Fescue seedheads?

[bagarow]

Hi

I am in Raleigh. I have fescue grass. What I am seeing is tall (6"-12") thin stalks with seed heads on top about evenly distributed through out the yard in between normal fescue grass. The lawn service person said this is normal fescue seedheads that is growing rapidly due to the inflox in temperature and that when we get to consistent 80 degree weather, these tall fescue seedhead stalks will subside.

Am I being taken for a ride by the lawn service company? Or are they actually telling me the facts? Is there anyway to control these taller stalks with seed heads.

Thanks Bob

[trader4]

How often is it mowed and how fast does it grow to get that high? With stalks that high, this sounds like an undesirable weed grass, not turf type tall fescue. What color is it? Here in NJ I have had some patches of an undesirable thin stalked grass that sounds similar. It becomes apparent in early spring, it's lighter in color and grows faster than the regular grass. It disappears in summer. Mine is in maybe ten 2 foot size spots though, not evenly distributed. I think mine may be poa trivialis, which is bad news, as it's a rough blue grass for which there is no selective control. I whacked my spots with roundup and reseeded.

[AndyS]

Andy asks:

Could you not have just sprayed the tall stalks with a spray bottle using roundup or pronto, and not have to reseed...???

As long as you don't get the stuff on your desired grasses, it should work OK... Takes about a week to kill the bad stuff..

Andy in Eureka, Texas

[trader4]

No, because it's impossible. Most of the spray winds up on the other grass, not the thin stalks that only stick up an inch or two above the desirable grass. You can try to apply it with a sponge, but besides being very tedious, the Roundup only gets the very tips, not most of the plant, so even with a lot of work, the outcome is not certain.

[bagarow]

I mow every 2 weeks cutting at about a 3.5" height based on the advise from the lawn service company. So these stalks grew from 3.5" to a foot in about 2 weeks. Some stalks are even taller than a foot.

The color is green. I could try to get you a digital picture if that would help.

Thanks Bob

[trader4]

See the other thread here titled "crabgrass". You don't have crabgrass, that's for sure, , but what you do have may be poa trivialis, which is rough stalk bluegrass and is discussed in that thread. It grows fast, with just stalks shooting up first after cutting. Search the web and you can find pics of it.

[Pat Barber]