I would just sod and fix any soil or drainage issues in the process. Glyphosate has been a waste of time in my experience but I haven’t tried the glove in glove method.
Trivialis: should I just give up?
Hey guys, I have a lawn that has multiple patches of trivialis, the largest probably 10 x 4 ft, but several scattered smaller ones. I’ve been glyphosating patches and digging some out… but my neighbors also have trivialis, and our lawns are attached. The analytical part of my brain is screaming that my efforts are futile here, and even a complete renovation is likely to fail, if not due to resurgence of my own trivialis, then due to inevitable invasion by my neighbors’. It sounds pathetic that there is a lawn issue that has no current reliable solution, but that is the conclusion I’ve come to here. Before I throw in the towel, I just wanted to double check - am I overlooking some option here?
thanks so much for your time and consideration.
thanks so much for your time and consideration.
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That’s deflating. Unless there’s a selective herbicide, it will be a battle every year.
Sorry to hear/see what you're going through. The movie "Fun with Deck and Jane" comes to mind. Ring a bell for anyone?
All surrounding areas look great!
All surrounding areas look great!
What’re you doing this year, if anything?I spent way too many hours last year rounding up and digging out all the patches of poa triv in my back yard. Guess what....the triv is back and more rampant than ever this year 😭
View attachment 15090
Pics didn’t work right
@Majahops The world doesn’t need to see your medical record attachment.
I'm somewhat stuck honestly. Between all the efforts in the backyard and also ripping out 1000sq ft in my side yard and reseeding, I am finding new patches of poa triv pretty much everywhere. I've resorted to just trying to keep my main front yard clear of it and make that area the best and stop wasting my time on the side and back yard. Those are shady, wet areas and mother nature doesn't seem to want me to remove the triv. As much as I try, everytime I remove patches of it, I end up finding dozens more a few months down the road. And all the patches that I've rounded up and/or dug out and reseeded end up being not only a waste of effort/time/money, but also take a decent length of time to establish and even look good. At this point, I'm better off with some lighter green patches of triv than patches of dirt that I need to baby and water and get seed to grow. I really gave it a valiant effort last year and unfortunately it was all a waste of time.What’re you doing this year, if anything?
On my side yard, I'm experimenting with spraying a few patches of triv with Tenacity+T-Zone -
I'm praying that PoaCure comes to market for homeowners sooner than later and that it actually works well. Considering how much triv I have, it seems useless to keep killing it off in small sections unless I can spray the entire yard to control it. I'm not sure if it's in my seed or in my topsoil or just in the ground or in the air or what but it seems to come back no matter what in the right conditions. It all began to spread when I did a dethatching 2 years ago...
I personally would throw in the towel and just live with it. You have lot's of shade that triv thrives in.
Oh my god thank you so very much I had no idea I attached that thank you so so much I deleted it. Good lord@Majahops The world doesn’t need to see your medical record attachment.
Poa trivialis is easy to get rid of… if done slowly over seasons. You would need to use good pre emergent earlier than expected and probably multiple applications each year. You then use a herbicide or dig it up and include a buffer space around it. When the area is clear, water it and see if it comes back (assuming growing conditions/temps are good for it). Kill sprouts (herbicide or pull) or use a preM to kill left over seeds. Want faster results? Still use the PreM but replace it with fresh clean soil when ready to grow new grass. Get some quality bare dirt (top soil) and mix it 50/50 with aged compost or in ground quality garden soil. Sterilize the top soil if needed (get it hot for some amount of time based on your method of heat). Replace at least the top 4 inches of soil and plant new grass/sod/plugs. Make sure you take care to get it to really grow and fill in (taller cuts, dense spacing, proper watering/fertilizing/soil pH/nutrients) and Poa will not be an issue there. This is assuming you keep up with preM nearby and cut often enough and bag clipping that might spread seed.
I walk my small lawn a few times a week. If I see a young weed sprouting, it stands out and it is an easy task to just pull it. Keep at it over time and soon there will be none left. Especially if you get the lawn to fill out; then it is much harder to hide among the grass or even germinate. I personally have gone as far as using a Poa killer that also harms cool season grasses; but at rates where the cool season grass might survive. This is tough to do and glyphosate is a lot easier for most. Just be ready to replant a few grass plugs (pre grow some grass in a pot or cups, etc) so you can remove the soil and replace it fast
Just keep in mind these methods are best taken over multiple seasons and require methodical timing (PreM) and actions to prevent the problem for as long as 5 years. Many think they can get it done within a season and unless you want to spend a lot (ie renovate+ sod) it is not a quick process.
Also, it is important to consider and deal with these questions: how did I get xyz weed in the first place or how/why is it coming back? Rather than just remove it, take actions to solve these questions and prevent first so you don’t get re-infection. AFTER this step, remove the weed.
