We need pictures. I highly doubt that you have poa annua taking over freshly laid sod. To be certain you need to look at the seedheads. White seedheads indicate poa annua. Purple/Blue indicate KBG.

Jay, I truly don't mean to be surly towards you - but if you seriously suspect that a dealer sold you poa annua invested sod - why are asking your questions here, rather than your that seller?

I mean, what can we do to rectify the situation monetarily wise - as opposed to that dealer/sod farm?

The sod is not freshly laid. It was put down in the spring of 2008. I didn't see one single weed in the sod until about a week ago (may 2009) and almost overnight my lawn was infested with these things. It's not a problem with the sod dealer.

The seedheads are definitely a white, pale green color. Based on the pictures i've looked at online it appears to be annual bluegrass or poa annua as the first poster called it.

Anyone know of soemthing that will get rid of this? I prefer not to use chemicals if possible.

Will a pre-emergent prevent this from coming up next year?

Any insight, suggestions and help would be appreciated.

There's probably little that you can do about it now. You can kill it with a nonselective herbicide (like glyphosate), but that will kill all the grass, not just the annual bluegrass

You can apply a pre emergent next year to keep it from happening. You may need to do that on a regular basis.

I've never had an annual bluegrass problem, but I wonder if you've got some other problem that allowed it to sprout. It seems to me that if your lawn is thick and full, there wouldn't be bare spots for the seed to germinate.

Thank you bpgreen. I'll have to try the pre emergent next year.

My lawn isn't as thick, full and lush as others in the neighborhood but still looks pretty good with the exception of a few areas that are looking a little thin.

I'm not sure what happened. It just came up all of a sudden. I'm concerned when I mow it will spread the seed even more and i'll have a Fescue/poa annua blend lawn.

Is the spring or fall the best time to overseed?

I didn't realize you had a fescue lawn. Fescue is a bunch grass, so it won't spread to fill in bare spots. If you want to keep it looking full, you'll probably need to overseed every year or two, preferably in the fall.

I feel your annual bluegrass pain, and there isn't too much you can do. There is only one herbicide that selectively kills annual bluegrass, it's called Velocity, and it is only available to golf courses and sod farms, maybe someday it will be available to consumers, but I doubt it. Anyway annual bluegrass germinates in the early fall (depends on soil temps. so it is different for different zones), but lays dormant throughout the winter, so if you want to stop the seeds from this spring you need to use a preemergent in the late summer, and in the spring as well to be double sure. Now this makes it tough to seed your grass, but this is what I do, and it seems to work well. (I live in CT btw, so times will vary for others). I put down a preemergent in the beginning of August. Then when I want to seed at the end of august, or early september I rake and mow, then I lay down about a half inch of good topsoil over the existing lawn, then seed, then cover with another quarter inch of a screened topsoil/peat moss mix. That way the seed is suspended in soil that has no preemergent. You probably won't ever get rid of you annual bluegrass completely but this should keep it to a minimum.

>"There is only one herbicide that selectively kills annual bluegrass, it's called Velocity"

Velocity is for use in bent and rye grass turf.
http://www.valent.com/Data/Labels/2009VEL-0001%20Velocity%20SG%20-%20form%201608-B.pdf

Prograss (Ethofumesate) is for use on fescue and KBG - link below

Here's a GW thread on its use.
http://forums2.gardenweb.com/forums/load/lawns/msg051052581605.html

Here is a link that might be useful: Prograss (Ethofumesate)

What about Image for nutsedge? I seem to recall that it may also work on annua poa but no idea where I read that.

Yes, I know about Prograss, and while I haven't used it, from what I have read it is not the end all be all for poa annua. Certain KBG and TTTF cultivars can be damaged by prograss, and it's effectiveness is not as good as Velocity. A recent study by the University of Connecticut has shown that Velocity is safe for use on tall fescue, but again it is a moot point as it isn't available to the general public.

I have used Certainty to control my annual bluegrass and tall fescue.It takes about a month and a half but it does work well.

>"Certain KBG and TTTF cultivars can be damaged by prograss"

tiemco:
Can you cite a reference? I'd like to know which cultivars.

