The top two pix are annual rye grass. That stuff should die out soon, but will return next winter unless your turf becomes more dense. Plan now to overseed in the fall.

The other one I don't recognize.

David, have you never seen Poa annua?

Anita, can you show us more of the plant in the last picture?

I'd say definitely Poa Annua as my lawn is infested with it. I have rounded up several sections in hopes of killing the seed before it drops.

Hi, Mallory, don't tell me this is Poa? Gosh I thought I was doing everything right. I overseeded and followed the lawncare program. My lawn looks pretty good. Now what?

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I just thought I'd add something to this thread. I applied a high rate of WOW Plus, a gluten meal formula from an Organic company at the appropriate time. The rest of the lawn looks pretty good, I was fighting alot of crabgrass and dandelions and the WOW seems to have helped with that. I also had used a weed and feed product last year to help with the weeds. Don't want to do that again but the lawn looks better. Still hand weeding, but trying to avoid toxic products because of nesting birds among other reasons.

The other weed looks like chickweed.

The good news is the pictures I asked for and you gave me is not Poa. The bad news is the very first two pictures you provided is Poa. Dchall was saying it was ryegrass. I was correcting him in that it is Poa, and then I asked for closer ones of the the last two pics so I could see them better to be able to determine what they are. So sorry if I confused you.

How've you been, by the way? I know how hard you worked on the lawn and really regret the Poa problem. I know it isn't your fault if that is any consolation at all. Wondering if you purchased, literally asked for sod quality seeds? And did they say "sod quality" on the bag(s) when they arrived? It is very disheartening for so many people to have a Poa problem after seeding when they asked for sod quality. But then, I have to remember and need you to know that Poa seeds are very often in the soil. Irrigating to get grass seeds to germinate will also prompt the Poa seeds. That's one explanation anyway since Poa seeds can remain in the soil for decades.

After you know you've done everything right, Poa is very sneaky. On top of that, it cannot be pinpointed to a time of year because it exhibits both annual and perennial as well as multi-seasonal characteristics. Confusing I know, but it's a pretty smart weed. What it means is you can apply pre-m at the appropriate time and still end up with Poa the following year. The reason is that while the pre-m might prevent the new seeds from germinating and you won't get a new crop of Poa (the annual aspect), you surely will be revisited by the old crop the following year (the perennial aspect). And the awful cycle repeats itself.

Additionally, your spring application of pre-m (the corn gluten) won't do much good because it's not germinating in spring, not much anyway. It makes itself known in spring, but that is from the fall germination period. Then, it waits through winter to become a menace in spring. All those little seedheads you see in the first two pics are the ones that will germinate in the fall. So you want to apply your pre-m in the fall to help prevent Poa annua and keep applying every fall for a few years. I honestly have no idea if corn gluten is effective at preventing Poa seeds from germinating. Hopefully, someone who has done it will chime in with their experience. While I do imagine it does work, I only know about the chemicals for certain.

Also want to point out that pre-m, whether corn gluten or chemical herbicide, cannot prevent all weeds. It only affects those that grow from seeds. I'm afraid it has no affect on weeds that grow from stems and stolons. And if you're not yet miserable enough, there are those that grow by both seeds as well as stems and stolons.

See if you can find the weed here. I want to guess purslane or chickweed, but the purple flowers are throwing me off.

Hi Mallory, I ordered the grass seed from the company you recommended and I absolutely did ask for sod quality. This large patch of the poa is in an area next to my deck which also gets dug up every time they clean my septic :( I have a terrible time getting the grass to grow in this area. However, I have no problem killing this whole area off if that would help. I will save your suggestions as a reminder to do pre emergent in the fall and hopefully will head off some of this problem next year.

Okay, in that case kill it off now. That should mostly take care of the perennial phase. Then, kill if off again in late fall. That's when these seeds have germinated. That should mostly take care of the annual phase.

The flowers threw me off too, bestlawn. They kind of look like miniature pansy flowers, nothing like chickweed flowers. The leaves are different also, it just resembles chickweed.

It could also be some type of speedwell, maybe thyme-leaved speedwell.

My mistake. I was thinking "poa annua" and it came out "annual rye grass." I had annual rye grass on my mind from another discussion. Now I better go back and look at that one...

ok so if i kill this area of Poa Annua then what do I do? Do I leave it bare all summer? Do I mulch? Can't put down seed right? then in the late summer I put down a preemergent but then can I seed in the fall? How does this work?

A

Good going Firstandgoal! I never heard of that speedwell, mainly veronica arvensis.

Anita, does it look like these?
Thymeleaf Speedwell
Thymeleaf Speedwell
Thymeleaf Speedwell

Sorry, Anita. Don't know why I was thinking the area didn't need grass or anything. Yep, you can seed if you kill it off now. It will have to be glyphosate only, and then you can seed a few days later. It's getting late for spring seeding, but better than nothing. Whether you kill the area off again in late fall is up to you because it will be too late to seed again. But if you seed now, you can pre-m in early fall.

thanks Mallory, yes that is my weed. It's a pretty little thing. ok i'll kill it and then put down some seed. I will do the pre-m in the early fall, but then can i seed again?