If crabgrass provides your lawn with some greenery, can it really be that bad for your lawn? For anyone who wants a lush and healthy lawn, crabgrass can be enemy number one. Learn more about this stubborn weed and why you should be trying to get rid of it.
What is Crabgrass?
Essentially, crabgrass is a stubborn weed that spreads incredibly fast and will take over your lawn. Even a small patch among your other grasses can spell trouble. Unlike lawn or turf grasses, crabgrass is annual, which means that its life cycle will only last one year. During the spring, you will notice the first signs and it will continue to grow throughout the summer and fall. Once winter temperatures drop, the crabgrass will die.
This causes two main problems for lawns. First, once the crabgrass dies, it will leave your lawn looking patchy. Second, and more importantly, crabgrass will release up to 10,000 seeds per plant. These seeds will spread all over your lawn and germinate in the spring. In this way, crabgrass manages to be an annual while still spreading each and every year.
Why is Crabgrass Bad?
For starters, crabgrass just isn’t visually appealing. It will stick out like a sore thumb on your lawn and you won’t get to enjoy a soft turf. Crabgrass is also greedy. It will suck up all the water and nutrients for the other plants around it so that it can thrive and spread while your lawn and other plants struggle. By the summer, it can completely dominate your lawn.
Your best defense against crabgrass is to treat it early so that it doesn’t have the chance to spread. Fertilizing your lawn can also help it establish strong roots so that it is more resistant to a crabgrass takeover.
For help keeping your lawn weed and crabgrass free throughout the year, contact the experts at JT’s Landscaping and Lawncare. We can meet all your landscaping needs.
