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Bulbous bluegrass

Poa bulbosa

Also called Bulbous Meadow Grass, Bulbous Meadowgrass, Bulbous Poa, Bulbous Speargrass

Bulbous bluegrass
Photo: Sheri Hagwood, Public domain

Bulbous bluegrass is a small grass that forms dense clumps and spreads aggressively, often dominating overgrazed or disturbed ground. It is a weed in many areas, so it is best grown only where spreading is acceptable.

Family
Poaceae (Grass family)
Grows as
Grass, Bulb, Annual
Light
Full sun, Part shade
Water
Tolerates dry spells once established; water young plants until they settle in.
Soil
Adapts to poor, dry, disturbed soils, including sandy and gravelly ground.
Temperature
Hardy in cold winters; tolerates a wide range of temperatures.
How easy
Easy
Native range
Europe to Xinjiang, Macaronesia to Himalaya, Cape Prov.
Climate
temperate

About

Poa bulbosa is a species of grass known by the common names bulbous bluegrass or bulbous meadow-grass. It is native to Eurasia and North Africa, but it is present practically worldwide as an introduced species. It is widespread in the United States and southern Canada. It was introduced to the eastern United States around 1906 and the western US in 1915 as a contaminant in shipments of alfalfa seed. It was intentionally planted on both the east and west coasts to control weeds and prevent erosion. Today it is a common grass across the continent and is a noxious weed in some areas. It is a sturdy, hardy, persistent, aggressive grass that easily outcompetes many other plants and becomes the dominant species in disturbed habitat types, such as overgrazed fields.

This is an annual or perennial grass forming dense clumps up to about 60 centimeters tall.

Other Poa plants

Catalina grass · Catalina grass · Short bluegrass · Limestone Cushion Poa · Poa acinaciphylla · Grass Lane Cove River · Alpigene Bluegrass · Alpine bluegrass · Grove bluegrass · Hartz's Bluegrass · Narrow-leaved meadow-grass · Annual Meadow Grass

Text excerpted from the Wikipedia article Poa bulbosa by its contributors, under CC BY-SA 4.0; the excerpts and the care summary drawn from them are shared under the same licence.

The care summary was written by AI (Claude, Anthropic) from the sources on this page, with general growing knowledge where they are silent. Check before relying on it.

Life form, climate and native range: World Checklist of Vascular Plants, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (CC BY 3.0), reformatted; see Plants of the World Online.

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