Annual meadowgrass
Control annual meadowgrass in your garden, with help from our expert guide
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Time to act | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes | yes |
Annual meadowgrass, Poa annua, can be found growing all year round, carrying out its short, six-week cycle of germinating, flowering and setting seed. This being the case, if it isn't appearing in large clumps, getting in the way of other plants or ruining your display, it might not be worth fighting it.
Symptoms
This grass can make itself at home all around the garden, particularly in beds, borders, the lawn and paving. It has fluffy flowerheads that disperse seed and keep the weed coming.
Find it on
all over the garden
Organic
Use a handfork to remove the grass, digging it out from the root. This is best done before the plant flowers and sets seed. Do not compost flowering plants, or it will spread seeds through the compost.
Chemical
Annual meadowgrass is quite resistant to weedkillers, but if it's appearing on your patio, driveway or between paving (ie. away from other plants), you could try to control it with a patch weedkiller. Avoid spraying weedkiller on a windy day and near other desirable plants.
More like this
September issue on sale now!
The September issue of BBC Gardeners' World magazine is on sale now, buy online or in stores now.
Plant of the Week: Toffee Apple Tree
This week, save 25 per cent and buy 1 x 3L pot for just £14.99. Plus, receive a FREE 100g sachet of fertiliser with your order - worth £4.99.
Offer ends 23.59, Sunday 22 September.
Spend less on your autumn shopping
This month, we're offering all BBC Gardeners' World Magazine readers a 15%* saving across our specially selected partner websites - so you can find everything you need while saving £££s.
*Exclusions apply. Offer excludes delivery and some products. Not valid with any other offer.
Offer ends 23.59, Thursday 31 October.
