Annual Rye Grass, why?

Expert at the garden center told me that this grass was annual rye grass and said it is like a weed grass. He said to use pre emergent crab grass killer in the fall to stop it next year since it germinates in the fall.
I wondered why anyone would plant this and I suppose that for people who do not have an irrigation system it will fill in areas that die off each year. But it doesn't look great other than being green.

I'm trying to seed with a quality seed so I'm thinking of using the crabgrass control for a couple of years to eliminate the competition until the better seed fills in and is established. Is there any real advantage to the Rye Grass? Suggestions?

I'm seeing it in almost everyone's lawn and I think the heavy snow this winter helped to water it this spring, not sure but there is a lot of it around.

Well all grass gets carried by birds eating the seeds and poo-ing them out nicely coated in manure, then the wind plays a part, animals can carry the seeds of grass great lengths when the seeds get attached to their fur etc, we can carry the seeds when the seeds fal into out pants, sweaters, gloves ets, so maybe the snow melt has helped germination but possibly NOT the sole culprit for the spread of the weed grass.
People dont always grow this type of grass but some farmers do as its tough, helps feed some animals and also helps stabilise land that grows on a slope, short term.
I would be very unhappy using any killers on grass that has weeds in it, IF the weed grass has NOT taken over the whole lawn area, then maybe you need to hand weed using a tool specially for raising out weeds, it looks like a screwdriver but it has a forked tip on it, you push the forked TIP down into the soil at the weed grass root area, then with a little force, try lift / loosen out the weed & roots.
If there is way too many weeds to hand clear them, I suggest you cut these grasses way short by hand, this constant cutting right down below the other grasses, will weaken the weed grass and maybe you can get it under some control.

Most killers for weeds are not able to identify good grass from weed garsses, so your taking a huge risk by using them unless its made for a specific weed.
I know people who have ruined their garden because they spread grass feed & Weed, in a gentle breeze, the killer was blown onto the ROSES and after about 4-5 weeks, the Roses went yellow all over, other plants / shrubs went the same, you have to be very careful when using killers, a. they need to be suited to the right type of plants, and b, you need to be very careful at the weather conditions when you plant to use them.
Hope this helps you out a little,
Kind Regards.
WeeNel.

Thanks WeeNel, but I think that this was planted and it is probably about half of the grass in our lawn, millions of stalks. It is annual so it dies every year and as I understand it can be stopped by a pre emergent treatment just as with crabgrass.

Thanks again for your thoughts.

I'm wondering if there are any advantages to this grass that I'm missing.

This message was edited May 20, 2015 6:37 PM

In mild zones where Bermuda grass is used for a lawn, but goes dormant in the winter, Annual Rye will be green through the winter, then die off as the Bermuda greens up.

As mentioned by WeeNel, it is also used in erosion control mixes. Even in a wild, native area it can be used after a fire because it tends not to reseed very well if conditions are not very good for it, but it may live or reseed for a couple of years. Long enough to allow native plants to get a good hold.

Thank you Diana, yes I've read that Rye grass is used as ground cover and for erosion control since it germinates quickly.
My questions are about a residential lawn in Connecticut, without erosion problems. Mainly, does it make sense to stop the Rye Grass so that the better grass seed can thrive?

I've put a lot of grass seed down over the last 3 years and I don't think I'm getting a very good germination rate. I only top dressed it one year, on your suggestion in the other thread, and I think that helped a lot.
I'm going to take soil samples and send them off for analysis.

Annual rye is sometimes called a nurse grass since it sprouts so fast and protects the soil and the new plants of other species, then the annual rye goes away allowing the other plants to take over.

Sounds like this is not happening in your yard. A soil test is a good idea.
Also, sun vs shade? Grasses are pretty much full sun plants, some will handle the bright dappled light under trees with a fairly open canopy. Grass won't grow very well in deeper shade.
Watering? New seedlings want to be moist without standing water, but as they get their roots down into the soil they need deeper soaking less often.
Example: New seed might need watering several times a day, more of a light mist.
By the time it is a month old you might be watering once every few days, but a more thorough soaking.
Well established lawn could go a week in warm (not hot) weather.
A lot depends on the temperature, soil type, grass type and humidity.

My problem areas are full sun, the areas that are shaded for part of the day are doing much better. Overall, since I took your advice things are moving along much better. I've always had rye grass it just seems that there is much more of it this season, I'm seeing it in almost everybodys lawn. We had A LOT of snow again and I think it helped to water this seasons rye grass.

I didn't seed this Spring so all of the grass is old or from last fall when I did seed. I expect that I should water daily during our worst heat wave of the summer.

Thansk again for your help do you have any opinion on trying to stop the Rye Grass for a season or two to let the better grass thrive? I've been planting a tri blend of Kentucky Bluegrass which does fill in and spread under good conditions.

Thanks again for all your help.

I do not know how to stop annual rye. Around here it tends to die out on its own. May take a few years, each year it has less and less success reseeding, and the other plants take over.

Sure could be some variation in the weather helped one species this year, may not be so good for it later or next year.

Roots need oxygen, watering daily is not needed unless you have very sandy soil.

Thanks again Diana, very interesting.

Odd, the rye grass seems to be gone or at least mostly thinned out and the lawn is looking better than ever - strange?

No, typical.
Annual plants sometimes have good years, and sometimes bad.
Whatever conditions have happened this spring favored the other grasses, not the annual rye.