# Poa Annua vs KBG seedheads



## GrassDaddy (Mar 21, 2017)

Someone elsewhere online was considering nuking their lawn after trying to aggressively kill poa annua in the fall. After seeing their photo it was clear they almost killed off their KBG!










Going by color is helpful but the seed heads are the giveaway. Even KBG can be light green, especially when new.


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## Redtenchu (Jan 28, 2017)

Nice, but I was really hoping that was KBG in my backyard... dang!


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## GrassDaddy (Mar 21, 2017)

Yeah I got a lot in my backyard lol made it easy to pick seed heads for the photo.


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## ales_gantar (Apr 13, 2017)

I used to like it. I just thought it is a bright kind of grass. How efficient wiuld be cutting the sead heads by hand? Regardless of the time spent.


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## GrassDaddy (Mar 21, 2017)

It seeds like crazy and when stressed it seeds more. So try it and report back lol


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## j4c11 (Apr 30, 2017)

Speaking of seedheads, I am happy to report that a mix of T-Nex 1AQ @ 0.35oz/K + Florel @1.5oz/K every 2 weeks successfully suppresses 90% of them in KBG. The mix does cause temporary yellowing.


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## GrassDaddy (Mar 21, 2017)

Temporary yellowing as in a day? Week? The whole time its suppressing?


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## j4c11 (Apr 30, 2017)

GrassDaddy said:


> Temporary yellowing as in a day? Week? The whole time its suppressing?


For me the "yellowing" lasts about 3 days after spraying. It doesn't actually turn yellow, but it does turn a lighter color of green. I use FAS in the mix, I don't know if that helps or not since I haven't sprayed it without the FAS to be able to compare.


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## ericgautier (Apr 22, 2017)

Any advice on what we can use to knock out poa A and T? I have plenty of poa A in last year reno that I need to tackle. Tenacity? Certainty?


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## GrassDaddy (Mar 21, 2017)

Tenacity for poa a, roundup for poa t


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## wardconnor (Mar 25, 2017)

GrassDaddy said:


> Tenacity for poa a, roundup for poa t


You think this will work? What's the formula and regimen? I'm pretty sure I've got round sections of this garbage in my kbg lawn. About a 12 inch round sections. Clearly a lighter green color and weedy woody like stems. It looks weird and bad with my low cut lawn. I'll take a picture of it tomorrow. Also compared it to a bunch of pictures that someone here gave me. Might have been Eric.


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## GrassDaddy (Mar 21, 2017)

Yeah a light app 3 times about a week apart for the annua.


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## aug0211 (Sep 5, 2017)

Ok, is this KBG that is growing in my mulch bed? Albeit, slightly damaged?

Guessing it is just stray seed from my reno last year.

If it is KBG, I have plugs of it throughout all of my mulch beds that I'd love to try to transport to dead spots from me killing off quack.

From the boat shaped leaves to the bunched, vertical growing seed heads, I think it's KBG and not poa annua... but I want to be sure this is my bewitched KBG before I try to gather a bunch of it up and transport it to the lawn 

Also, the leaf width is a bit wider than some other spots in the lawn, so that has me a bit unsure.


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## stotea (Jul 31, 2017)

That's definitely KBG.


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## aug0211 (Sep 5, 2017)

stotea said:


> That's definitely KBG.


Awesome! Thank you!


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## pennstater2005 (Jul 17, 2017)

@GrassDaddy Thanks for posting this. I was just looking through last years renovation finding and pulling what I thought was poa annua. I'll be looking more closely now.


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## gene_stl (Oct 29, 2017)

Thank you for posting this from me too! My yard is a mass of seed heads but it looks to be mostly KBG. I was about to post the question of whether or not KBG seeds in a fashion similar to_ Poa annua_. I am very relieved that I won't have to kill the whole thing.

A question too. Have any forum members used weed burners to sterilize areas of undesirable selective resistant weeds.
I am about to try.


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## Suburban Jungle Life (Mar 1, 2018)

Weed burner to sterilize the area? I think you would have to get the dirt above 180° or something to kill any seeds. How do you do that without building a bonfire in that spot? Cook it with the torch for a while? I though weed burners were used to destroy top growth and then the weed comes right back since the roots are still there.


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## gene_stl (Oct 29, 2017)

Another question is; if we have determined that the seedheads are Poa pratensis rather than annua should I be letting them grow till they drop to reseed the lawn? I do intend to reseed with TTTF but the KBG seems to be doing well so far and has a ton of seedheads. I'll use Tenacity and Tupersan (which I was going to do anyway) and maybe they'll grow.
Anybody have any thoughts on that? I have no idea what variety is involved.


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## g-man (Jun 15, 2017)

It takes months for the kbg seed to become viable. Just mow with a sharp blade. Feed the kbg and it will spread, no need to overseed.


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## GrassDaddy (Mar 21, 2017)

What you can do is wait till it grows past where you normally cut, and then bag mow, and you'll take off the KBG seedheads leaving a nicer looking cut. Or you can just pretend they aren't there =P

As for sterilizing with fire - those have a fun effect but they only kill the leaf tissue not the root so it'll just come back.


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## pennstater2005 (Jul 17, 2017)

Unfortunately, mine is poa annua. The ligule is membraneous and I could actually see it! Nice to learn new things.


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## pennstater2005 (Jul 17, 2017)

Just reviving this great thread to help those trying to distinguish between these two.


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## mattcoughlin (Jul 8, 2018)

GrassDaddy said:


> Yeah a light app 3 times about a week apart for the annua.


define a light application? I have a back yard i renovated last year with KBG but was late getting the seed down and therefore late with the prem and it popped up everywhere over the winter. Id prefer not to glyphosate the spots and damage the KBG.


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## kzrcode (Aug 9, 2019)

Hoping the consensus is KBG. Lmk if we need any more pics for identification? Looking forward to a reply - thanks!


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## SNOWBOB11 (Aug 31, 2017)

@kzrcode Looks like KBG to me.


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## coolturf (Mar 11, 2020)

Is this poa annua?


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## g-man (Jun 15, 2017)

It does not look like poa a.


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## Babameca (Jul 29, 2019)

@GrassDaddy Unfortunately in a low mow situation things are not that evident based on seedhead only.
I pulled some the other day. It was perfectly hiding in my lawn. To be sure, just put it side to side. The MF can't hide its lighter color anymore...


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## steffen707 (Apr 9, 2021)

GrassDaddy said:


> Someone elsewhere online was considering nuking their lawn after trying to aggressively kill poa annua in the fall. After seeing their photo it was clear they almost killed off their KBG!
> 
> 
> 
> ...


So glad i found this photo on google images. I was like WTF, i've had poa annua this whole time and i didn't know it? Man my poa annua blends in nicely with my KBG......DOH! So glad I found out I DON'T have a major poa annua issue, HA!


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## NotTheGreenGiant (May 30, 2021)

steffen707 said:


> So glad i found this photo on google images. I was like WTF, i've had poa annua this whole time and i didn't know it? Man my poa annua blends in nicely with my KBG......DOH! So glad I found out I DON'T have a major poa annua issue, HA!


Just wanted to post my thanks as well.
I was convinced I had a poa annua invasion, and was planning a massive effort to pull it all, and follow it with a major top-dressing and overseeding effort.

Now I realise that it's mostly just regular KBG. Thank you!


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