Yellow foxtail

Setaria pumila

At a glance
Type	Grass
Life cycle	Summer annual
Family	Grass family (Poaceae)
Origin	Introduced from elsewhere
Most common in	Northeast, Midwest, Great Plains

About

A summer annual grass with bristly, yellowish seedheads. It fills thin lawns, gardens and bare ground in summer and dies at frost.

Also called pigeon grass, yellow bristlegrass, foxtail

How to identify it

Look for

Leaves are twisted and smooth except for several long, whitish hairs near the base of the upper surface; the sheaths are hairless, and the ligule is a fringe of short hairs. Stems are flattened with reddish-purple bases. The dense, spike-like seedhead turns yellow-green to orange-green with bristly awns.

Look-alikes

Green foxtail has no long hairs at the leaf base, hairy sheath edges and a greener seedhead. Crabgrass seedheads are finger-like, not a single bottlebrush spike.

Where it grows

Gardens, thin lawns, pastures, roadsides and other disturbed ground, especially moist soil.

When

Sprouts from spring into midsummer once soil reaches about 65 degrees F, heads out from summer into fall, and dies after frost.

How it spreads

Spreads by seed, and each plant can make thousands of seeds.

Most common in

Northeast	Very common here
Southeast	Common here
South Central	Common here
Midwest	Very common here
Great Plains	Very common here
Mountain West	Common here
Southwest	Occasional here
Pacific Northwest	Common here
California	Common here
Alaska	Not found here
Hawaii	Occasional here

What to do, gentlest first

Start at the top. Weed killers are a last step; always read and follow the label.

Keep lawns thick and beds covered Prevent
Foxtail mostly takes hold in new or thin lawns and bare soil. Fertilize and water to keep turf dense, and avoid bringing in soil from weedy sites.
Pull before seedheads ripen By hand
Hand-pull or use a trowel on single plants, and hoe seedlings in the garden before they flower.
Bag plants with seedheads instead of composting them.
Mulch garden beds Barrier
Almost any mulch helps block foxtail seedlings in vegetable and flower beds.
Corn gluten meal before seeds sprout Organic spray
Corn gluten meal is labeled to stop foxtail seeds from sprouting. Spread it in early spring and water it in lightly; it won't affect plants that are already up.
Don't use it where you plan to sow seed.
Spring pre-emergent; quinclorac for young plants Conventional spray
In lawns, a spring pre-emergent such as prodiamine, pendimethalin or dithiopyr stops seedlings. Quinclorac or fenoxaprop can treat young plants in lawns.
Read and follow the label. Many lawn herbicides kill garden plants, so keep spray and drift off beds and vegetables.

Uses, wildlife and pets

Pets

Not listed as toxic to dogs, cats or horses by the ASPCA.

Sources

Photo: Photo: Adrián Pablo Rodríguez Quiroga / Wikimedia Commons, CC0 (CC0). Photo resized for the web.

Planting dates and advice are general guidance; check with your local Cooperative Extension office for your area.