Turf Maintenance: Invasion of Poa Annua

Are you a grass lover?  Do you enjoy the rich dark green look of your property’s turf?  If you are like us, then the answer is an emphatic “yes!”  While there are many unwanted invaders that seek to disturb the perfection of a well-maintained lawn, few are as frustrating as Poa to remedy.

Poa Annua, commonly referred to as “Annual Bluegrass” is considered a lawn weed.  While it attempts to disguise itself as part of the surrounding turf, it’s lighter green color and fluffy white seed pods oftentimes contrast with fescue varieties of seed commonly planted in this region and reveal its alien nature.

Poa is hard to control, even for the experts!  This is because the seed heads on the Poa plant produce hundreds of seeds each that may lay dormant on the surface of soil for several years before favorable conditions evolve for its germination.  Poa plants tend to emerge during times when the climate is not favorable for other varieties of grass and therefore can quickly take a foothold in lawns where the turf grass is just emerging from dormancy.

To combat Poa, ELD utilizes a systematic and regimented approach which we have found to help to mitigate Poa growth on lawns.  Our approach includes timely application of pesticides and pre-emergent in combination with best practices for cutting.  This method allows the desired varieties of grass to thrive while holding Poa at bay.

While complete eradication of Poa is impossible, any plants that appear in the traditionally cool and damp conditions of the spring will quickly die off as the heat of the New Jersey summer arrives.