Three Winners of the ‘Most Hated Weed’ Award: Spring Battles

Poa Annua var. annua is a particularly sneaky cool weather annual grass. It sets seed as warm weather approaches and flings it far and wide before it browns out in hot weather. I've recently read that it sets viable seed as soon as it flowers! The seed waits until cool weather arrives in Fall and sprouts as fine as frog hair - tedious in the extreme to remove.

Once you give up for the winter, it grows happily along so that on the first fine days of Spring, it's ready to set seed and start the cycle over again. It's gotten into my gravel drive, among other places, and finds it much to its liking. I pull wagon loads of it, thinking I've finally beaten it to the punch. But, no, there it is again! Tiny, quarter sized clumps will set seed.

This pestiferous plant is resistant to almost every herbicide. So the only way I know to fight it is to pull it. It is good at hiding under other things and even bits of gravel - only showing it's face after it's done its dirty work for the season. It's not hard to pull from gravel - just hard on the fingernails, but pulling it from nice solid clay soil is another matter. There the roots form thick mats and it's a job and a half to dislodge it - and while you're yanking, it's spreading seed.