Bag or Mulch mow a Poa annua-infested yard?

[Turk]

Bagging option: bagging the clippings minimizes the amount of poa seeds (and other weeds) that will hit the soil;

Mulching option: it won't make a difference, there's thousands of those seeds already in the yard, regular application of pre-M is key and your lawn will appreciate the organic matter in the mulched clippings

What say you?

Thanks, Turk.

[MorpheusPA]

If you sprayed with Tenacity and already have a pre-emergent down, I'd just mulch mow and not worry about it. During my worst period, that's what I did--my old mower didn't have a bagging option anyway.

During spring, these plants aren't seeding out anyway. Seed out happens in August and September.

[Turk]

If you sprayed with Tenacity and already have a pre-emergent down, I'd just mulch mow and not worry about it. During my worst period, that's what I did--my old mower didn't have a bagging option anyway.

During spring, these plants aren't seeding out anyway. Seed out happens in August and September.

Hi Morpheus,

No Tenacity spray yet this spring, I'm in the first level of the Triangle approach.

[MorpheusPA]

This is one case where using multiple layers of the triangle at once makes sense. If you know you have P. annua, spray it with Tenacity immediately. It's not going to get better on its own.

And get a pre-emergent down if you haven't already (and don't plan to overseed in August).

[Turk]

OK, thanks. I'll schedule to hit the P annua soon with Tenacity.

I put down Dimension in late March with the Forsythia blooms (3.5 lb / 1000 sf), so I should be good for 3-4 mos.

I don't plan on overseeding for the next few years to let the p. annua seeds die out, so I'm wondering whether I should switch to prodiamine granules (say Lesco Stonewall) in July?

[MorpheusPA]

That might not be a bad idea--it'll give you coverage through the end of the season. Stonewall would give you five months of of cover though November or so.

[Turk]

Thanks: I'll look in to this to figure out the best way to get a year-round barrier.

[YEM]

Thanks: I'll look in to this to figure out the best way to get a year-round barrier.

Some recent discussion of year-round coverage in this thread
viewtopic.php?f=4&p=345470&sid=45e7e3b7 ... 84#p345470

[northeastlawn]

Just remember there isn’t any absolutes with regard to poa-a.

No pre-m is 100% effective.

Summer heat doesn’t necessarily kill all the poa-a.

Poa-a may look dead after a few tenacity apps, but it will often comeback.

I respect my enemy (poa-a), and I don’t take chances and will bag my clippings when seed heads seem crazy, I have seen too much poa-a sneak through my fall pre-m’s, too add more seeds to the mix.

[Masbustelo]

I was doing some reading the other day and I saw that prodiamine is 70% effective against Poa Annua. So instead of 10 million seeds germinating, you only get 3 million.

[MorpheusPA]

Minus the work you're doing. Tenacity spraying is going to reduce the strength of the plant, so any seeds it produces aren't as viable (not to mention poisoned in and of themselves). Better lawn care means a spreading, stronger lawn that won't allow weeds. Aging seeds are far less viable too--and summers aren't easy on seed, so by their second year, viability is way down (try storing seed in a shed for a summer sometime).

And so on. The situation isn't that simple. And when you mow, you're going to be mostly mowing off immature seed anyway that's simply not ready for prime time.