WSU Extension

Hortsense

Weeds
 
Annual bluegrass 
Barnyardgrass 
Bentgrass, creeping 
Bermudagrass 
Birdfoot Trefoil 
Bittercress (Shotweed, Hairy bittercress) 
Bittersweet nightshade (European bittersweet) 
Black medic 
Blackberry (Himalayan, Evergreen, Pacific) 
Blue mustard (Purple mustard, Tenella mustard) 
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 
Foxtail (Green, Yellow, Bristly) 
Garden loosestrife 
Giant hogweed 
Goldenrods 
Ground ivy 
Groundsel, common 
Hawkweeds 
Hedge bindweed 
Henbit 
Herb Robert (Robert geranium, stinky Bob) 
Horsetails (Scouringrush) 
Horseweed (Marestail) 
Knapweeds 
Knotweeds (Bohemian, Giant, Japanese, Himalayan) 
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: Creeping bentgrass
Photo by: B.M. Johnson
  
Weeds : Bentgrass, creeping : Agrostis stolonifera
(revision date: 4/7/2021)

Family: Poaceae (Graminae)
Cycle: Perennial
Plant Type: Grass
Use Integrated Pest Management (IPM) for successful weed management.

Biology
Creeping bentgrass is a low-growing, perennial grass. Unmowed plants can reach 8 to 20 inches in height. The leafy stolons lie along the ground, rooting in the soil. In lawns, these flat patches can be unsightly. Leaf blades are narrow and flat, with pointed tips. The finely branched panicle (seed head) is typically closed, but opens when the plant is blooming. SPECIAL INFORMATION: Bentgrasses in lawns can produce large amounts of thatch, particularly if they are overfertilized and not mowed short. Thatch buildup can interfere with water availability to grass roots and can contribute to other lawn problems.
Habitat
Bentgrasses are often problem weeds in lawns both east and west of the Cascades. Also, lawns consisting of mostly bentgrass are common west of the Cascades.

Management Options


Non-Chemical Management
  • However, this is very time consuming and frustrating.
  • Digging and carefully removing the roots will reduce the number of plants, but will not get rid of it.
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

    + Show larger images

     
    Caption: Creeping bentgrass
    Photo by: B.M. Johnson
    Caption: Creeping bentgrass stolon
    Photo by: B.M. Johnson
    Caption: Creeping bentgrass
    Photo by: T. W. Miller