Spring is the time of year many people look forward to, when their lawns green up and look nice for most of the year ahead. Many people apply fertilizer to enhance green-up, which will certainly help promote good color, growth, and a thicker turf. Broadleaf weed control is often applied to prevent unsightly weeds from detracting from the lawn’s appearance. There is one more factor, however, that can have the greatest impact all season long in helping provide a great-looking lawn, and that is the proper application of crabgrass pre-emergent materials.
Crabgrass rears its ugly head beginning in April and continues throughout May and June. Crabgrass continues to mature throughout the summer and can become dominant, crowding out the desirable turfgrasses that make up a healthy lawn. In the fall, crabgrass begins to die back once we have our first frost. Crabgrass is an annual plant, developing from seed each year that becomes deposited in the soil at the end of the growing season – waiting to emerge the next spring. Crabgrass pre-emergent materials applied in the spring do a great job of killing the seeds just as they start to germinate. Because crabgrass seeds germinate over two months or more, a single application of crabgrass pre-emergent is just not enough to do a thorough job. It is highly recommended to apply twice in the spring – once in early spring and again in late spring. This “split-application” method is usually “lights-out” for the crabgrass.
Using the right materials at the proper rates at the right time is the key to success. Consult a professional if you are unsure how to proceed. Crabgrass pre-emergent materials do more than prevent crabgrass; they often prevent some other weeds from germinating as well, especially broadleaf weeds that emerge from seed around the same time as crabgrass. Examples of weeds controlled include summer annual varieties such as spotted spurge, oxalis, and purslane.
So, go ahead and continue to fertilize in the spring. Add some broadleaf weed control for those dandelions and a few other weeds, but don’t forget the crabgrass pre-emergent (twice, if possible).
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