The Ultimate Winter Grass Killer Guide for Your Lawn

Winter Grass is a low-growing grass weed. Known scientifically as Poa Annua, it has soft drooping green leaves that grow in tufts with triangular seed heads.

This weed is completely widespread through Australia and reappears annually in the colder months, hence its name, Winter Grass.

How Do I Know If I Have Poa Annua?

Poa Annua, or Winter Grass, will look vastly different to your turfgrass.

Other than sticking out from your lawn grass, Winter Grass has a couple of other key characteristics that will help you identify it.

It’s a brighter green colour than most lawns.
Winter Grass has smooth leaves with a pointed “boat-shaped” tip.
Winter Grass grows in clumps, or tufts, and won’t be found in individual blades.
Winter Grass is a cool-season grass, meaning it can wither, thin out, and die in heat and drought conditions that are common in the summer.
It produces a white feathery, tufted seed head that is unsightly and helps this weed to spread quickly.

When Does Winter Grass Appear?

Winter Grass will start germinating in the soil as early as March. Then, as the temperature cools down, it will start to emerge within your lawn.

This is typically between May and June. From there, it will continue to spread in your lawn throughout the winter months and eventually grow feathery seed heads.

Winter Grass Killer?

Winter Grass will start germinating in the soil as early as March. Then, as the temperature cools down, it will start to emerge within your lawn.

This is typically between May and June. From there, it will continue to spread in your lawn throughout the winter months and eventually grow feathery seed heads.

How To kill Winter Grass

There are a few ways to control Winter Grass in your lawn and it’s important to treat it as quickly as possible.

Natural Ways To Control Winter Grass

Before Winter Grass has had the chance to seed, it is sometimes possible to control this weed by mowing it. However, as it is a low growing weed, you may not be able to do this without scalping the surrounding lawn.

You should also be careful as, if it has seeded, this will only encourage the weed to spread and reappear the following year.

Weed Spray – The Best Winter Grass Killer

Alternatively, you can use a spot spray to control Winter Grass. We recommend using Amgrow’s Winter Grass Killer.

This is a selective herbicide but may still take a few applications to fully eradicate Winter Grass from your garden.

Amgrow-Weed-Control-Winter-Grass-Killer-100ml

Applying A Pre-emergent Herbicide

The best way to prevent winter grass is to use a pre-emergent product such as Lawn Solutions’ Oxafert every three months.

This will prevent the winter grass from germinating in the first place.

This is a particularly effective solution if you’ve previously had Winter Grass in your lawn.

Just make sure to apply the pre-emergent before the weed starts to germinate.

How to Treat Winter Grass in Buffalo Lawns

When choosing a weed killer for buffalo lawn varieties, you need to be extra careful. The wrong herbicide could kill off your entire lawn.

Luckily, both Winter Grass Killer and Oxafert pre-emergent are suitable for buffalo lawns.

To apply Winter Grass Killer, simply dilute 15ml of Winter Grass Killer in 10 litres of water to apply over 100 square metres of lawn.

As Oxafert is a granular herbicide and fertiliser mix, you should apply 40 grams per square metre using a fertiliser spreader for even application.

After application, ensure you water it in with at least 10mm of water.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

HANNAH MOODY

When Hannah is not writing, you can often find her at the gym, on a walk with her dog or binge-watching Netflix. Hannah is an admitted gaming fanatic, she feeds her addiction with regular game nights, filled with a mix of console gaming, as well as tabletop.