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Annual bluegrass
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Bentgrass, creeping
Bermudagrass
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Bittersweet nightshade (European bittersweet)
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Brackenfern, western
Buffalobur
Bull thistle
Buttercup, creeping
Butterfly bush
Canada thistle
Catchweed bedstraw (Cleavers)
Catsear, common (False dandelion)
Chickweed, common and mouseear
Clover
Comfrey
Crabgrass
Creeping Jenny
Dandelion
Dock (Curly, Broadleaf)
Dodder
Downy brome (Cheatgrass, Downy chess)
Dwarf mistletoes
English daisy (Lawn daisy)
English ivy
Field bindweed (Wild morningglory)
Field pennycress (Fanweed)
Flixweed
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Garden loosestrife
Giant hogweed
Goldenrods
Ground ivy
Groundsel, common
Hawkweeds
Hedge bindweed
Henbit
Herb Robert (Robert geranium, stinky Bob)
Horsetails (Scouringrush)
Horseweed (Marestail)
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Kochia
Lambsquarters, common
Lesser celandine
Liverworts
Mallow, common (Cheeseweed, Buttonweed)
Nightshades
Oxalis (Creeping woodsorrel)
Parrotfeather and Eurasian watermilfoil
Pineappleweed
Plantain (Broadleaf, Buckhorn)
Poison hemlock
Poison ivy and Poison oak
Pokeweed
Prickly lettuce (China lettuce)
Prostrate knotweed
Puncturevine (Tackweed, Goathead)
Purple deadnettle (Red deadnettle)
Purple loosestrife (Purple lythrum)
Purslane, common
Quackgrass
Red sorrel (Sheep sorrel)
Redroot pigweed (Rough pigweed)
Redstem filaree (Stork's bill, Crane's bill)
Reed canarygrass
Russian thistle (Tumbleweed)
Ryegrass, annual (Italian ryegrass)
Salsify (Goatsbeard)
Scotch broom
Shepherd's-purse
Smartweeds
Sowthistle, annual and perennial
Speedwells
Spurges (Prostrate spurges)
St. Johnswort, common (Goatweed, Klamathweed)
Stinging nettle
Tansy ragwort
Tumblemustard (Jim Hill mustard)
Velvetgrass (Common velvetgrass)
Velvetleaf
Water primrose
Waterhemlock, western
Wild carrot (Queen Anne's lace)
Yellow nutsedge
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Caption: Quackgrass
Photo by: D.G. Swan
Weeds : Quackgrass :
Elymus repens (Elytrigia repens, Agropyron repens)
(revision date: 4/7/2021)
Family: Poaceae (Graminae)
Cycle: Perennial
Plant Type: Grass
Use Integrated Pest Management (IPM) for successful weed management.
Biology
Quackgrass is a perennial grass which spreads by both seeds and rhizomes, forming dense clumps if left unchecked. The spreading rhizomes are typically pale yellow in color and sharply pointed at the tips. Uncut plants are one to three feet high. The leaves are narrow and flat with rough upper surfaces. Leaf blades are frequently constricted near the tip, which helps in identifying non-flowering plants. The seed head of flowering plants consists of two rows of spikelets on opposite sides of the spike. The seed head is typically six to ten inches long. SPECIAL INFORMATION: Quackgrass can be difficult to eradicate once established. Repeated cultivation to expose and cut up the rhizomes has been effective in some areas. In Oregon, quackgrass is on the noxious weed quarantine list, which prohibits sale, purchase, and transport of plants, seeds, and plant parts.
Habitat
Quackgrass is common in fields, grasslands, and waste areas on fertile soils. It may invade newly planted lawns, and also may become a problem in home gardens and ornamental plantings.
Management Options
Non-Chemical Management
Digging and carefully removing all rhizomes will effectively eliminate single plants and small infestations.
However, this is very time consuming and frustrating.
Select non-chemical management options as your first choice!
Chemical Management
IMPORTANT:
Visit Home and Garden Fact Sheets for more information on using pesticides
Apply according to label directions. Spot treatments with certain post-emergent herbicides will control weedy grasses, but will also kill the turf. Glyphosate products should be applied as spot treatments only! NOTE: Some ingredients listed here are only available in combination. Read the label carefully on combination products to make sure the product is suitable for your specific situation.
Landscape areas
glyphosate
dichlobenil
fluazifop
Turf areas
Bare ground areas
glyphosate
dichlobenil
Images
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Caption: Quackgrass
Photo by: D.G. Swan
Caption: Quackgrass leaves and auricles
Photo by: D.G. Swan
Caption: Flowering quackgrass
Photo by: T.W. Miller
Caption: Quackgrass rhizomes and shoots
Photo by: T.W. Miller
Caption: Quackgrass rhizomes
Photo by: T.W. Miller
Caption: Quackgrass seed heads
Photo by: D.G. Swan