After 1 season of careful (obsessive) care, I am down to maybe 1-2 1.5 sq ft patches of Poa triv in my front lawn area and I’m leaving it alone because it can’t spread due to the density of the neighboring grass. It will be an experiment for Anuew later this year. When done it will likely get removed as I described above. In the rear I had maybe 50% Poa triv. That got wiped out by glyphosate and I found 2-4 little sprouts survived… pulled immediately. And this is with tilling/disturbing the top 2-4” of soil.
I walk my small lawn a few times a week. If I see a young weed sprouting, it stands out and it is an easy task to just pull it. Keep at it over time and soon there will be none left. Especially if you get the lawn to fill out; then it is much harder to hide among the grass or even germinate. I personally have gone as far as using a Poa killer that also harms cool season grasses; but at rates where the cool season grass might survive. This is tough to do and glyphosate is a lot easier for most. Just be ready to replant a few grass plugs (pre grow some grass in a pot or cups, etc) so you can remove the soil and replace it fast
Just keep in mind these methods are best taken over multiple seasons and require methodical timing (PreM) and actions to prevent the problem for as long as 5 years. Many think they can get it done within a season and unless you want to spend a lot (ie renovate+ sod) it is not a quick process.
Also, it is important to consider and deal with these questions: how did I get xyz weed in the first place or how/why is it coming back? Rather than just remove it, take actions to solve these questions and prevent first so you don’t get re-infection. AFTER this step, remove the weed.
After 1 season of careful (obsessive) care, I am down to maybe 1-2 1.5 sq ft patches of Poa triv in my front lawn area and I’m leaving it alone because it can’t spread due to the density of the neighboring grass. It will be an experiment for Anuew later this year. When done it will likely get removed as I described above. In the rear I had maybe 50% Poa triv. That got wiped out by glyphosate and I found 2-4 little sprouts survived… pulled immediately. And this is with tilling/disturbing the top 2-4” of soil.
Poa triv is easy to get rid of? Oh my.
Same with me. Front is sun, back is shade. I have wasted a lot of my time trying to rid my lawn of triv.I've resorted to just trying to keep my main front yard clear of it and make that area the best and stop wasting my time on the side and back yard.
If you have a shady lawn and can live with the lime green color, Poa supina may be an option. It has about the same color of Poa annua and Poa trivialis respectively, so these would then be hardly noticeable. Supina crowds out other grasses by aggressive growth (stolons) if the conditions are right. This requires high N-applications and frequent irrigation. Shade is advantageous.Before I throw in the towel, I just wanted to double check - am I overlooking some option here?
If you have shade, a Poa Triv lawn can look really nice. I can't get anything to grow in my backyard because of all the shade. Except for Poa Triv. Its spread everywhere and has filled in nicely. In shade it doesnt seem to brown out in the summer heat so I've learned to tolerate it.
I've been experimenting with planting Poa Supina to crowd out the Poa T. Its like Poa T. in that it likes shade but has somewhat better growth habits. When they mix together I really cant tell the difference between them. Its still the same lime green color as Poa T, but it actually looks pretty good.
Edit: I see 2L8 beat me to the Poa Supina suggestion. He's right, it does need high N so I do a summer N application which you dont usually do with blue grass. I havent noticed any water issues though.
I've been experimenting with planting Poa Supina to crowd out the Poa T. Its like Poa T. in that it likes shade but has somewhat better growth habits. When they mix together I really cant tell the difference between them. Its still the same lime green color as Poa T, but it actually looks pretty good.
Edit: I see 2L8 beat me to the Poa Supina suggestion. He's right, it does need high N so I do a summer N application which you dont usually do with blue grass. I havent noticed any water issues though.
I have triv on a three year old lawn. Tried pulling and reseeding but that was only partially successful. Bought some glyphosate and some of those wands like you use to apply shoe polish and in early fall I try applying to the small patches I have. But I'm thinking its inevitable that the triv will win. I posted last year about this and one guy said he gave up and planted his turf stand in triv. It actually looked nice because it was all uniform in color and height. Of course the guy lived in Alaska and perhaps the triv can withstand the summer. Makes me wonder if triv can be nurtured to withstand hot weather maybe with watering and appropriate fertilizer??? Just a thought!
If they ever made an Herbicide for this it would cost 1000 dollars an oz. I’m a 3rd year noob with my lawn. Removing it and Re sodding or plugging seem like the best solutions to me.
If they ever sold 100% Triv-free seed, we would eventually not need it.If they ever made an Herbicide for this it would cost 1000 dollars an oz.
Where are the robots that drive through the grass fields and remove the off-species grasses?
BTW, I didn't find if @Oregonseed was asked if anyone is going through the fields to remove weed grasses now? Probably hardly anyone there is as picky as we are, but should be even pickier. Probably hardly anyone there is as picky as many of us, but should be even pickier. Would you pay double the price for 100% Triv-free (KBG) seed? I would.
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