Coarse Grass in Lawns

Garden Problems , Lawn Problems

Coarse grasses like Paspalum, Kikuyu, Couch/Twitch, Poa, Barley, can often show up in garden lawns unexpectedly. Coarse grasses in a lawn are notoriously difficult to deal with because specialist lawn weed killers are designed not to kill grass.

Identify the problem
Coarse grasses that can be weeds in lawns include Paspalum, Couch/twitch, Kikuyu, crabgrass, barley grass, Poa annua, barn grass and others.
In general they have a very distinct look to the rest of your lawn and typically grow in rosettes and have coarser broader leaves and are often of a different colour and texture to the lawn grass. Their very distinct and bushy look can make a lawn appear patchy and unkept.
How to solve the problem
Lawns
Manual removal is difficult and can leave roots and rhizomes in the ground which may sprout again.
- Spot treat - Wearing rubber gloves paint Weed Weapon Invade Gel onto the crown of the weed grass (central growing region) and as many leaves of the weed grass as possible. This will kill the grass and its roots. Once the grass if fully dead, dig out any remnants, level the area and re-seed it.
- For large problem areas, dig out the worst patches in March/April, being sure to dig well below where roots end to ensure nothing sprouts back. The add top soil back to level the area and re-seed with LawnPro Smart Patch Mix or LawnPro Smart Lawn Seed
Did you know?
- Some lawns use coarse grasses (e.g. Kikuyu, couch/twitch, etc) as the main lawn grass because they are more hardy, better wearing and more resilient. In these cases other grasses like finer turf may be regarded as weeds. The same treatment approach will work on these finer turf weed grasses.