Annual meadow-grass

Poa annua

In other languages: Straatgras (Nederlands) · Pâturin annuel (Français)

Grows wild in Belgium.

Annual meadow-grass is a small, pale green grass that you come across everywhere: between paving slabs and cobbles, on paths, in lawns, vegetable gardens and fields. It is one of the commonest plants in Belgium and in the world, and it flowers almost all year round, even in mild winters. You can recognise it by its soft, fresh green tufts of 5–30 cm, the leaf tip shaped like the bow of a boat and the small, triangular flower head with spreading side branches. It is usually annual or short-lived, but it seeds itself so easily that it never disappears. Gardeners often see it as a weed, but it is also a tough pioneer that greens up bare, trampled ground and feeds seed-eating birds.

Updated on 9 October 2026

Light
Sun or partial shade
preferably some sun
Moisture
Normal
no wet feet
Hardiness
Fully hardy
down to -25 °C
Size
0.15 m
tall, 0.15 m wide
Flowering
January–December

Key facts
Height	0.15 m
Native to Belgium	Yes
Flowering	January–December

Identify

How to recognise it

Growth habit: Small, soft, tufted grass of 5–30 cm, often spreading flat in trampled places and upright in taller grass.
Leaf: Soft and pale green, 2–5 mm wide, often with small crosswise wrinkles. The tip is hooded like the bow of a boat, with two pale lines along the midrib. Long, white, papery ligule.
Flower: Small, triangular panicle of 1–8 cm with one or two spreading side branches per node and green, sometimes purple-tinged spikelets of 3–6 mm. Flowers all year.
Stem: Smooth, slightly flattened, often bent and lying down at the base.
Roots: Shallow, fibrous roots: the tuft is easy to pull up.
Confusion with: Smooth meadow-grass is perennial, darker green and has underground rhizomes. Rough meadow-grass has a long, pointed ligule and rough leaf sheaths. Annual meadow-grass is smaller, paler and forms loose tufts without long rhizomes.

Flowering: January–December

In your garden

Why grow it?

A tough pioneer that quickly greens up bare, trampled and compacted ground where few other plants grow.
The seed, which ripens almost all year, feeds sparrows, finches and other seed-eaters.
Flowers and sets seed in every month: one of the first green patches after a hard winter.
Greenery between paving and stepping stones without you having to do anything.
A fascinating species: it probably arose long ago as a cross between two other grasses.

Annual meadow-grass: where does it grow best?

In the wild on open, trampled and disturbed ground: paths, kerbsides, farmyards, fields, vegetable plots, banks and lawns.
Almost any soil will do, including compacted, wet or rich soil; on very dry sand it grows less well.
Sun to partial shade; it even grows in shady corners at the foot of walls.
In the garden it arrives by itself: between paving, on paths, in borders and in lawns.

Goes well with

Procumbent pearlwort: A mossy little plant that greens up path joints together with annual meadow-grass.
Daisy: White flowers in short grass almost all year round.
Wild thyme: A scented, pink-flowered mat between stepping stones, loved by bees.
Biting stonecrop: Yellow stars in June on dry, sunny paving joints and low walls.

Maintenance

Annual meadow-grass: when and how to plant it?

There is no need to sow or buy annual meadow-grass: it comes into your garden by itself, with seed on shoes, tyres and animals’ feet.
If you want greenery between stepping stones or paving, leave the joints open and do not weed them: it settles in within a season.
If you do not want it, keep the soil covered with other plants or mulch: it mainly germinates on bare soil.
Never dig up plants from the wild; for flowering plants between paving, buy native plants or seed from a nursery.

Care

Water: Never needed. In a drought it dries up, but the seed germinates again after the first rain.
Feeding: Do not feed. On rich, moist soil it grows vigorously enough already.
In the lawn: Annual meadow-grass makes pale patches in a lawn. Aerating, overseeding and not mowing too short help the other grasses.
Weeding: Pull it up or hoe it before it sets seed, preferably in dry weather: the roots then come away easily.
Between paving: A joint brush or scraper a few times a year is enough. Never use weedkillers.

Tip: If you want less annual meadow-grass, leave as little bare soil as possible: ground cover, mulch and dense turf give it no chance to germinate.

Pruning and mowing

When: Not needed; in a lawn it is simply mown with the rest.

How:

In a lawn, simply mow it with the rest. Annual meadow-grass flowers even below mowing height, so mowing does not stop it setting seed.
On paths and patios, brush or pull it out before the seed ripens if you do not want it there.
If you like it as greenery between stepping stones, there is nothing to do: trampling keeps it low.

Pruning calendar and basic rules

Propagation

Self-seeding: It seeds itself all year round; a plant sets seed only a few weeks after germinating. The seed can lie in the soil for years.
Hitchhiking: Seed travels on shoes, tyres, tools and animals’ feet; that is how it reaches every garden path.

Annual meadow-grass: how does it get through the winter?

Hardy to −25 °C.

It stays green in winter and keeps flowering in mild spells.
Quite hardy; in hard frost some plants die, but seed in the soil produces new ones.
One of the first green plants to return after a hard winter.

Diseases and pests

Weed in the lawn: Pale green patches that dry up in summer droughts. Aerate, overseed with stronger grasses in autumn and do not mow shorter than 4 cm.
Between paving: It germinates in every joint. A joint brush, scraper or a little hoeing is enough; do not use weedkillers.
In the vegetable garden: It germinates en masse on bare soil. Mulch with grass clippings or straw and hoe in dry weather.
Seed bank: Letting it seed just once means years of seedlings. Remove it before it flowers if you really want to get rid of it.

Through the year

January: Stays green and flowers in mild spells.
March: New seedlings on bare soil. Mulch vegetable beds.
April: In full flower and setting seed. Brush the paving joints.
May: Pull it up before the seed ripens if you do not want it.
July: In drought the plants dry up; the seed waits for rain.
September: New seedlings after the first rains. Aerate and overseed the lawn.
October: Cover bare patches in the lawn and vegetable garden.
December: Green tufts between the stones.

You and this species

Did you know?

Annual meadow-grass probably arose as a cross between two other species: early meadow-grass and supine meadow-grass.
It is one of the most widespread plants in the world and has even become established in Antarctica, brought in as seed on clothing and equipment.
On golf courses it often grows among the fine grasses of the greens, because it tolerates very close mowing.

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