the right tools on hand. Control rate vary based on what you can do.

[rydaddy]

I'm approx. 40 miles south, and in my experience any part of my yard less than full-sun grows Poa A&T well. I battle it, but have not defeated it. I basically keep up a good fight.


Sent from my iOS device using the Yard Help App

[HoosierLawnGnome]

That's why I linked the above article from MSU. Michigan summers are warm at best. Their most effective treatment time in that article was in July, which where I am in central Indiana, is way too hot for almost every herbicide, and poa annua is dying off by then. But in MI it's a different world.

You snowy b@stards, you.

[greenrebellion]

So my Poa Annua monostand has established itself nicely now that it is spring.

For whatever reason, the good grass never really grew. I was throwing down weekly applications of Urea during the fall but all of the good grass is still only about 1/2 inch and hasn't grown thus far this spring nor did it grow at all in fall. As a result, the POA was able to firmly establish itself.

I have about 90% coverage of my 13,000 square foot lawn of Poa Annua. The rest is other weeds or 1/4 inch tall KBG that is slowly dying off. If I don't mow every 3 days, my yard ends up looking like a field of seed heads. Seriously, hundreds of millions of seeds being produced every few days. Its taking over my landscape beds, Poa is everywhere. EVERYWHERE. I have had guys that own their own landscaping business for the last 30 years come over and say they've never seen anything like it.

Options I am considering at this point (let me know if you think I missed any):
Roundup now

Roundup in August, water all fall and keep killing the billions of poa plants that germinate hoping to renovate in Spring 2018

Growth inhibitor?

Move to another house assuming that the billions of seed heads render this lot unusable

Burn this house and lot down (scorched earth)

Live with Poa Annua Monostand and just mow every 3 days for the rest of my life

Suicide and try renovations again in the afterlife

[andy10917]

GR, how many apps of Sulfate of Potash (SOP) did you get down last year?

[rydaddy]

GR. Sorry to here about your POA infestation. Far from an expert here, but I think you should find the heart to do this again - fallow longer - so possibly start two weeks earlier.

[ligrass]

So my Poa Annua monostand has established itself nicely now that it is spring.

For whatever reason, the good grass never really grew. I was throwing down weekly applications of Urea during the fall but all of the good grass is still only about 1/2 inch and hasn't grown thus far this spring nor did it grow at all in fall. As a result, the POA was able to firmly establish itself.

I have about 90% coverage of my 13,000 square foot lawn of Poa Annua. The rest is other weeds or 1/4 inch tall KBG that is slowly dying off. If I don't mow every 3 days, my yard ends up looking like a field of seed heads. Seriously, hundreds of millions of seeds being produced every few days. Its taking over my landscape beds, Poa is everywhere. EVERYWHERE. I have had guys that own their own landscaping business for the last 30 years come over and say they've never seen anything like it.

Options I am considering at this point (let me know if you think I missed any):
Roundup now

Roundup in August, water all fall and keep killing the billions of poa plants that germinate hoping to renovate in Spring 2018

Growth inhibitor?

Move to another house assuming that the billions of seed heads render this lot unusable

Burn this house and lot down (scorched earth)

Live with Poa Annua Monostand and just mow every 3 days for the rest of my life

Suicide and try renovations again in the afterlife

I tried to warn ya to redo in september

Have you considered using a different (faster) cultivar for an immediate spring reno? PRG germinates in days and establishes in a few weeks. TTTF is pretty fast too. Are you dead set on KBG or are those a possibility?

[andy10917]

PRG is not a "different cultivar" of KBG. It is not even in the same genus or species.

[ligrass]

PRG is not a "different cultivar" of KBG. It is not even in the same genus or species.

I meant grass type or species (it won't let me edit it but I think Greenreb understands).

GR- I would kill now and either plant something faster temporarily (you might even like it) or try a spring KBG reno. ANYTHING is better than keeping that much poa around til summer...

[greenrebellion]

I do want to take quick second and thank Andy for his 1 on 1 guidance last fall as we attempted to salvage my poor renovation work. Unfortunately, the fact that the KBG never grew despite Urea applications was the final nail in the coffin.

Any thoughts on the following concerns?
1. Why didn't the KBG grow? I mean I can see it scattered throughout the yard when I pull away the Poa but it is still stubbornly not growing. Does Poa Annua emit some sort of Aleopathic effect?
2. If I renovate now, will I not end up with a severe Poa infestation by fall? I am bagging when I mow, but I'm certain there are still thousands of seed heads on the ground (and still on the Poa as I can't mow low enough to get them all)...Should I fallow all fall and do a spring '18 reno?
3. Is there some simple grass I can plant that doesn't require top dressing with Peat. I don't really have anyone I could get to help me on a reno and with 13K square feet, not sure that is a manageable project for one person (which is why I paid someone to hydroseed...guess I could just hydroseed again after nuking it with roundup).

When I went in to this, I wanted perfect. Now I just want an average looking lawn and I'd be thrilled. Any help/comments is GREATLY appreciated.

[andy10917]

"When you hear hoofs, think horses not zebras"

Before pointing/considering unlikely items like Allelopathy, let's look at the basics. Please answer the question above about how many apps of SOP were made last Fall...

[greenrebellion]

Sorry Andy, missed your post somehow and thus didn't see your question.

I put down 1.8 lbs / K of Sulfate of Potash on September 2nd, 2016 and that was my only application.

[andy10917]

So, what have you applied this Spring (nutrients of all types) and when was that?

[greenrebellion]

I have put nothing down so far this spring. I almost put down some crabgrass preventer but then I realized that that might be like pissing in the ocean given how thick the Poa Annua is throughout.

[turf_toes]

What makes you so convinced you have poa annual or triv? You do know that KBG puts up similar seed heads, right?

[greenrebellion]

What makes you so convinced you have poa annual or triv? You do know that KBG puts up similar seed heads, right?

Well I'll be the first to admit, I'm no expert in grass identification. But I spent a lot of time looking at what I have. First, I had a bunch of KBG pots so I know what the good grass looks like. Secondly, the Poa Annua grows sorta bunch like, are MUCH lighter in color, are HIGHLY prolific seeders (and started going to seed within a month of the hydroseed going down). Plus they have very shallow root systems when I try to pull it out. And again, they seed super prolifically...I mean it is a field of seed heads within days of mowing the grass.

And again to emphasize, there is a stark difference between the good grass growing in my yard and the Poa Annua...in terms of color alone.

[turf_toes]

Lots of reasons for different shades of color in grass. That doesn't make it poa a or poa t. Frankly, without closeup photos of what you claim to be poa, I'm not convinced that is what you have. Describing grass as light in color is a terrible way to ID a grass of any type.

Fwiw, KBG can be vigorous seeders in the right (or wrong) conditions.

As for it differing from your pots, that proves nothing. I've transplanted grass from flowerbeds to other sections of my lawn. Initially, the color doesn't match. But eventually it recovers and does. The soil in you pots could simply be better than what you have in the lawn.