How to rid your lawn of ‘wild’ grass

Q. I have all different kinds of unwanted “wild” grass coming up in my lawn. It looks different from the turf I planted and grows at a different rate. What can I do to get rid of it?

Richard from Canfield

A. When you want a near-perfect lawn, it takes lots of work. It can be frustrating, but is quite beautiful, just like a flower garden. Richard and many others are asking the same questions this spring about weedy grasses in their lawns.

If grassy weeds are seen this time of year, they are most likely a perennial. And the grassy weeds are most likely a desirable species — just not where they are currently growing. In bluegrass lawns, fescue, orchard grass, creeping bentgrass and nimblewill are the most common perennial grassy weeds we see as samples in our clinic. These species are weeds to many because many of them are taller than the desired lawn species and are different shades of green than the desired lawn species. Other creeping grasses (such as bentgrass and nimblewill) spread in mats over other species.

Control of perennial grass weeds can be quite difficult. Sometimes, a shovel can be used to remove bunch-type grasses. You’ll need to replace the soil with similar soil (not something from a bag). Pulling can work, but this takes time and may leave rhizomes in the lawn that will eventually allow the return of these grassy weed species. A nonselective herbicide may be warranted in some cases, but will kill everything it is sprayed upon. You’ll need to wait about two weeks to ensure the weed has been eliminated, and then reseed the area with the desire species.

Depending on the grassy weed species present, control options are different. Samples of species can be brought to our clinic for proper identification. Read more about Perennial Grass Weeds at http://go.osu.edu/perennialgrassyweeds.

There are some annual grasses that are considered weeds in lawns. These will begin to appear soon. Most homeowners who love their lawns are quick to identify crabgrass. But there are several other annual grasses that appear in the lawn each year. These include annual bluegrass, goosegrass and more. These species die over the winter, only they left seed behind to generally germinate the first week of May (when soil temperatures at night are 52-54‚ó¶degrees). A pre-emergent herbicide will do the trick if applied early enough in the season. More on Annual Grass Weeds can be found at http://go.osu.edu/annualgrassweeds.

Eric Barrett is OSU Extension educator for agriculture and natural resources in Mahoning County. Call the office hot line at 330-533-5538 to submit your questions. Clinic hours are Mondays and Thursday from 9 a.m. to noon through October.