This is from the Prograss label as found at: http://www.backedbybayer.com/BAYER/CropScience/BackedByBayer.nsf/9F4DB0DA3B03DBD5852573220063D615/$FILE/Prograss%20432-941%20011227A%20SRL.pdf

VARIETAL TOLERANCE
The following turfgrass cultivars have shown tolerance to PROGRASS® Herbicide; however, all species and varieties have not been tested.
PROGRASS® Herbicide has been used safely on the following turfgrass cultivars, but its use is not strictly limited to these. Before large scale
use of PROGRASS® Herbicide on other cultivars, a tolerance test on a small area is recommended.
PERENNIAL RYEGRASSÂAcclaim, Blazer, Dasker, Derby, Elka, Fiesta, Goalie, Hunter, Linn, Loretta, Manhattan II, Palmer, Pennfine, Regal,
Yorktown.
KENTUCKY BLUEGRASSÂAdelphi, American, Aspen, Asset, Challenger, Classic, Emundi, Huntsville, Georgetown, Glade, Haga, Julia, Liberty,
Merit, Midnight, Monopoly, Mystic, Parade, Rugby, Sydsport, Touchdown.
DO NOT APPLY to the following cultivars: Northstar, Explorer, Limousine, RAN I and Total Eclipse.
CREEPING BENTGRASSÂCarmen, Cobra, Highland, Lopez, Mariner, National, Penncross, Providence, Putter, Southshore, SR1020, and Viper
have shown good to excellent tolerance to PROGRASS® Herbicide. Injury has been noted on Emerald, Penneagle, and Pennlinks occasionally.
PROGRASS® Herbicide may cause serious injury to Cohansey, Colonial, South German varieties, Egmont, Bardot, Tracenta, Allure, Astoria, and
SR 7100.
TURF-TYPE TALL FESCUEÂAmerica, Arid, Mustang.
ST. AUGUSTINE GRASSÂRaleigh.
DORMANT BERMUDAGRASSÂTifgreen, Tidwarf, Common Bermudagrass is more susceptible to PROGRASS® Herbicide injury than hybrid
Bermudagrass.

I'm not here to argue against Prograss. If you can acquire it, or have it applied professionally, and have determined it to be safe for your lawn, by all means go for it. I haven't used it since I have my reservations about trying it especially since my front yard is made of several TTTF cultivars, and there are only three "safe" cultivars listed on the label, and my lawn has none of those.

Thanks tiemco.

Looks safe on the KBG antiques, but like you said, one has to wonder with the newer elite cultivars.

jjonas,

Welome to the poa camp, I don't have any answers, but can offer you what I am doing to battle my poa anua problem.

I have a thick KBG lawn that seems to wake up a bit late every spring. Most lawns here a being mowed about 2 weeks before me. Seems like the poa and clover take over on me every year.

Not sure what your yard looks like, but do you have any shade on your lawn? I've noticed that poa seems to crop up in my more shady and damp areas. I cut some limbs and a couple tees down to let more light in a couple weeks back and I am noticing the KBG taking over the POA a bit.

I also have seen weed be gone weeken the POA a bit. While walking along spraying the clover this spring, i was frustrated at the poa annua and shot some of it with the weedBGone. I know it isn't supposed to do anything to it, but it did make it more pale green and slightly yellow.

I've also been forced to bag my clippings until the seed heads disappear, hopefully that will help the spreading.

I'll be putting down some sort of pre M later this summer, and a gain next spring. I've never used Pre M before, maybe thats part of my problem.

egghead,

I think you probably have poa trivialis in your shady areas and not poa annua. Poa trivialis thrives in shady areas where poa annua doesn't. Certainty works very good on poa trivialis.

>"I think you probably have poa trivialis in your shady areas and not poa annua. Poa trivialis thrives in shady areas where poa annua doesn't.

FYI - Posted 06/07/2009 at Purdue. http://www.agry.purdue.edu/turf/tips/2009/06082009_poa.html

Poa annua: a winter annual that is lighter, more apple green than other lawn species. It is just past its aggressive seedhead stage, but youÂll likely still find seedheads in any patch of annual bluegrass. _*Most common in shade and/or wet or irrigated areas.*_