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Dallisgrass: why it keeps coming back and how we treat it

Dallisgrass is a clumping perennial grass weed that shows up in lawns as coarse, dull-green clumps with tall seedheads. NC State calls it one of the more difficult-to-control weeds in turfgrass, and Clemson's program for it runs over two seasons.

What does dallisgrass look like?

Dallisgrass grows in clumps. Its leaves are flat, dull green, sharply creased and sharply pointed, and NC State notes they look a lot like crabgrass. The giveaway is the seedhead: a tall stalk with three to eight side branches, each carrying hairy seeds in rows. Field paspalum and thin paspalum look similar and often get called dallisgrass.

Why is dallisgrass so hard to get rid of?

Dallisgrass is a perennial. The same clump returns year after year, so killing the leaves once doesn't finish it. NC State calls it one of the more difficult weeds to control in turfgrass. Clemson's turf handbook describes the professional program as suppression rather than control: two applications about 30 days apart in late summer or early fall, repeated for at least one more year, with good soil moisture at the time of treatment.

Where does do-it-yourself treatment go wrong?

• Spring pre-emergent doesn't touch it. Pre-emergent stops seeds from sprouting. It does nothing to a dallisgrass clump that is already there.
• One spray is not enough. Clemson notes that grassy weeds like dallisgrass may take two to three applications 14 to 21 days apart, and the handbook program runs over two seasons.
• A broadleaf weed killer is the wrong tool. Dallisgrass is a grass, and Clemson's guidance calls for a postemergence grass herbicide that is safe on your particular lawn grass.
• Treating it like an annual. Clemson notes perennials such as dallisgrass tend to be the most difficult weeds to control, because the same plant survives from year to year.

When should dallisgrass be treated in the Midlands?

Clemson's handbook puts the best window in late summer and early fall, September and October. For the long term, NC State's advice is a dense, healthy lawn kept that way by proper mowing and fertilization, which makes it harder for dallisgrass to move in.

How does Spring Green treat dallisgrass?

Every visit on our lawn care program includes post-emergent weed control. The 14-Day Reset guarantee applies: if weeds aren't under control by day 45, we treat free every three weeks until they are.

Last updated 2026-09-25. Spring Green is owned by Stockton Wells.