who know this kind of grass ?

[Hans J]

Knows maybe anybody here this kind of grass ?

Thank you in advance
Hans

[Maggi Young]

I could offer some suggestions but no real identification.......
Agropyron repens this can grow30 to 120cms if not cut
Anthoxanthum odoratum....again  from 30 to 100cm if not cut
Holcus lanatus or Holcus mollis
 Perhaps  Poa annua
...........

[mark smyth]

Poa annua is a terrible weed in my my garden especially the gravel paths. It has fine leaves unlike Hans grass

[Hans J]

Thank you Maggi + Mark ,

So far I know is it a annual grass ....but I fear the seeds for next spring 

[zephirine]

It looks very much like one of my regular ennemies: Digitaria sanguinea.
Or another Digitaria, maybe?

[alpines]

Almost definitely Digitaria, the dreaded crab grass.....and a pain in the proverbial to eradicate.

[Maggi Young]

I think the accepted name is Digitaria sanguinalis ....  to which Mark's grass  does bear a great resemblence  

[Hans J]

My 'Big Thank You" to all who helps me to find out this name ...really a great forum !

What can I do against this pest ?

We have decide in this spring to make a new green ( our old was full of weed ) ...but now I think it was a silly idea .....we hoped that all our problems are solved ....now we have more than before !

The landscape gardener told us this grass is not a problem ....but good friends ( visitors from Italy ) told us it is a big problem ...the plant will die in winter ..but all seed comes in next year ...grrrrrrr

So we have both more than one week each day some hours cleaned our green from this grass ....making new soil ...and again fresh seeds for good grass ...now we hope 

The problem is we can not spray with a weedkiller against monocot plants ....

Any suggestions ?

[JohnLonsdale]

Hi Hans,

Crab crass is a major problem over here.  The seeds germinate once the temperatures get into the high 70s or 80s and it grows like crazy through the heat and humidity of the meat of the summer.  It will die as soon as temperatures get down to what we might consider nice - certainly it will be gone as soon as there is any hint of freezing.  It is standard practice here to spread a crab grass preventer over established lawns and other areas every spring, usually no later than March, and this effectively stops any germination for that year.  Scotts and all major manufacturers make these products and they can be distributed by drop or broadcast spreader.  Exactly what else they will prevent germination of in your lawn is not clear.  Certainly the preventer does not affect other standard lawn grasses that we would use in the NE USA.

This - http://www.bayeradvanced.com/lawn-care/products/all-in-one-lawn-weed-crabgrass-killer?gclid=CKLk3Zyq1KoCFQbe4AodWk5f2Q - kills established crab grass and broadleaf weeds but not your lawn.

There are a number of 'grasses' that have a similar habit to crab grass - best make sure exactly what you have first.

Best,

J.

[Hans J]

Hi John ,

Thank you for your informations !

I will try to find such a product 

Many thanks
Hans

[Lesley Cox]

It looks like what we have in masses in our lawn (used to be paddock) and in the vegetable garden and anywhere where grass grows. It looks EXACTLY like it but ours is not annual. It does die back somewhat but it takes at least 3 applications of Roundup to kill it altogether. The flower stems grow to well over a metre and EVERY B....y seed germinates. I pulled one from our gravel griveway a couple of weeks ago and it brought up a good bucket full of gravel and undersoil with it. I HATE IT!!!

[Hans J]

Hi Lesley ,

maybe the snow and cold in Dunedin ( with saw pictures on weekend in our News) will kill this grass for you !

Good luck
Hans

[Lesley Cox]

No such luck Hans. See below!





We had snow here on Sunday through Tuesday, rain yesterday and rain and fog this morning. These were taken a few minutes ago. One of the wilder parts of my garden!  

I'm surprised our little bit of weather would reach northern hemisphere news. Although it was a lot of snow for us, and still snowing in parts of the North Island, compared to the winters you have, ours is nothing. The temperature here hasn't gone below -6C although I have lost one of my precious seed pots because the frost cloth blew off. The cold wind has been the worst of it.

[Rick R.]

A little more technical info to add to John's informative and accurate post:

There is more than one chemical on the market that can do the job of preventing crabgrass in lawns.  Pendimethalin and dithiopyr are the most common in the midwest USA, where I live.  Trifluralin used to be commonly used here, and I see it is banned in the EU.  Depending on the chemical, the mode of action differs, some may prevent actual germination, others prevent the ensuing sprouting at various stages.  While target species are annual, perennials from seed may be affected too, and this would include many desirable lawn grasses from seed.  Effects on established lawn grasses are usually negligible, but can depend on the type of lawn grass you grow.