Summer Annual Weeds and How to Control Them
As spring turns to summer, annual weeds such as pigweed, lambsquarters, purslane, and spotted spurge sprout. Most are rampant seeders that spread if you don’t control them. Here's how.
How to Control Yellow Foxtail Effectively
Tired of yellow foxtail creeping into your beds and lawn? Here’s how to spot it early and keep this pesky weed from stealing space in your garden.
Yellow foxtail (Setaria pumila) is one of the most common summer grassy weeds in the United States. This aggressive annual grass shows up in both lawns and garden beds, where it competes with desirable plants for sunlight, water, and nutrients. Knowing how to identify and control yellow foxtail weed is the key to keeping it from taking over your landscape.
You know you have it when the short, bladed clumps start producing upright, narrow, cigar-like seed plumes with yellowish bristles in mid-summer. The look must have reminded early observers of fox tails, hence the common name.
Like that other common summer grassy weed, crabgrass, yellow foxtail is an annual weed. It’s one that sprouts from seed in mid-spring to early summer, grows into those bristly-topped clumps from July to September, then dies at season’s end.
Mature seeds drop to the ground, ride it out in the soil over winter, then sprout the following year to begin a new cycle. One saving grace is that foxtail seeds are short-lived. Most survive in the soil only about two years.
Yellow foxtail is native to Europe and Asia but has spread over the centuries throughout most of the world.
It’s a sun-loving plant most often found growing in sunny meadows, along roadsides, in thin or untended lawns, and in sunny garden beds. It’ll grow in damp or dry sites.
Foxtails from left to right: yellow foxtail (Setaria pumila), green foxtail (Setaria viridis), and giant foxtail (Setaria faberi)
Identifying Yellow Foxtail Weed
- Appearance: Yellow foxtail starts as horizontal clumps of flat, green blades in early summer.
- Height: Plants grow quickly, reaching 2–3 feet tall.
- Stem Base: Often reddish at the base, which helps distinguish it from other grasses.
- Seed Head: Upright, bristly, narrow plumes that turn a yellowish color in mid-summer. These “fox tails” are the most recognizable feature.
Yellow foxtail is closely related to giant foxtail (Setaria faberi) and green foxtail (Setaria viridis), but it is the most widespread species. Giant foxtail (Setaria faberi), with its nodding, gold-purple plumes, is particularly troublesome in corn fields. Green foxtail (Setaria viridis), has green to purplish plume that are straight to slightly nodding . It's most common in the Midwest. Although its plumes are smaller, yellow foxtail produces larger seeds with more bristles.
Why Yellow Foxtail Is a Problem
- Seed Production: Each plant can release thousands of seeds that sprout the following year.
- Rapid Spread: Seeds survive in soil for up to two years, making infestations hard to eliminate once established.
- Preferred Conditions: Thrives in sunny, disturbed areas like thin lawns, garden beds, roadsides, and meadows.
Yellow foxtail is a coarse-textured grassy weed with upright, narrow seed plumes with yellowish bristles in mid-summer.
How to Control Yellow Foxtail Weed
- Manual Removal
- For small patches, dig out plants by hand or with a weeding tool.
- Dispose of pulled plants, since yellow foxtail can reroot if left on damp soil.
- Herbicide Control
- In lawns, selective herbicides such as quinclorac and mesotrione are labeled for controlling yellow foxtail without harming most turfgrasses. Always read labels to confirm safety for your grass type.
- In garden beds, non-selective herbicides can control yellow foxtail, but apply carefully to avoid damaging ornamental plants.
How to Prevent Yellow Foxtail Weed
Because yellow foxtail weed is an annual that depends on seeds, prevention focuses on stopping seed germination.
- Stop Seed Production 🌱
Never allow foxtail plants to mature and drop seeds. Consistent removal will reduce the seed bank in your soil. - Eliminate Bare Soil
- In lawns, overseed regularly and follow good lawn-care practices to maintain dense turf.
- In garden beds, use groundcovers, close plant spacing, and mulch to block germination.
- Use Preemergent Weed Preventers
- Preen Garden Weed Preventer: Controls yellow foxtail and 36 other weeds for up to 3 months. Best applied in early spring and watered in. Safe on over 450 plant varieties.
- Preen Extended Control Weed Preventer: Blocks 125 weeds, including yellow foxtail, for up to 6 months. Apply mid-spring (after forsythia bloom, before dandelions). Safe on over 600 plant varieties.
- Preen One Lawncare: Designed for lawns, it prevents yellow foxtail and crabgrass while fertilizing turf and controlling 250 lawn weeds. Apply in mid-spring alongside Preen Extended Control.
Key Takeaways for Controlling Yellow Foxtail Weed
- Identify yellow foxtail early by its bristly yellow seed heads.
- Remove small outbreaks by hand before seed set.
- Use selective herbicides in lawns and broad-spectrum options in beds with caution.
- Prevent future problems with dense plantings, mulch, and preemergent products like Preen.
By combining prevention, timely removal, and targeted products, you can successfully control yellow foxtail weed and keep your lawn and garden healthy all season.
